How to Wash Clothes While Camping
It is always a good idea to know how to wash your clothes while camping, especially for extended trips. Why? Let's face it, a person can work up a real sweat with all the activities involved in a day of camping. Consider how much perspiration the body can produce while setting up a tent, cooking or hiking. Add a few accidental stains into the mix and you have a pile of dirty laundry in desperate need of cleaning. Thankfully, learning how to wash your clothes while camping is fairly easy. Basically, you need a pot, a little soap and water. With a little ingenuity, you can improvise the rest.
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Instructions
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1
Read the care instructions on the garments that are to be washed. Some garments will not fair as well when washed.
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2
Fill a large pot with 1 ½ gallons of water. Substitute a cooking pot with any plastic vessel you have available, such as a bucket or basin. Boil water for the clothes that would normally be laundered in hot water in a washing machine.
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3
Add soap to the cooking pot as necessary. Use biodegradable laundry detergent if possible. But for purposes of cleaning, dish washing liquid should work just as well.
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4
Place clothes in the pot gently. Tossing the clothes in may lead to scalding.
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5
Agitate lukewarm water with your hand. Avoid burns from the boiling water. Use tongs or a walking staff or a stick to agitate extremely hot water.
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6
Allow the water to cool then remove each item from the pot. If time does not allow for the water to cool, use tongs or a stick to remove the clothes.
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7
Allow the clothes to air dry. Hang the clothes on tree branches or drape the items across bushes. Or improvise a clothesline with nylon cord. Tie each end of the cord to a sturdy support and hang the garments over the line. Also, many tents come equipped with features that enable you to hang and dry your garments.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are camping with little gear. You can still wash your clothes; just locate a natural shallow spot or dig a small pit. Use a shovel to remove the soil or sand. Be sure to make the pit deep and wide enough to accommodate water and the clothing. Line the pit with a plastic tarp, if available. Follow steps 2 through 7 from above.
