Lavamos y, ya de paso, secamos.

Because Spanish often drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who is doing the action.

• lavamos = we wash / we washed
• secamos = we dry / we dried

So nosotros lavamos y secamos is grammatical, but usually nosotros is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast:

• Nosotros lavamos, no ellos. = We washed, not them.

In normal speech, just Lavamos y, ya de paso, secamos sounds natural.

It can mean either one, depending on context.

For -ar verbs, the nosotros form is the same in:

• present tense: lavamos = we wash / we are washing
• preterite: lavamos = we washed

The same is true for secamos:

• we dry / we are drying
• we dried

So this sentence could mean either:

• We wash and, while we’re at it, dry.
• We washed and, while we were at it, dried.

Only the wider context tells you which one is intended.

Ya de paso is an idiomatic expression. A very natural English equivalent is:

• while we’re at it
• since we’re at it anyway
• as well

It does not translate word for word very neatly.

A rough breakdown is:

• ya = often already / now / well
• de paso = in passing / along the way

But together, ya de paso means something like taking the opportunity to do something extra because it fits the situation.

So:

• Lavamos y, ya de paso, secamos. = We wash and, while we’re at it, dry.

It’s best to learn it as a set phrase.

If you translate each word separately, you may end up with something unnatural. Native speakers understand ya de paso as a chunk meaning:

• while we’re at it
• since we’re doing that anyway
• might as well

So for learners, it’s much more useful to memorize ya de paso as one expression rather than trying to build the meaning word by word every time.

Because ya de paso is being used as a parenthetical insert—extra information added in the middle of the sentence.

Main structure:

• Lavamos y secamos. = We wash and dry.

Inserted comment:

• ya de paso = while we’re at it

So the commas show that this phrase interrupts the main sentence briefly:

• Lavamos y, ya de paso, secamos.

This is similar to English:

• We wash and, while we’re at it, dry.

Normally, you do not put a comma before y in a simple list or between two straightforward clauses.

But here the comma is not really separating the two verbs directly. It is marking the inserted phrase ya de paso.

So the structure is:

• y secamos → basic continuation
• y, ya de paso, secamos → continuation with an inserted comment

That’s why the commas are there. They belong to the parenthetical phrase, not to y itself.

The direct object is omitted because it is understood from context.

Spanish often leaves out objects when they are obvious. English can do this too sometimes, but Spanish does it more freely.

So depending on context, this could mean:

• We wash the dishes and, while we’re at it, dry them.
• We wash the car and dry it.
• We wash our hands and dry them.

Spanish does not need to repeat the object if everyone already knows what is being talked about.

Not normally.

Lavamos and secamos are indicative forms, not the usual let’s forms.

For let’s wash and dry, Spanish would normally use the present subjunctive:

• Lavemos y, ya de paso, sequemos.

So:

• lavamos / secamos = we wash / we washed
• lavemos / sequemos = let’s wash / let’s dry

This is an important difference.

Because secamos is the indicative nosotros form of secar.

• secar → secamos = we dry / we dried

But in the present subjunctive, the spelling changes:

• secar → sequemos

This spelling change keeps the hard k sound before e.

Compare:

• secamos = indicative
• sequemos = subjunctive / let’s dry

So in your sentence, secamos tells you this is not the let’s form.

Yes, most likely.

Here secar means to dry something, with the object understood from context.

So the hidden structure is something like:

• Lavamos [algo] y, ya de paso, secamos [ese mismo algo].

Examples:

• Lavamos la ropa y secamos la ropa.
• Lavamos los platos y secamos los platos.

The object is just omitted because it is already clear.

Yes. It is fairly flexible, although some positions sound more natural than others.

For example:

• Lavamos y, ya de paso, secamos.
• Ya de paso, secamos.
• Lavamos y secamos ya de paso. (possible, but less natural in many contexts)

The version with ya de paso in the middle is very common because it clearly sounds like an added comment: while we’re at it.

Yes, it sounds natural in Spain.

Ya de paso is very common in Spain and is a very natural conversational expression. It gives the sentence an everyday, spoken feel, like saying:

• We’re already doing one thing, so we might as well do the other too.

So for Spain Spanish, this is a very useful expression to learn.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Lavamos → la-VA-mos
• ya de paso → ya de PA-so
• secamos → se-CA-mos

The stress falls on:

• va
• pa
• ca

In connected speech, it flows something like:

la-VA-mos i, ya de PA-so, se-CA-mos

The y sounds like ee here.

The basic sentence is:

• Lavamos y secamos.

That simply means:

• We wash and dry.
• or We washed and dried.

Then ya de paso adds the idea of while we’re at it / as well / since we’re doing that anyway.

So:

• Lavamos y secamos. = plain statement
• Lavamos y, ya de paso, secamos. = same idea, but with the nuance of doing the second action as an extra convenient step