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There are a number of questions about washing clothes on the ISS, the short answer is that they do NOT wash them.

Answers that go into detail about the challenges talk about the different methods of washing clothes on Earth and how the are problematic in space. When I read them, I realized that washing clothes on Earth is much like what is going to happen to Elon Musk's Tesla, just from being in space

So the question becomes; If I hang my dirty clothes out on a clothesline, from the ISS, how long will it take for them to be freshed?

Maybe the space exposure damages the cloth to fast to make this practical, I don't know.

Obviously I am oversimplifying the solution, as you can't just open a window run the dirty clothes out on a line, but say you had a small air lock with a retractable clothes line...

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    $\begingroup$ You want to hang them on the outside of the ISS? $\endgroup$
    – Hobbes
    Nov 16, 2018 at 18:12
  • $\begingroup$ @Hobbes, yes why not? $\endgroup$
    – James Jenkins
    Nov 16, 2018 at 18:19
  • $\begingroup$ just asking for clarification as you didn't specify it in the question. $\endgroup$
    – Hobbes
    Nov 16, 2018 at 18:23
  • $\begingroup$ @JamesJenkins Are you washing them first and hanging them out to dry, or just running out the dirty clothes? $\endgroup$
    – Punintended
    Nov 16, 2018 at 18:24
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    $\begingroup$ @Punintended just running out the dirty clothes. Oils and such should evaporate. $\endgroup$
    – James Jenkins
    Nov 16, 2018 at 18:25

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