View Full Version : Trail Laundry
cameronjreed
11-13-2008, 14:11
I have been thinking about ways to get rid of trail grime. In Ray Jardines book he mentions doing laundry "dundo style". this is basically throwing water on the clothes (socks, etc) and then ringing them out. I was thinking one could use a silnylon sack and some water with a spot of Dr Bronners and then just shake, squish and shimmy the bag to get the article clean. Repeat to rinse.
What do you think? I do NOT want to start a controversy I am just curious what others do and what they think of my idea.
Same works well in a ziplock for one or two items. Water + bit of soap + agitation. I've used this for socks, or for a shirt the evening before a town. Helps keep the town odor down to a mild roar.
Just be sure to use proper biodegradable soap well away from any water sources and regular travel areas. Don't want a mud puddle formed.
That's pretty much what I do, except that I use a half a milk jug instead of a bag. As long as you do it away from water sources and keep the amount of soap to a minimum, there shouldn't be a problem.
max patch
11-13-2008, 14:22
I warmed up a little extra hot water at night and washed my face with my bandana and Dr Bonners; thats the extent of getting rid of "trail grime."
I think you're gonna want to get used to washing your clothes every week in town rather than using Jardine's technique. Seems like a hassle to me.
I recall swimming in CT with all my clothes on thinking that would get rid of some of the smell; when the clothes dried they were just as bad as before. Or perhaps the Housatonic stunk too.
Wingfoot used to carry a clean shirt for each day he was out, but I think that overkill.
Blissful
11-13-2008, 15:27
I was gonna do trail laundry then skipped the idea when I realized towns were only four days away. And it is a hassle. Plus stuff never seems to dry all that well.
In the heat of the summer I did laundry and bathed every night on the trail. Nothing beats the feeling of clean(er) clothes to put on in the morning, and getting to sleep without sticking to yourself because of all the dried sweat. What I would do is when I got to a good flowing water source, which was usually a good sized creek, I would go quite a ways down stream. Then I would wash my clothes in the water and wipe off with a soaked bandana. Didn't use any soap, just scrubbed real good. I figured the soapless cleanings would be good enough, then I could get a real clean with soap in town. Of course some might have a problem with this, but if you go down stream you aren't affecting other hikers' water source. Also, remember that most animals get in the water too. So by the time my diluted funk reaches civilization it's got plenty of animal funk to keep it company.
My biggest thing was to wash my socks every night. I carried two pair, and wore one a day. At the end of the day I would wash the pair I was wearing, and hang them to dry. They usually weren't completely dry in the morning, so I wore the other pair that day. By the time I was washing that pair the other pair was plenty dry. Had clean, non-crusty socks the entire trip this way.
lonehiker
11-13-2008, 16:49
What I would do is when I got to a good flowing water source, which was usually a good sized creek, I would go quite a ways down stream. Then I would wash my clothes in the water and wipe off with a soaked bandana. Didn't use any soap, just scrubbed real good. I figured the soapless cleanings would be good enough, then I could get a real clean with soap in town. Of course some might have a problem with this, but if you go down stream you aren't affecting other hikers' water source. Also, remember that most animals get in the water too. So by the time my diluted funk reaches civilization it's got plenty of animal funk to keep it company.
Clothes should never be washed directly in a water source regardless of how far down stream you go! This is one of the most irresponsible things that a hiker can do. The clothes have residual soap from the last time that you washed them in town! This residual soap contaminates the water source.
take-a-knee
11-13-2008, 18:13
Clothes should never be washed directly in a water source regardless of how far down stream you go! This is one of the most irresponsible things that a hiker can do. The clothes have residual soap from the last time that you washed them in town! This residual soap contaminates the water source.
And that "residual soap" that a modern washing machine with multiple rinse/spin cycles didn't remove is somehow going to eutrophy a 10C, nearly sterile, brook?
I don't think there is a significant amount of residual soap in clothes to have any affect on the environment.
I don't think there is a significant amount of residual soap in clothes to have any affect on the environment.
Agreed!
Clothes should never be washed directly in a water source regardless of how far down stream you go! This is one of the most irresponsible things that a hiker can do. The clothes have residual soap from the last time that you washed them in town! This residual soap contaminates the water source.
