Washing clothes on long hikes

When washing in the backcountry there are some techniques and considerations that will benefit yourself and the pristine wilderness you are traveling within.

Don't ever wash near a water source, you are contaminating it for yourself, everyone else, and the animals that drink from it.

1. Always carry water at least 500 feet away from:

• The source of the water.
• Your campsite.
• The trail or travel area.
• Other persons' campsites.

2. Never use a nitrate-based soap

• These soaps kill naturally occurring and helpful bacteria in the soil.
• The soaps can cause an overabundance of certain kinds of water-based algae.
• They contaminate water sources and make them unfit to drink for yourself and the animals living nearby.

3. Wash yourself and your clothes in a central location if staying for multiple days.

• Moving the wash location affects a greater number of areas.
• Concentrating the wash area minimizes contamination elsewhere.
• Scatter dirty water within the wash area to prevent soap from entering the deep soil and killing plant roots.

4. Use a scentless soap

• Using a soap that smells like fruit is a good way to get tracked or attacked by bears or mountain lions.
• In some areas scented soaps are not allowed (e.g. Glacier National Park)

5. For drying clothes:

• Use the sun if possible, get into camp early (i.e. 3:00 pm), wash, and dry.
• OR wring clothes and place them on your body inside the sleeping bag at night. Your clothes will be dry by morning.
• For socks, tie them in a knot and store around your neck while sleeping. Same result as above.

Pack a vessel that can carry water and that you won't be using for cooking. The best I have seen are collapsible wash buckets made of synthetic fabric. These are light and allow for easy transportation of water away from the camping/water/travel area.

For the best backcountry soap I've used try the following. Dr. Bronners - Unscented castille soap, baby.

For more information please see the following: Leave No Trace - FAQ

posted almost 13 years ago

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Dangeranger‭

101 reputation 5 28 11 0

• Find a spot at least 200 ft away from water sources, camp, and trails. (Per LNT guidelines)
• Place soiled items in a gallon zip-loc bag with water and small amount of concentrated, biodegradable camp soap (I use Dr. Bronner's).
• Burp all air from the bag.
• Agitate the mixture until desired laundering is reached
• Open the bag slightly, squeezing it and broadcasting used water in a flinging motion to aid dissipation and breakdown of waste water.
• Use the same procedure to rinse (don't use too much soap to begin with)
• Optionally reuse the soapy water to wash multiple items if they don't fit in one bag. Two zip-loc bags is helpful (and they can serve other purposes.)
• Wring out excess water
• Wrap the item in a camp towel or shammy and re-wring with it inside to remove more water. Repeat until no more water can be absorbed. (This will greatly aid drying.)
• Use sun (hanging on branches, rocks, pack), body heat (wearing), or careful placement by a campfire to further dry items.

posted about 10 years ago

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manoftheson‭

141 reputation 16 29 19 0

Rinse your socks and undies out with water, rub them on rocks then re-rinse and wring dry. Put them on damp in the morning.

I can't think of a lighter weight solution than that :) I've done plenty of trips with no extra pairs of anything. You certainly won't smell good at the end of 10 days, but I don't think your performance will be affected.

Edit: Alternatively, leave the wet clothes in the sun when you are stopped, and tie them to the outside of your pack while you're moving.

posted almost 13 years ago

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Ryley‭

84 reputation 2 42 8 0