washing panties

[hontassquirt]

i'm planning a thru hike with my (will be) 12 year old daughter in March 2012. been backpacking quite a bit....but for a months-long trip, i have one outstanding, trivial question. on shorter, week long trips, i can usually bring enough panties for the trip and just switch them out - never have to reuse the dirty one's. i like the patagonia boy shorts - ultra breathable, and double as warmer weather shorts around camp. but when you're making 2 or 3 pair of panties last for months, do i need to purify the water i wash them in first? or just rinse them in the river (assuming a flowing flow of water), dry them out, and keep walking? just wondering about bacteria. thanks!:sun

[singing wind]

Hi 2girlsbping,

Welcome to Whiteblaze! :)

Here's a suggestion I found some time ago on other threads that has worked pretty well on longer hikes and also when out camping:

Easy, lightweight & versatile =

a 1 or 2 gal ziplock bag (even a plastic grocery bag will do in a pinch...)
water + soap

add laundry, water + soap to bag (soap is optional)
close & shake
or
find a place the bag will stand reasonably upright & scrub
rinse & dry

I've found this method can reduce the total amount of water needed as well as provide a decent washing.

Although there's no need to purify the water before washing, please remember to wash any items well away from any water source - as a courtesy and also as part of Leave No Trace practices.

Hope you have a wonderful hike!
singing wind

[JAK]

A small metal mug or bowl or basin will allow you to use much hotter water, and less soap, which might be a more effective way to go. I would do this for socks and underwear, but all other clothing the water doesn't need to be so hot, and sometimes just a good cold water rinse and dry now and then is sufficient. Washing socks separately from underwear is always a good idea anyway, or at least do the underwear first, and then the socks, if using the same water. The plastic bag might bag might be a good idea for a second stage warm water cycle after the initial scalding in the near boiling water. Near boiling water is harder on fuel, but easy with a snall wood stove or you can do it at a fire pit.

[Ironbelly]

Nalgene bottle, add article of clothing, fill halfway to 3/4 with hot or cold water, add soap like Dr. B. Close Nalgene, shake well by hand to mix, keep shaking if in a hurry, otherwise put the bottle in the pack or clip it to the pack and while hiking for a few hours all of the bouncing acts like a washing machine and really does a good job in washing clothes.

Just remember not to overfill the bottle with clothes, or water, you want room to slosh and bounch around. Then when you get to a rest stop, camp or whatever drain water, rinse, wring, hang to dry.

[scooterdogma]

I use the gallon bag method. You can put hot water in a ziplock freezer bag, works just fine. If you feel the need for a "sink", a really lightweight solution is to cut the bottom of a plastic gallon milk jug. Easy to use. In your pack you can put a stuff sack in the "sink" and it nests just fine. Takes up no room. Good luck, your daughter will remember this time with you forever.

[Trailbender]

I carried 3 pairs. I wore one to hike in, one to wear in camp, and one to wear while I washed. I did creek washing and washed at hostels. I prefer the string bikinis or microfiber bikinis, they dry fast. Obviously, cotton is not an option.

[Smile]

Good advice :)

[sbhikes]

I don't bring a change of panties. If they are getting dirty, I wash them while I am wearing them by dunking myself in a creek up to my waist or so or by scrubbing them with my bandana without taking them off. Downstream from where anybody would wank to get water, of course.

[Trailbender]

I don't bring a change of panties. If they are getting dirty, I wash them while I am wearing them by dunking myself in a creek up to my waist or so or by scrubbing them with my bandana without taking them off. Downstream from where anybody would wank to get water, of course.


I did this at first, but sleeping in the same wet pair caused issues with constant wetness. I had problems for a bit, that were solved when I used baby powder at night and changed into a dry pair.

[hontassquirt]

Wow, I ran into this website yesterday by accident (doing my research for our trip) and I'm so glad I did. Everyone's so laid back and helpful....just throwing ideas out. I love this! I'm in backpackers heaven on this site. after reading everyone's responses, i'm afraid i was making "washing the drawers" a wee bit (no pun intended) too difficult in my own head. funny thing is...i always considered myself a girl who could wing it. but preparing for washing my panties in the woods was throwing me for a loop. i'm syked...i know i have so much to learn from this trip - even more than i'd ever expect (like how to deal with not having a washing machine!). it's syking me up so much. thank you all for the awesome feedback!

[hontassquirt]

love this idea!

[Smile]

You can wash them out, and keep in your bag to 'dry' overnight ( well wrung out of course!) you can do this with bras, socks, etc. Put them down by your feet, or just in with you, most times they are nice and dry - and are definately warm in the a.m. :)

[hontassquirt]

i've heard a lot about keeping your wet clothes in your bag at night to dry. never had to do this yet since my trips haven't gone past a few weeks. i'm taking a 4 day trip with my kiddo this weekend and i'll try it out just to see - curiosity! i can see how it would work in a synthetic bag. but it works in down, too? i'm not worried about the condensation it would create (as I've heard), but i guess i never believed it really works.

well, now that i have this dilemma out of the way...on to figuring out the best method for drop boxes and home schooling...

[Lilred]

You do not have to worry about washing panties while you're out there for 'months'. At least once a week you'll get to a trail town where you can do laundry.

[Country Roads]

I use a ziploc bag, no soap (just in case I don't have a enough water to rinse them out well), wring out really well and hang on my pack with a couple of minibeaners. My hiking partners have gotten used to seeing my unders hanging off my pack. I use this method for any clothes I need to wash. I use a gallon bag for most stuff and also carry a 2 gallon bag for larger stuff. I really don't care if the clothes are "clean"; I just want them destinked and to get the sweat salt out. The real cleaning I do in town or at a campground.