Ooh, sponge bath - couple of cleaning questions

[Patrick]

I have a couple of "staying clean" questions.

I've been fairly resigned on past trips to just being dirty, but I'm trying to work out a system to keeping reasonably clean while hiking. I'd like to know what others have tried and how my plan sounds.

I'm not trying to live just like at home. I know I'm not going to be lilacs and baby powder. I'm looking to clean up not at the beginning of the day, but at the end so I'm going to bed reasonably clean.

First, I figure I can do the old camp towel wipe down with soap and water at the end of the day. I can get clean enough to be happy like that.

Second, the clothes. I think it's worth the weight to have a lightweight set of camp clothes, just some running shorts and a sleeveless shirt. As far as my hiking clothes, if I carry two pairs of shorts and two shirts, I figure I can wash them every two days or so.

What I'm thinking is carrying one of those silnylon water bags that holds like a gallon of water. I figure I can fill that up and use it as a basin to wash up. I thought for my clothes I could put them in a gallon Zip-Loc and agitate them, then use the water in the water bag to rinse them after I'm done cleaning myself. Something like that.

Also, I don't want to get my hiker badge taken away or anything, but I'd like to be using deodorant as well.

Anyone use a similar system with good results or start doing it but find it didn't work?

How far do I need to be from streams, etc? I figure washing myself every day is important, but I can save washing clothes for when camp is reasonably near water. If I'm like a hundred feet from the stream anyway, am I good washing in camp and dispersing the used water there? I always use Dr. Bronner's. It says biodegradable and all that. Is it safe to just toss my used water or is there other stuff I should be doing or watching out for?

What else should I be thinking of? I know, I know, hiking is sweaty, hikers smell, you get used to it, you don't even think of it after a while, etc. I'm hoping there's a shot of putting that into the backpacks have to weight 60 lbs category, though. I'm not trying to be clean enough to go have high tea or anything. I just don't want to be reeking all day and I don't want my stuff to either.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

[kncats]

First, I figure I can do the old camp towel wipe down with soap and water at the end of the day. I can get clean enough to be happy like that.

Second, the clothes. I think it's worth the weight to have a lightweight set of camp clothes, just some running shorts and a sleeveless shirt. As far as my hiking clothes, if I carry two pairs of shorts and two shirts, I figure I can wash them every two days or so.

Also, I don't want to get my hiker badge taken away or anything, but I'd like to be using deodorant as well.

While we don't try and get as clean while hiking as we are at home, it's my opinion that being a total slob on the trail is simply unacceptable.

My wife and I carry the cutoff bottom of a gallon milk jug with us and use it as a "sink" with a bandana for doing the spongebath thing in the evening. A little Dr. Bonner's in it makes a big deal in how you feel. It weighs close to nothing and takes up no room as we simply pack other stuff in it.

If you're going to carry camp clothes you can wear them while washing your hiking clothes, no need to carry an extra set. If they don't dry over night they will after you start walking.

Do a google search for deodorant rock. It's a mineral that kills the bacteria that cause body odors. You can carry a small chunk of it that'll last for months and weighs less than an ounce.

[Blue Jay]

My wife and I carry the cutoff bottom of a gallon milk jug with us and use it as a "sink" with a bandana for doing the spongebath thing in the evening. A little Dr. Bonner's in it makes a big deal in how you feel. It weighs close to nothing and takes up no room as we simply pack other stuff in it

This is a good idea. The problem with a silnylon bag is it cannot be set down when you want to use both hands. I know you can hang it from a tree. I use a collapsible bucket I got from LL Bean. You can soak the salt out of your hiking clothes also. I believe the rule of thumb is 200 feet from a water source or where people camp. To disperse the water, throw high and turn.

[Patrick]

Good information, thank you. The milk jug idea is a good one. Maybe I'll do that today and see how much it weighs. I don't mind having to hang the water from a tree, but the bags I'm thinking of will work fine on the ground. I had one once I was going to make a gravity water filter out of and it worked well. It has elastic around the mouth and sits fine on a reasonably flat surface.

I might have mispoken. I meant I'll have one set of camp clothes and two pairs of hiking shorts and shirts. I figure on "laundry day" I can do like you're saying and wash myself then change into my camp clothes and then do the laundry. I think this will work fine when it's mild out, in that I can probably pick a decent day to do it so things will dry reasonably quickly. I'm a little concerned about when it's colder, though.

