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Astronauts are forced to take drastic measures in space instead of washing their clothes

Home> News> Science

Published 17:37 17 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Astronauts are forced to take drastic measures in space instead of washing their clothes

In space, no one can hear you clean

Kegan Marquez

Kegan Marquez

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock

Topics: Space, Science, NASA

Kegan Marquez
Kegan Marquez

Kegan is a freelance writer with a passion for everything tech and gaming. He has worked for global brands across the globe, including IGN, PCgamer, PCmag and many more. When he isn't working, Kegan spends most of his time playing video games, building and upgrading gaming PCs and looking for the next thing in tech to obsess about.

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Space, much like many parts of the UK, is a vast area without much to do.

Of course, being off-world, there's also a major lack of resources, which has left many wondering: How do astronauts do basic day-to-day things, such as washing their clothes?

There aren't any washing machines on the International Space Station, and you can't just pop to the nearest laundrette.

But until a new space laundrette comes along, astronauts have to make do with a pretty grim way to deal with their lack of washing machines.

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Ever wondered how astronauts wash their clothes while up in space? (Alexander Gerst / ESA via Getty Images)
Ever wondered how astronauts wash their clothes while up in space? (Alexander Gerst / ESA via Getty Images)

Why can't you wash your clothes in space?

Obviously, space isn't known for having bountiful amounts of water, which makes it a valuable commodity up there.

The water that is stored on the ISS is used for drinking and washing.

Most of the water they use for that is recycled water, collected from urine, showers, and even astronaut's sweat and breath.

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Of course, the last thing they need is to waste their precious water on running their clothes through a quick spin-cycle. Although their fellow astronauts might appreciate them having a wash, they would probably appreciate a glass of water more.

The ISS has a limited supply of water (Matthias Kulka/Getty Images)
The ISS has a limited supply of water (Matthias Kulka/Getty Images)

What do they do instead?

I really want to tell you that they have some futuristic sci-fi way of dealing with this, but the truth is they just wear their clothes until they pong so bad they need to be changed, the BBC reports.

Thankfully, there's not much going on outside in space, so they don't need to worry about getting smelly from that.

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They also tend to sweat less as the ISS's temperature is carefully controlled.

Each astronaut is given a few sets of clothes, so it's up to them to try and get as much use out of them as possible, before needing to get changed.

In some cases, it gets to a point where astronauts need to get rid of their smelly clothes. Instead of sending them back to Earth for cleaning, they are simply put into cargo spacecrafts and sent off to burn up in the atmosphere.

The good news is, NASA is currently looking for a way to let astronauts clean their clothes while up in space.

Clothes can be a major issue for astronauts on long or extended missions in space (Peepo/Getty Images)
Clothes can be a major issue for astronauts on long or extended missions in space (Peepo/Getty Images)

How long do astronauts usually stay up in space?

In most typical scenarios, astronauts tend to stay up on the ISS for around six months.

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However, in some cases, especially when researching the effects of microgravity on the human body, it can mean extended times, in some cases reaching more than a year.

Other times, astronauts have had to have their stay in space extended due to unforeseen circumstances. A good example of this is Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams who's trip to space last year was meant to just be eight days - but thanks to a spacecraft malfunction, their voyage got stretched out to 286 days stuck in space.

If something goes wrong up there, it's not like you can call an Uber.

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