With Wash It All Away being a manga about a young woman running a laundry in Japan, it’s inevitable for some actually helpful advice to come up during the story. After all, we’re watching Wakana’s daily life and seeing her at work. This is especially evident in the eighth volume of the series, as three of the storylines involve tips for handling things like fluffy bedding and refreshing an umbrella.
Editor’s Note: There will be some spoilers for volume 8 of the Wash It All Away manga below.
The tennis ball laundry trick actually comes up twice in Wash It All Away volume 8, with the manga starting with Wakana working on a down jacket. A young woman about her age named Reiyo Amago brings in a coat her “sister” handed down to her, as she was told this was the proper way to have it cleaned. As usual, we see our heroine’s skill with cleaning things, as she can tell the age at a glance due to the “sheen” the dark-colored jacket picked up from years of use. When the customer picks it up, she remarks on how fluffy it is after being cleaned. Wakana explains a tumble dry technique with tennis balls is used. She notes how this loosens up the filling to get the feathers separated.
Immediately after, the Wash It All Away manga continues that trend by elaborating on other ways in which the tumble dry technique can be used on laundry to add fluff, with Wakana offering advice to recurring visitor Nairo. This times, it applied to her down comforter. Here, the tennis balls element of it isn’t at the forefront. Rather, the manga uses this as an opportunity to explain why this type of cover should be cleaned regularly. She explains it’s necessary to deal with body oils, dead skin, and sweat.
While I was aware of that other laundry advice ahead of reading the latest Wash It All Away manga volume, I had never heard of the trick involving an umbrella and a hair dryer. When Wakana meets Nairo’s mother while walking down the street, the woman remarks on the age of her umbrella. Wakana tells her to bring it in next time she drops off laundry. It’s then that the chapter acts as a sort of lesson for ones made with certain types of fabric. She explained the water-resistant material on them can have a sort of peach fuzz texture that can be refreshed by blowing the warm air on it from a distance. Unfortunately, all my umbrellas are cheaper varieties, so I couldn’t see if the manga’s idea held water. But it was interesting to see that type of suggestion.
It’s the fun part of a slice of life manga like this. With Wash It All Away, the focus of each story is really on Wakana’s life and relationships with others, but there can be practical advice and insights into doing laundry along the way because of her job. While sometimes it can involve stains or stuffed animal care, it really gets the reader thinking. Like I know the tennis ball trick really does work, and reading the stories are a good reminder that maybe I should be doing that.
Volumes 1-8 of Wash It All Away are available now, and Square Enix will release volume 9 of the manga on August 18, 2026.
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