Staying Fresh and Clean While Camping: Essential Tips for Tent Camping and Backpacking Adventures
Camping and backpacking bring us closer to nature, allowing us to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. However, staying clean in the great outdoors can pose a challenge, especially during extended trips. While some dirt and grime may be part of the adventure, maintaining personal hygiene is crucial for comfort and overall well-being. Whether you’re embarking on a weekend camping trip or a more extended backpacking expedition, here are some essential tips to help you stay clean and refreshed in the wilderness:
- Plan for Proper Hygiene: Before your trip, pack essential hygiene items such as biodegradable soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, wet wipes, and hand sanitizer. Opt for travel-sized containers to save space and minimize weight in your backpack.
- Choose the Right Campsite: When possible, select a campsite that provides access to clean water sources like rivers, lakes, or designated water stations. This will make it easier to wash up and replenish your water supply.
- Pack a Portable Shower System: Consider investing in a portable camping shower system or a solar shower bag. These compact and lightweight solutions allow you to take refreshing Camping showers even when no shower facilities are nearby. Fill the bag with water, let it warm in the sun, and enjoy a revitalizing rinse.
- Utilize Natural Water Sources: If you’re camping near a river or lake, use these natural resources for bathing and washing dishes. Use biodegradable soap and follow Leave No Trace principles to minimize environmental impact.
- Practice Leave No Trace Principles: Leave No Trace is an essential principle of outdoor ethics that emphasizes minimizing human environmental impact. Dispose of waste properly, including packing out any trash, and avoid contaminating water sources. Respect nature and leave your campsite as you found it.
- Pack Microfiber Towels: Lightweight and quick-drying microfiber towels are ideal for camping. They absorb moisture effectively and dry rapidly, saving space in your backpack and providing a convenient way to dry off after bathing or swimming.
- Stay Organized: Use separate bags or compartments to separate clean and dirty clothes and gear. This helps maintain cleanliness and prevents cross-contamination.
- Hygiene in the Backcountry: When camping in remote areas without access to facilities, practice “cat hole” or “wag bag” methods for disposing of human waste. Follow local regulations and guidelines to ensure proper waste management.
Remember, maintaining personal hygiene while camping helps you feel fresh and comfortable and promotes overall health and well-being. Adopting these tips into your camping routine allows you to enjoy a clean and refreshing outdoor experience while minimizing your environmental impact.
Electric Camping Shower Ideas
Thanks to the invention of light, rechargeable batteries, people now have more ways to take a Camping shower. Water is heavy, so keep that in mind. One gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds, so you need a solid frame to hang a gravity-fed shower. But this electronic shower solves that problem by pumping the water to the shower head with an electric pump.
1. Ivation Portable Camping Shower
Ivation made this cool outdoor shower. Put one end in a bucket of water, and the battery-powered pump will send water from the “suction” end of the hose to the shower head. Since you’re not putting water in the air, you can attach this to the top of a pop-up shower tent (more on below) and use it as a shower. The Ivation is a very cool camping item, but you should be careful if it’s in your price range.
2. Mr. Heater’s Hot Water Shower
The Mr. Heater portable shower heats water with propane and moves moisture to the shower head with an electric pump. Set the unit down on a level surface. Then connect the team to a 1-pound propane tank and put the water pump in a water source (such as a large water jug).
The pump pulls the water in and sends it to the central unit, where the propane burner heats it. The hot water is then put into the shower head. The whole thing needs 6 D batteries. So you’ll need to get some rechargeable D batteries. The company that makes the batteries says they can power a shower for 40 minutes.
You can change how hot or cold it is; having enough water will feel like “real rain.” The only downside is that it’s not the most portable outdoor shower on this list because it weighs almost 15 pounds without the propane tank. So it might not work for camping in a walk-in tent in the backcountry, but it would be great for camping in a van or in front of a camper.
3. KEDSUM Portable Electric Camping Shower
The pump for this electronic shower from KEDSUM goes into a bucket of water. But unlike the Ivation portable shower, this one has a separate battery compartment that doesn’t get wet.
It has two batteries you can charge from the grid or the 12-volt system in your car. It also has a hook to hang the shower head from a tree branch so you can shower without using your hands.
This shower’s best feature is that it has a spray nozzle. So, you can spray your dirty camping gear with the nozzle if it gets dirty. If you want to see how it works, there is a video of it being spread on the Amazon product page.
Pressurized Camping Showers
You don’t have to raise these camping showers because you can pump water from the tank on the ground to the shower head. The downside is that you must hold the showerhead and use a trigger-style on/off switch to turn it on and off.
1. Flow Pro Pressurized Portable Shower
Fill the water tank made of plastic, and then press down on the handle to manually pressurize the tank. The showerhead has a switch that turns it on and off like a garden sprayer.
