Wash Day

[Greenlight]

Anyone ever heard of this? Something I learned that can save some time in towns, maybe not any money, but instead of going to the laundromat to do clothes, go to the car wash. Not the one with the blue, pink, and yellow soap sprayer and the fancy spinning brushes...the one where you chunk a few quarters into the slot and squeeze the sprayer. There was an article in the paper here a few months ago about a mom of a couple boys who play baseball, and she was going nuts trying to get the mud and stink out of her boys' uniforms. One of the other baseball moms clued her in to the secret. The car wash. It gets stuff out that no washing machine can, and you can get all of your clothes done in less than five minutes (wash time). Put the hose on "soap," clip articles of clothes to the mat clips and spray away. All the gunk, stink, and dirt is gone in seconds. Then switch to "rinse" and the clear, high pressure water will blast all of the soap away, too. Then you can either air dry the stuff or if you absolutely have to, trek back over to the laundry or hostel and throw them in a dryer. No more dirt or rotten shrimp and fromunda cheeze smell.

[gracebowen]

Once when my son was potty training I forgot a change of clothes. He had an accident while waiting for the bus. The bus stop happened to be at a carwash.

Using only the mild spray that comes out I hosed him down. I was very careful not to hurt him. We got on the bus wet but not stinky.

[35king]

Sounds legit. I'd try it out.

[Bronk]

I've taken my pack to the car wash to clean it before. And I usually hike in nylon jogging pants which can be rinsed out in a sink...wring them out and put them on and they are dry in 20 minutes.

[saltysack]

Easy enough to add lil dr B in my waterproof compactor bag turned inside out...add water and cloths...shake..soak then rinse hag dry...ready to roll...bear can works also...


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[MtDoraDave]

A 2 gallon ziploc bag has worked for me, without having to go into town. A small travel sized bottle of body wash works for clothes as well as bodies.

...but the carwash deal would work, too, if you are already in town and don't want to sit around a laundromat or wash in the sink or shower of a hotel/ hostel.

[perrymk]

There is this portable washer bag.

The car wash idea sounds plausible but the thought of high pressure washer to clean conjures up images from a scene in the original Rambo movie.

[saltysack]

There is this portable washer bag.

The car wash idea sounds plausible but the thought of high pressure washer to clean conjures up images from a scene in the original Rambo movie.

Just use your compactor bag....same principle...


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[shelb]

This brings back memories~

My husband, his brother, our sister-in-law, and me - at some country concert in some Po-Dunk town several years ago, camping in a field with only port-a-johns and no running water for a weekend. Someone had the idea of washing up at the carwash. We each put on a bathing suit and went to the sprayer type of car wash. By golly, not only did we shower, but we also washed our hair - every day of the 4 day weekend! While it stung when directly sprayed on, it ended up feeling good in the 90 plus degree heat!

[Leo L.]

I have a high pressure water cleaner and used it for everything I could imagine, from cleanig the car, the motorcycle, the bar mower, the terrace, the BBQ dishes and the carpets.
It ruined every single item I used it for finally.
Ruined the car windows/doors sealings, the bearings on the bike and the mower, the face joints of the terrace, the paintings on the BBQ dishes.
It didn't ruin the carpets so far, because I've stopped using the device any longer.
Wondering how long hiking clothes would survive?

[cmoulder]

Ziploc bag and a few drops of Dawn. Don't even have to rinse, just wring it out and wear it.

[Traveler]

Something tells me this is not an extra special smart idea if you aren't able to judge distance versus pressure well.

[Berserker]

The only time I successfully did laundry in the back country was when I was on the JMT. I carried a collapsible bucket and some biodegradable soap. Washed the clothes, dumped away from water source, rinse and repeated. The reason I say that this was the only time I successfully did laundry is because I was able to hang everything up and it dried overnight. I've tried this on the AT, and it rarely works due to the humidity. As a matter of fact, I washed stuff one time and it stayed damp for like 3 days...it's a good way to grow mold. Best to just head into town to wash stuff on the AT in my opinion.

Don't know about the pressure washer. Seems like something with good potential, but also seems like it could destroy the clothing if not careful.