No more contaminated than anything else that goes in the water. This all goes back to how ridiculous you can get with LNT. "Don't walk within 100 feet of water because your dead skin could flake off and get in the water. The soap that was on that skin can contaminate the water." This is far from one of the most irresponsible things a hiker can do. Pooping in water, slapping day hikers, burning down shelters, I could go on for a while. Actually, every time you step in a water source you are putting the fecal matter that got on them from the privy in the water source. The amount of soap in my clothes by the time they get put in the water is so minute that I actually doubt they could detect it if they were to test the water 20 feet downstream. Far less contamination than gets in the water every time it rains and the polutants form the air get caught in the rain drops and pour into the water.
Calm down, reduce the exclamation points, and enjoy life. It's too short to worry about a few microscopic soap particles in millions of gallons of water.
I have to agree with the thought that the use of any soap, biodegradable or not, in a stream is a bad idea. If you wouldn't want to drink it don't put it in the water. Even the most degradable soaps contain chemicals and take time to break down. Plus they need bacteria found in soils to do it. If you feel its necessary to use soap in the backcountry do your washing away from the water source and dispose of the gray water in a cat-hole or at least on the ground.
I have been thinking about ways to get rid of trail grime. In Ray Jardines book he mentions doing laundry "dundo style". this is basically throwing water on the clothes (socks, etc) and then ringing them out. I was thinking one could use a silnylon sack and some water with a spot of Dr Bronners and then just shake, squish and shimmy the bag to get the article clean. Repeat to rinse.
What do you think? I do NOT want to start a controversy I am just curious what others do and what they think of my idea.
That's what I do, it's works pretty good, then I wash everything in a machine when I get to town.
superman
11-13-2008, 19:54
I was gonna do trail laundry then skipped the idea when I realized towns were only four days away. And it is a hassle. Plus stuff never seems to dry all that well.
Yes, I agree. It also avoids that whole thing about washing on the trail kills Bamby, Flipper or future generations of Tsetse flies.:)
...far from one of the most irresponsible things a hiker can do... slapping day hikers
Since when is slapping day hikers, or any other hikers, irresponsible!?
I don't bother washing shirts or shorts while on the trail, but clean underwear (for those of us who don't go commando) and socks drastically reduce my issues with blisters and jock itch. YMMV
karoberts
11-13-2008, 20:12
If you get a merino wool shirt, it might not stink as much and may not need to be washed between towns.
Blissful
11-13-2008, 20:18
If you get a merino wool shirt, it might not stink as much and may not need to be washed between towns.
Everyone stinks on the trail. Part of the culture. :)
But you are right. My smartwool worked well for that.
For a long hike I think I would use more hot water, doing a daily sponge bathing and hot soaking and rinsing and squeeze drying 1 or 2 pieces of clothing each day. Socks one day, underwear the next, to keep them separate. I would brush teeth and shave and even rinse my hair with my cookpot and mug, but I would have a separate basin or bag for laundry and washing from the neck down.
I think hot water is 99% of the battle. Maybe 1.5 litres of boiling water for sponge bathing and laundry. Then again, hot water doesn't come cheap and easy either, even with a Kelly Kettle when you think of impact in high traffic sections, which is ironically when hygene is more important. Perhaps then with alcohol fuel and maybe just 1.5 litres of near boiling water every other day, and cold rinsing when opportunities arise like rainy days.
superman
11-13-2008, 21:46
For a long hike I think I would use more hot water, doing a daily sponge bathing and hot soaking and rinsing and squeeze drying 1 or 2 pieces of clothing each day. Socks one day, underwear the next, to keep them separate. I would brush teeth and shave and even rinse my hair with my cookpot and mug, but I would have a separate basin or bag for laundry and washing from the neck down.
I think hot water is 99% of the battle. Maybe 1.5 litres of boiling water for sponge bathing and laundry. Then again, hot water doesn't come cheap and easy either, even with a Kelly Kettle when you think of impact in high traffic sections, which is ironically when hygene is more important. Perhaps then with alcohol fuel and maybe just 1.5 litres of near boiling water every other day, and cold rinsing when opportunities arise like rainy days.
