Key Points
- Washing soiled clothes will help you reuse them instead of scavenging for new ones.
- You need to find some clean water or a washing machine to help you wash clothes.
- If you happen to come across a sink, you can interact with the faucet and select the clothing you wish to wash.
You need to return to normalcy even during a zombie outbreak in Project Zomboid. That means keeping yourself and your environment clean. You do get several options for it, especially if you wish to wash your clothes early in the game.
Project Zomboid – Clothes Washing Overview
| Requirement | Clean water |
| Source | Faucets, washing machine |
| What it does | Removes dirt and blood from clothes |
How to Wash Clothes

The basic method to wash clothes is to find running water from a faucet and use it to get your clothes clean. You can find faucets and sinks with running water inside various homes in Project Zomboid. All you need to do is go up to it and interact with the faucet by right clicking it.
When you click on the Wash option, you will find a list of items that you can wash in the sink. You can wash yourself or individual articles of clothing. You can even wash all your clothes together, making it easier to get all the dirt and blood off in one go.
Note: If you are lucky enough, you could get yourself a bar of soap by looting houses. That way, you can reduce the time taken to wash your clothes in half, rather than washing them with just water, which will take a lot more time.
How to Dry Clothes
You can’t walk around with wet clothes on you, so you need to use a method to dry them. Personally, I found just laying all the clothes on the floor to dry really helped. You could also take all the clothes out and dry them out in the sun if it is a sunny day.
These methods will take up some time, but will guarantee you have clean, dry clothes to wear soon. If you are fortunate enough, you could use a washer and dryer combo, and some of the houses might have this option. That way, you can wash and dry your clothes rather quickly.
Other Ways to Keep Clothes Clean
In case you find washing clothes rather tedious, then the next best thing you can do is loot clothes off dead bodies or raid houses to find them. But clothes off corpses won’t be in good condition anyway, so you are better off washing off all the debris and blood off your existing clothes instead. Keeping clothes squeaky clean is not possible during a zombie apocalypse, so washing them is the only way to go.
FAQs
Can I wear wet clothes?
You can wear wet clothes, but it will give you the Cold status effect and might affect your health in the long run.
Can I clean blood off clothes?
Yes, washing through the sink method or using the washer will remove blood, and it will remove additional dirt if you use soap alongside this.
How many clothes can I fit in a washer?
You can add 20 clothes to any washer that you find. You need to make sure that the washer has power before you can use it.

