Here’s a nice, easy way to wash your clothing while on the trail.

Take a waterproof stuff sack (you do have one right?) and put you dirty garment inside. Add some water and a couple of drops of Dr Bronners. Close up the Stuff sack and agitate vigorously. Once you think your clothes have had enough, pour out the soapy water and add some fresh water to rinse and agitate again. Once done, wring out you clothes and then hang to dry.

Of course you would do all of this well away from any water sources to prevent contamination.

Happy Trails,

Roy

Great idea Roy!

And you can place a rock in the bag to act as an agitator.

When you shake the bag, the rock pounds out the grime and leaves your clothes bright and clean, with a freshness you can feel! : )

Edited by lushy on 01/13/2008 06:27:02 MST.

my Dad uses a similar system, just using a plastic ziplock, or aloksack bag instead of a stuff sack.

also, before adding his clothes to the soapy water, he uses a packtowel to clean off his body with the soapy water.

good idea with the rock agitator...

Edited by ryanf on 01/13/2008 06:57:34 MST.

I use this process as well. I use a dark colored dry bag and let it sit on the ground in the sun with water in it. This warms the water a bit and helps clean a little better.

Do you guys use filtered water to wash your clothes or untreated water?

By the way, I wonder if a Gossamer Gear pack liner, at only 1.2 oz. and with a gusseted bottom, would make a good clothes washing bag?

I don't use this method to wash my clothes - think ray-way cut up milk jug - but I think i'll be trying this out for sure.

I can't see any benefit to filtering/treating your water before washing. You certainly would not want to treat the water, and it just seem like a waste of your filter. If the water is clean enough to drink (after filtering or not) then it will definitely be clean enough to wash your clothes in. This isn't Africa, you're not going to get any parasites digging through your skin or crawling up your butthole after washing your clothes lol.

I've used Ziplock bags to clean clothes. However, they do not last real long as they cannot take the punishment. Dry sacks are better but do weigh a lot more. If I were out for a few days I would still stay with the Ziplock since I will have extras after a day or two.

I know this thread is quite old, but didn't want to repost.

As far as washing clothes in the backcountry, what does LNT say about swishing clothes in a stream to freshen them up? I know that soap is not to be used near water sources, but if all the dirt and grime (except maybe body oils) on your clothes came from the very same wilderness you're in, would it not be ok to just rinse them in a water source?

"The solution to pollution is dilution." It really depends on the stream. A roaring spring torrent vs. a tiny trickle would affect my answer.

Personally the only time I rinse my clothes in a water source is when I'm wearing them.

> would it not be ok to just rinse them in a water source?
If flowing well, of course.
Mountain tarns are another matter.

Cheers