I will also look into the deodorant rock, thanks. I've never heard of that before. I have a week long trip coming up starting Sunday and I'm just going to take one of those travel size deodorants with me for that.

Oh, I can't remember where, but I was just reading how smelling peppermint measurably improved athletes' performance in this test they did. Concrete evidence to prove Dr. Bronner's ridiculously invigorating properties.

Anything else I should be concerned about in terms of ecology, leaving no trace, respecting other hikers, etc?

[Fiddleback]

The camp towels (AKA miracle towels) are great for washing down as well as wiping down equipment, tent condensation, etc. A damp, not sopping wet camp towel, can really get rid of the dirt and dried perspiration. I use a wash-cloth--sized camp towel and follow up with a body wipe. Essentially, a body wipe is a really big baby wipe and are made for bed-ridden patients. Those I use are
9 1/2X13" (nice'n'clean Adult Body Washcloths) which I found at Osco Drug...I imagine Walgreens and others stock similar products. Mine came in a plastic box of 64. They are not individually so I just drop what I think I'll need in a baggie and carry out the used ones in the food trash. I suspect that might help keep the food odor in control too.

The combination of a camp towel and body wipe wipedown is really refreshing. It's the last thing I do before hitting the hammock.

Fiddleback

[Frosty]

You definately don't need to carry deoderant. Unless your are an extremely fastidious person (in which case you will have many many issues on the trail) lack of deoderant won't both you. Save the weight.

I keep a pair of underwear to wear in my sleeping bag, but not for around camp. Putting on clean clothes on a dity body will only get the clean clothes dirty in short order.

It is easy to wash clothes, harder to dry them.

I don't use soap to wash, and so bathe in a stream with one of those camp towels that come in wafer form. In my mind, washing without soap is no different environmentaly than swimming or soaking your feet. Just do it downstream of the shelter/campsite.

You will not be as clean outdoors as you will at home, but it won't matter. And just wiping off the accumulated sweat makes you feel much better, even when you put on smelly clothes.

It seems to be a truism that if you put clean clothes on a dirty body, you still feel dirty. If you put dirty clothes on a clean body, you feel refreshed. Just wipe down with a wet camp towel and don't worry about the rest.

Scrub hands soapless when crossing streams to remove grime. Carry a tiny bottle of Purell to kill germs on your hands before eating and after taking a dump.

[dougmeredith]

Those I use are 9 1/2X13" (nice'n'clean Adult Body Washcloths)

Any idea what these weigh?

Doug

[squirrel bait]

I found that having an extra top to your water bottle (if it's a soda bottle) with several small holes drilled in it helps alot. Mini shower and if you give it a good squeeze your can reach anywhere on your body.

[dbarrow]

Do you folks use filtered or purified water for bathing and/or washing clothes?

Thanks,
Deb

[dougmeredith]

Do you folks use filtered or purified water for bathing and/or washing clothes?

I don't worry about having purified water to wash with unless I am cleaning an open wound.

Doug

[Whistler]

For the most part, I agree with Frosty's comments. I don't notice a need for deodorant until 7-8 days out. And it's usually not a big deal. If you really need it, I would recommend 'loading up' at the trail head. That should last a while. Once it wears off completely, occasional wet wipes or just a wet bandana can keep things clean over the course of the day. Anyone tried Purell in your pits to keep the bacteria down?

A water source and a bandana is typically enough for me to do a quick wipedown of the target areas-groin, feet, armpits, face. Not in that order, though.

-Mark

[The Solemates]

i guess we're just unacceptable but we dont really do that much to keep clean on the trail.

in the winter, we dont really sweat much so its really no big deal. we hike, sleep in the same clothes, and do it again. I always splash water in my face in the morning from a nearby stream to get the grease off. If there isnt one, I do this at the first one I cross. Refreshing.

in the summer, we may sweat a lot, but I always take my shirt off and my socks off when I get to camp. Then I lay them out on the rocks to dry. Then I go to the creek and splash water in my face. Before bed, I put my clothes back on and sleep in them. Again, I always splash water in my face in the morning from a nearby stream. If there isnt one, I do this at the first one I cross. Refreshing.

[Patrick]

Thanks for all the tips. Keep 'em coming.

I'm going to be mule-headed and give the travel-sized deodorant a whirl. I'm aware of the weight, but I travel light, so I don't mind a few ounces in the splurge weight of that and the half milk jug I'll try out. Haven't been able to find the water bag locally and I'm leaving Friday, so I don't have time to order one.

