Cleaning yourself outdoors

[ferrol]

When am outdoors I've always spent maybe just a day or 2 out.

Question is how do you keep yourself clean outdoors? I know of sauna's with hot rocks, even bathing in a river. But I was looking for a simpler easy way. What do you people do? wipe down, solar shower, wet wipes?

thanks

ferrol

 

[Toddy]

A litttle privacy and a collapsable webtex bowl (surplusandadventure £4.95 ) a tube of biodegradeable shower gel, some micro fibre cloths (poundland, 4 pack of different colours £1) The whole thing weighs virtually nothing and dries really quickly. I like the water warm, though I have been known to do the whole scrub up using water straight from an ice rimmed burn That's a wake up Where I go there's never a shortage of water so it's simple to arrange rinsing or enough for hair too.
If you're into lightweight stuff mark the bowl so that there's an inside and an outside (it's reversable) you can get double duty out of it, one side is fit for food or carrying water, the other for washing yourself.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Biddlesby]

Do you reckon it would make a good washing up bowl as well? I usually just tip water into each billy, but I have been looking for something like this.

 

[John Fenna]

Light weight Quick and easy wash bowl
Arrange a ring of rocks/turves/logs in an area away from your water supply in a secluded spot
Drape a piece of poly bag/tarp corner/ waterproof jacket over the raised ring.
Fill with water
Wash
Tip water onto ground - it is well away from water source so will filter before poluting the water.
Shake poly dry, fold and stow.
Return logs/stones/turves to where you got them.

Wet wipes are ok if you can dispose of them easily.

Tarp shower

Wake up, get up, strip off, soap up, rinse off by shaking dew/condensation/rain off your tarp onto your body, Works VERY well iff you have puddles form in your tarp!

John

 

[Toddy]

Do you reckon it would make a good washing up bowl as well? I usually just tip water into each billy, but I have been looking for something like this.

I use it on the reverse for this, but it's only a biggish handspan wide.
The micro fibre cloths are excellent, they're absorbant but wring out and dry off really quickly. At least as good as the expensive lightweight camping towels at a fraction of the cost. They do some heavier weight, larger ones too for the £1, I think they're meant for windows but they're just multi purpose

cheers,
Toddy

 

[gregorach]

I usually find a swim in the loch does the trick...

 

[weekend_warrior]

You get arrested for doing that in Camden Lock though...

I prefer a hot, wet flannel and some coal tar soap followed by a brisk rub down with a pertex towel. I keep all my wash kit in a small exped dry bag - keeps it clean and stops the soap smell, dampness spreading through my rucksack.

 

[gregorach]

I doubt a swim in Camden Lock would get you clean either...

 

[ferrol]

Thanks for the replies!
Was also considering getting a shower conversion kit for the platy

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/0040818075944

Has anyone actually used a outdoor shower? Any good?

I have visions of running out of water with a head n face full of soap. Then having to comically wandering round woods looking for water to rinse off from.... naked...

ferrol

 

[spamel]

If you are gonna use a solar shower, it's ships routine I'm afraid!

Water on enough to get wet. Water off and lather up. Once you've finished scrubbing, water on again to rinse.

Also, a comb through the hair can make you feel a lot better, even if you have short hair. It stimulates the circulation in the head and gets rid of any bits of twig, bark or small birds that maybe nesting in there!

 

[Dunelm]

The webtext collapsible bowl is a good buy for a couple of quid.

I take a small pack of nappy wipes (Johnson's are recommended) - they're great for doing round the face/ears/neck as well as more "personal" nooks and crannies. You can either burn them in your fire or take a couple of nappy bags, which weigh nothing and can be tied shut and taken home.

 

[ferrol]

ah yes the turn off/on thing, never occurred to me.. duh

I do like the ring of stone and a poly' idea, sheet would fold to nothing, gonna try this this weekend! thanks John Fenna

I do tend to have an idea of what I'm after but I do have a couple of rules I like to try and keep to.

Must be simple
Re-usable.
Lightweight/non bulky.
Environmentally friendly if possible.
Minimal waste.

Right I have some very good idea's. Cheers guys.

ferrol

 

[Nigel]

When am outdoors I've always spent maybe just a day or 2 out.

Question is how do you keep yourself clean outdoors? I know of sauna's with hot rocks, even bathing in a river. But I was looking for a simpler easy way. What do you people do? wipe down, solar shower, wet wipes?

thanks

ferrol

If your only out for 1 to 2 nights why bother. If any longer just use a river.

 

[twisted firestarter]

If you're into lightweight stuff mark the bowl so that there's an inside and an outside (it's reversable) you can get double duty out of it, one side is fit for food or carrying water, the other for washing yourself.

Great idea Toddy, I hadn't tried that one before but will from now on

 

[twisted firestarter]

Thanks for the replies!
Was also considering getting a shower conversion kit for the platy

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/0040818075944

Has anyone actually used a outdoor shower? Any good?

I have visions of running out of water with a head n face full of soap. Then having to comically wandering round woods looking for water to rinse off from.... naked...

ferrol

I have an ortlieb shower attachment which fits their water pouches, cheaper and simpler than the Platypus version...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=hike&ProdID=5360007614&N=Ortlieb Shower Valve

 

[RobertRogers]

The thing is, the less you wash the better.

In 1993 while working as a land surveyor in the backwoods of Maine, USA, we spent an entire year working 10-day stretches without coming out of the woods (10-days on, 4-days off). When there is snow on the ground it isn't too good an idea to go for a swim!

What I found is that after awhile body odor seems to diminish, perhaps "good" bacteria start crowding out the bad smelling ones on your body?

But another advantage was our clothing became sort of waterproof and more impervious to the weather! I think it was natural body oils.

Makes me wonder what going an entire year without washing would do.....

 

[Carcajou Garou]

I think you were just getting used to the body odor of yourself and your mates.
Your clothes became saturated with "dirt" and shed moisture but also kept it in
Try smudging with wild sage this is also an anti-bacterial.

 

[gunnix]

RobertRogers that's what I sometimes wonder about too.
My brother hasn't washed his hair for more then a year now (after hearing about similar stories), and while it was very greasy the first months his hair is normal now, he just sometimes washes it with just water. There's no need for shampoo at all, you only need it when you used it before... stopping it is like your body needs to rehabilitate from drugs. I'd experiment if I ever get kids and see if they never need shampoo at all
I tried the same but couldn't survive the first greasy months with my girlfriend complaining

 

[JulianWormwood]

Try washing your hair every day in just water. It kept the greasiness at bay (although I bleach my hair, so its a lot drier than normal) quite nicely.

 

[gregorach]

Yeah, I haven't used soap or shampoo on my hair in, oh, 13 years. And I have hair down to my backside.

Deoderant is another one I avoid - seems to me, the more you use it, the more you stink. Washing does the job for me...