By jove hot water is the thing to wash your stuff in on the trail. Make sure you hang it outside your tent so it will be nice and dry for you in the morning.:)
It was hot on our section and there was trickle water for baggie wash of essentials-undies and socks, but gosh we were nasty. It was so dusty, keeping the feet cleaned was a chore and almost impossible. I did baggie wash a shirt one night and it was all salt. I have no idea how thru hikers keep even remotely clean but they did and these are people that made it all the way. What I do remember as that some of the young women thrus we saw had terrible skin as in pimples all over the face. That has got to be tough. That would drive me nuts, but then again, I am not 19. There was trail sweat and dirt no big deal vs. never bathed the whole time and proud of it grunge. There was one guy that walked in Bluff Mountan outfitters in Hot Springs and made everyone's eyes water. You know the smell, never washed anythig for three months odor. Yikes.
papa john
11-13-2008, 22:14
It was hot on our section and there was trickle water for baggie wash of essentials-undies and socks, but gosh we were nasty. It was so dusty, keeping the feet cleaned was a chore and almost impossible. I did baggie wash a shirt one night and it was all salt. I have no idea how thru hikers keep even remotely clean but they did and these are people that made it all the way. What I do remember as that some of the young women thrus we saw had terrible skin as in pimples all over the face. That has got to be tough. That would drive me nuts, but then again, I am not 19. There was trail sweat and dirt no big deal vs. never bathed the whole time and proud of it grunge. There was one guy that walked in Bluff Mountan outfitters in Hot Springs and made everyone's eyes water. You know the smell, never washed anythig for three months odor. Yikes.
Did he have a big red beard?
Wise Old Owl
11-13-2008, 22:15
What is Laundry? and who will admit to doing it on the trail?
Since when is slapping day hikers, or any other hikers, irresponsible!?
I don't bother washing shirts or shorts while on the trail, but clean underwear (for those of us who don't go commando) and socks drastically reduce my issues with blisters and jock itch. YMMV
Some slapping is good, but serial slapping is quite uncalled for. I liked a clean shirt because all of the sweat would build up at the center of my back because of the pack. Didn't really bother with the shorts though. I also found that regular rinsing of the clothes really kept the stink down a whole lot. I was constantly having hikers point out the fact that I was the only one they could sleep next to in a shelter, or hike behind, and not gag. I also give part of the credit for that to me wearing only nylon shirts and shorts. Nylon is just plastic, and doesn't absorb the odors. The fancy synthetics and elastics in most outdoor clothing is bad about absorbing odors.
sticks&stones
11-13-2008, 23:01
Biodegradable soap kills algae dead. Clothes previously washed in commercial soaps and dipped into a creek will also kill algae dead. The logic that suggest it wont kill much algae, or it wont contaminate a water source are wrong. Algae is the backbone to any source of life in a water, unfortunately it is also very easy to kill. Just as unfortunate is the fact that hikers tend to overlook, or ignore this when it comes to interaction with water.
No sir, Papa John, this was not you. He was under 30.
Oh, I am stepping gingerly here. I am not talking ripe hiker smell. It was rancid, smell 0'death, as in how my dog smells after it has rolled on a dead mole...for an hour. A real vapor trail.
What I do remember as that some of the young women thrus we saw had terrible skin as in pimples all over the face. That has got to be tough.
Anti-pink-blazing technique?
papa john
11-17-2008, 11:40
No sir, Papa John, this was not you. He was under 30.
Oh, I am stepping gingerly here. I am not talking ripe hiker smell. It was rancid, smell 0'death, as in how my dog smells after it has rolled on a dead mole...for an hour. A real vapor trail.
LOL, I know it wasn't me, I was wondering if it was the same hiker we spotted in GSMNP that was reeking up the place pretty bad.
Slo-go'en
11-17-2008, 12:31
Doing laundry in the woods is a PITA, as you need some time to kill and an ample water supply, like a small stream reasonably close by. But sometimes, it just has to be done.
Having a couple of plastic grocery bags helps a lot. One to lug water in and another to wash the clothes in. This summer I found travel sized packets of "Tide" at Wal-Mart which are designed for cold water, hand washing of clothes. This stuff works pretty good.
BTW, the phosphates in soap don't kill alge, it makes it grow and too much alge is worse than too little! The problem isnt so much the soap in a stream, but when it collects in a pond and makes the alge bloom.
By jove hot water is the thing to wash your stuff in on the trail. Make sure you hang it outside your tent so it will be nice and dry for you in the morning.:)Actually I do hang alot of my stuff outside my bivy. Thin stuff, and fleece. If it rains all the better. Squeeze and wear. The only thing I wash is boxers and socks, but not together. Hot water works.
On a longer trip I think I would wash my merino sweater occassionally, but I would think that hiking in the rain now and then would do the job. Daily sponge bath, boxers one day, socks the next. Those would be my priorities if I was conserving hot water.
Daily ablutions ain't rocket science.
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/2701