It’s not a big tank because it only holds 2 gallons of water, but it works for quick rinses.
2. Nemo Helio Pressure Shower (XL Foot Pump Pressurized Camp Shower)
This camping shower has a 7-foot hose and a shower head that works like a trigger. This has a 22-liter (5.8-gallon) capacity, and people say it can spray water for about 5–7 minutes. Stepping on the foot pump makes it pressurized.
You can take a full bath, wash the sand off your feet, wash dishes or cooking tools, and do other camp cleaning.
3. Vehicle Hitch-Mounted Shower Tank (by WaterPORT)
The Waterport Company makes this pressurized water tank shower that can be attached to the bumper of your car. Or, some people put the water tank on their roof racks or cargo trays to keep it from hitting the ground when driving on rough roads. There is a 3.8-gallon tank in this shower (about 17 liters). It has an 8-foot-long hose, which is nice. And, just like a garden sprayer, the nozzle can spray in different ways to meet your needs.
Gravity-fed Camping Showers
We learn as kids that water flows downhill, which is precisely what happens in a gravity-fed camping shower. Put water in a tank or bladder, hold it over your head, and then pour it over yourself. Because they are heavy, they need to be hung from a strong tree or hook.
Some of these options include heating the water with the sun. Here are a few well-reviewed options for camping showers that use water from the ground.
5 Gallon Solar Shower Bag by ADVANCED ELEMENTS
Do you need a hot shower on your camping trip? It can be done even off the grid if you get such a portable shower that uses solar energy to heat water. You have hot water to remove dirt. Filled with cold water, placed in the sun to warm, and hung from a tree or hook, an attached hose and shower head enable you to drink. The shower head has an on/off feature, so you can turn it off while washing your hair or lathering your body to avoid wasting water.
It holds up to 5 gallons of water and has a gauge showing the water temperature. It’s gravity-fed, so you’ll want to hang it from something sturdy—and remember that water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon. So with a capacity of 5 gallons, this camping shower will weigh over 40 pounds when full.
Most pop-up camping tents are not built to hold this weight. You must position your shower tent near a tree and feed the water hose to the camping shower tent. This is an excellent option for a quick hot shower. Does it work for you?
Simple Solar Shower Option
Coghlan’s has a simple solar shower option. Fill it up, put it in the sun to warm up, hang it above your head, and drink the warm water. (Be careful because they can get very hot.) It’s small and won’t cost you a lot of money.
Sea-to-Summit Pocket Shower
This shower bag is made of nylon, which is light and waterproof. The Sea to Summit Pocket Shower is its name. It can hold 10 liters of water, which is about 2.6 gallons.
You’ll also notice that there’s no hose. The bottom of the bag has only an on/off switch. You can also change how fast the water flows by turning the nozzle. The water will warm up if you leave the black bag in the sun. So you can get a nice warm shower by using solar power.
Wet Wipes for Spot Cleaning
If you sweat and smell mostly from one part of your body, like your armpits or feet, biodegradable body wipes from Survivewear can help you feel and smell clean, even if you don’t have a full shower or bath while camping. After a long day of camping, they can be a quick way to cut down on smells.
Pop Up Camping Shower Tents
If you want some privacy while you clean up, you could get a camping shower tent that pops up. You don’t want to spend much time assembling an outdoor shower stall. And that’s why pop-up privacy tents are great.
They are easy to set up and give you a place to clean up while keeping your prying eyes out of your business. You can quickly get your private shower.
1. WolfWise Pop Up Shower Tent with removable floor
If you want some privacy while you clean up, you could get a camping shower tent that pops up. You don’t want to spend much time assembling an outdoor shower stall. And that’s why pop-up privacy tents are great. They are easy to set up and give you a place to clean up while keeping your prying eyes out of your business.
FAQs
Best Overall- Decathlon Quechua Solar Pressure Shower 500.
Unfortunately, no. You can get a fine if you shower outside at your campsite or in the park. Showering at your camp is also not good because soap and other cleaning products attract animals.
The best way to clean up without water is to take a dry shower. A dry Shower kills odor-causing bacteria and germs with ingredients made from coconut oil that are gentle and effective. It leaves you feeling and smelling clean and fresh.
- Bring a washcloth
- Wear deodorant
- Use baking soda as a dry shampoo.
- Deodorize your clothes
- Hand-wash your clothes
Camping showers are an excellent way for campers, sailors, and people at music festivals to stay clean while away from home. They are also helpful for washing your pets and cleaning your cooking gear and utensils. There are some impressive solutions, such as solar shower kits.
What is camping?
Camping is a form of outdoor recreation involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can include a recreational vehicle, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or a tarp, or no cover. Some types of camping may be named after their form of transportation, such as canoe camping, car camping, RVing, and backpacking, including ultralight backpacking.