Usually for an eight or nine day trip I take two shirts and two shorts and bathe and change halfway through. As you've said, the feeling afterwards is something else. I feel like I could run the whole day.

As I said, I'm not trying to live on the trail like I do at home. I figure I'll shoot for that, though, and will end up somewhere in between.

I know clothes are a bitch to dry. I'm hoping that by shooting for washing them every couple of days, I can wait until the weather doesn't suck. Plus, if it's hot out, my clothes are going to be just as drenched with sweat. If I'm putting on wet clothes one way or the other, they may as well be clean.

I like the bottle cap idea but don't want to be wasting my filter and my time filtering wash water.

So, sounds like my plan is pretty reasonable. I'll bring the half milk jug as a pail, freshen up once during the day with no soap, then give a full wipe down when I camp. I think that will all go fine. I'll give the laundry experiment a whirl and report back.

[Mother Nature]

I agree with all the wonderful suggestions thus far! I really enjoy reading and learning new ideas from everyone.

You can purchase a sil-nylon water bag from trailquest.net We love it for hauling water to the shelter unfiltered and it will sit on level ground without spilling as well.

I wouldn't use it as a bathing source however if you also plan to use it to haul water later. Especially if you use Dr Bonner or any other biodegradible soap. Over time your own body crud will built up in it.

Smokestack and I employ something similar to the milk jug basin.. we cut down a lightweight plastic paint pail which weighs as much as cut off milk jug but has a flat bottom.. something we found useful when having to eventually clean it. We had been using a cut down milk jug but after a 1000 miles it was pretty gross. :-) Also, over time in the pack the thinner walls of the milk jug warped and failed to hold it's shape making it ackward to bath, stand on one foot and dip your bandana in the basin. Probably not a big deal for the younger set but this old grandmother's balance isn't what it used to be.

Mother Nature

[Gray Blazer]

Hi Patrick,

I'm just a slackpacker. I'm usually out for no longer thann 4-6 days. However, my suggestion for keeping reasonably clean is alchohol wipes. You can get them in various sizes. They come prepackaged and you can use them to sterilize your cookware, also. They don't wiegh much, but, you will have to pack them out with your other trash. Later, Bear Bait II

[Blue Jay]

I'm going to be mule-headed and give the travel-sized deodorant a whirl.

Deodorant works well for about a week. After that it's like building a wall of sand on the beach and expecting it to hold back high tide.

[rainmaker]

Instead of deodorant take a small amount of baking soda in a baggie. Just a little dab will do it.

[MedicineMan]

just a few ounces of prevention...all of your attack plan sounds good.
Dr. Bonner's rules. And something I add is a film canister filled with cotton balls and then topped off with rubbing alcohol...i'll seek out the stream/creek when possible but at least i have the cotton balls to clean up the nasty areas when no sizeable water source is available or when i'm dog tired.....there are some hikers i believe who revel in the funk

[fiddlehead]

The problem is the humidity. it's tough to dry anything on the AT when it gets humid. Out west this is not a problem and hikers don't stink near as much. Plus there's more opportunity to bathe in lakes out there. It's best to not wear any clothes, then you don't have to wash them. It's amazing that some people wonder whether they should purify their clothes washing water. Really Amazing! I think i've heard it all now.
Take a jump in the streams and lakes when you can. wear minimal clothes, use a silkweight sleeping bag liner, sleep naked, keep springs clean. (some of us drink that water) And NO, you don't have to purify the water you are washing with, or cooking with, or ................oh wow, AMaZING

[Clark Fork]

This works:

http://www.thecrystal.com/pages/609/sportrock.html

I formerly used Hibiclens which is the soap used by Drs. I became concerned about long term use. I switched to this product and got good results. I found it in a yuppy organic grocery store, here in Missoula.

Of all the hiking items that have come and gone over the last 40 years, I am surprised that Dr. Bronner's soap is still on many gear lists. I never did understand all that gibberish on the label. Just who was or is he anyway? Probably now owned by some conglomerate.

One item, I never hear about these days is Bag Balm. It is great for hot spots and preventing cracking heels. We are careful about Bag Balm out here in Montana because it will make you smell like a wet sheep.

Clark Fork in Western Montana

P.S. This is a great item for a portable sink


The Little Sink: http://www.seatosummitusa.com/products/sinks.php