Never seen a post about keepin' clean in the bush

[Sea Diamond]

To start with...my wife is a clean Freak. If I dare skip a day and not have a full on shower I'm in for an ear full.

So how do you all do it? We're currently on day 75...or there abouts...and it been a while since we've been below 10,000ft. So washing can be pretty darn cold if you miss the sun. Always place 2 x 5L jugs out to warm up during the day to help with gas consumption.

Anyways...I'm curious. You know cleanliness is next to Godliness...and God seems all around us at the moment ;-)

 

[grubworm]

To start with...my wife is a clean Freak.

mine is a redhead with impulse control issues...welcome to the Brotherhood!

as far as keeping clean while boondocking, its pretty simple...use whatever transfers the stink from you onto something else.
years back we were at big bend and we just took a collapsible bucket and heated water and used it for sponge baths. worked well since we were in a campground and wanted to be discreet. later we were at black gap and being remote and away from people, we set up the small shower tent and heated water and put it in a bug sprayer and used that as a shower. i cant count how many times ive just heated water in a pan and used a washcloth and got pretty clean with just a quart of water. have even used just baby wipes to freshen up. the wife will use a dry shampoo sometimes and there are a lot of "hacks" out there...like using a vinegar/water solution in a spray bottle to mist yourself and kill the germs/bacteria and then wipe off with a towel, etc...

i was on subs and water is at a premium, so we just used a little water to get wet and then soaped up and then used a little water to rinse the soap off. did that for years and felt just as clean afterward as if i'd taken a 10 minute shower at home.

if you camp with your wife, just make sure you stink equally and its not that big a deal. like when you eat onions on your burger and its ok as long as she gets onions too...

 

[Akicita]

When natural water to refill containers is scarce.

Klean Freaks Wipes daily for face and body before bed
Dude Wipes for feet, bum and privates daily before bed
Gold Bond Triple Action Body Powder - every morning (and in shoes or boots every night)
Sponge / Washcloth bath with Dr. Bonners and 1 Liter of warm water every three to five days
Me - Waterless shampoo or sponge / washcloth for hair every five days or so
Wife - Johnsons Baby Shampoo for hair every 3-5 days with stream, lake water - or - 2 liters of fresh water.

When natural water is abundant

Joolca hot water shower that we rarely use but mainly in the slack season or winter months when needed. Short showers with 6 - 8 liters of water when we can filter and replenish our storage tank.

 

[rgallant]

Standard sized wash basin and a hand cloth, just warm some water up. As noted above a bit of soap and you get clean. It does not take a lot of water.

 

[MOAK]

Before our shower set up it was sponge baths. Now we have a shower set up. Hot water navy showers are a huge improvement over wiping down with water & a rag. My wife used to be a clean freak as was I. No longer, just don’t bring dirt into the tent or the vehicle. Other than that, a little dirt don’t hurt!

 

[MMc]

I have a 3 gal. yard sprayer painted black, 2 if I am with my GF. Place them in the sun and they get warm, if you want hotter, boil water and add. I also use a Shower Pouch in different flavors if water is short. I do have a privacy shelter but mostly I put on swim trunks and work around the trunks. I am a clean hand freak and wash them a lot, the sprayer helps a bunch.

 

[Sea Diamond]

hey guys...most interesting read. I have to say I'm about done with wipes due to the previous couple of years. Our wash station for us and camp dishes consists of a 30L portable tank. We always filter the water if we're in the wild...otherwise it's tap water straight in. Boy...does it get nasty in there! Was quite surprised...Spring water always seems the best. I've seen longitudinal rack tanks and thought those gotta have some gunt inside.

Anyways...thanks for some insight. Shout out to Grub Worm for his Sub stint...respect brother...oh...and marrying a redhead ;-)


Our wash station

Our current mountain spring...my wife has a knack of finding

Cows ransacked our camp yesterday while we were out...first time

...and believe me we do have a lot of visitors

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Living in Newfoundland Canada, We have an abundance of fresh clean water to use for washing. We just fill our large pot up, fill up the pressure shower, and have at it. Clean every day. I know it's very hard in other places, but here its as easy as a 10 min boil.

@Sea Diamond , You are in china, correct?

 

[Lazynorse]

Wipes and sponge bath.

 

[Boucher]

We usually use our Joolca hot water shower setup on the camper works great, if it is too cold we use a wash basin and hot washcloth

 

[Sea Diamond]

Living in Newfoundland Canada, We have an abundance of fresh clean water to use for washing. We just fill our large pot up, fill up the pressure shower, and have at it. Clean every day. I know it's very hard in other places, but here its as easy as a 10 min boil.

@Sea Diamond , You are in china, correct?

Yes...currently high in the mountains of China

 

[Autism Family Travels]

Yes...currently high in the mountains of China

I take it, it's nothing like our western news claim it is. Ha ha.

 

[Sea Diamond]

Well...I can only answer that from my own experience which has been nothing short of amazing. In all the countries I have lived or visited I have never felt more safe...and greeted with such warmth. I mean villagers walk to our camps and bring vegetables and eggs...it's unbelievable.

Where we are currently camped the mountains have little Tibetan villages dotted in some of the most unlikely locations...still haven't put my finger on that one. Prayer flags are hung in some of the most impressive peaks. Sometimes it's overwhelming and that coming from a life long adventurer.

Where our home is down in the south...a 200km radius contains more than the population of Canada. Now that's crazy if you think about it. And the only way I feel I could describe it is...very harmonious.

So...in my own observations and sum it up very briefly...the people are generally very humble who have been raised by their grandparents. Think about that for a moment...haha

Lastly...in this day and age I think we all need to be mindful from whom we gather our information that allows us to objectively determine our point of view.

Just my perspective from someone who has boiled water to wash than most ;-)

 

[MidOH]

Step1: put on bathing suit, Nike or birthday. Doesn't matter.

Step2: Dump water on me head.
3. Soap soap and scream.
4. ?????
5. Profit.

Sheesh. Try thru hiking. Ya'll ain't seen desperate needs for a shower. (But those Martians will stand in a warm rain shower and complain about being dirty.)