Hygiene is essential whether indoors or outdoors, as it ensures our health and becomes essential in camping.
This helps you stay clean, prevent illness and infections, and makes the trip more comfortable.
Though the campsite has little to no facilities, I’m going to share a list of real-life, tried-and-tested camping hygiene hacks from my own experience.
🚿 DIY Solar Shower Setup
Swimming in a river or a lake is the best way to wash off sweat and dirt. But if it’s cold, it won’t work in the winter.
There, you’ll need a solar shower bag or a DIY black trash bag with water.
For one person, a readymade shower bag with a 20-liter capacity is enough. It is portable and comes with an injection port through which you need to refill the bag with water.
The bottom has an outlet connection that supports a PVC pipe connected with a hose.
To shower, you need to refill the bag and place it in the sunlight. Once the water is warm enough, you can hang or hook the bag in the tree or stand structure for gravity-assisted flow.
I often take a shower in the afternoon for warm water.
Block the flow if you’re applying shampoo or soap. This helps you preserve water and use it for multiple showers or other purposes.
🧼 Use Biodegradable Wipes for Quick Cleans
It’s often challenging to bathe during a camping trip, especially in destinations like remote deserts or forests.
After continuous hiking and wearing the same clothes for days, you crave nothing but a shower.
So, if you lack a bathing facility at the campsite, you can use wipes to stay fresh, clean between proper washes.
I suggest you bring only biodegradable and unscented wipes that are safe for your skin and the environment. This helps you clean your face, neck, armpits, feet, and private body parts if you wish.
You can use these wipes in the morning, before bed, and after hikes.
After using wipes, make sure to throw them in the trash bags and pack out to a reasonable place, leaving no trace.
🪥 Brush Your Teeth with Minimal Water
I can’t believe many adventures fail to clean their teeth on a camping trip. You can brush your teeth with a little water in two ways.
First, you need a handy toothbrush and toothpaste, and a spray method.
I suggest you use compact, travel-friendly toothbrush and toothpaste kits. If possible, get organic or natural and biodegradable toothpaste.
Brush your teeth as usual, take a gulp of water, and swish it around in your mouth.
And spit mouthwash into the ditch or hole away from your campground and water resources. If not, spray the water-toothpaste mixture to cover a wide area.
Besides, you can use miswak to brush with just a sip of water.
You can even make one for yourself in the wild. I often take out a thin branch from bamboo or neem.
🩲 Pack Quick-Dry, Antimicrobial Underwear
You’ll need a couple of pieces of underwear, even if it’s only a day trip.
You might not want to be short of pieces during water fun or camping in the summer months. If you’re heading on a multi-day trip, you may need extras.
If it’s cold or the clothes are dry, you can wear a piece for 2 days, but not more than that.
So, I calculate pieces of underwear equal to the total number of camping days divided by two.
I recommend you bring quick-dry, odor-resistant underwear and base layers. In many cases, you need to wash your undergarments.
So they should be easy to wash and fast drying.
You can hang your clothes on the tree branches or inside the tent, depending on the weather.
🧻 Bring a Compact, Portable Toilet Kit
Many are stressed about the toilet during a camping trip in the wild.
If you’re camping in a car or an RV, it’s possible for you to bring a bucket toilet or a foldable toilet seat.
I often use a Kula Cloth for peeing. It is an antimicrobial cloth that has qualities like super absorbency and waterproofing.
Also, this helps you wipe multiple times without getting your hands wet.
Besides, you need toilet paper for pooping. I suggest you pack out toilet paper in the waterproof bags and bring a waste disposal kit for areas that don’t support cat holes.
To align with Leave No Trace principles, you need to urinate or do number two in a place at least 200 feet away from camp, trails, and freshwater.
Get a suitable place and use a trowel to dig a cat hole. Once you’re finished, cover the ditch with the removed dirt.
🧴Use Dry Shampoo or Cornstarch for Hair
The routine of shampooing and conditioning helps you feel refreshed for whole days or two.
When showers aren’t possible, dry shampoo saves your day.
If you lack water, try dry shampoo in the desert or the wild. Your hair will remain manageable for a long time. This is the best hack for women or those with longer hair.
You need to apply dry shampoo at the roots of your hair and let it sit for a minute.
Massage and brush it thoroughly so that the shampoo can absorb oils and odors. This helps not only your hair look less greasy or oily but it feels fresher than before.
You can use cornstarch as a natural hack and alternative to dry shampoo.
🖐️ Always Carry Hand Sanitizer & Soap Sheets
For handwashing, you need not carry a whole bottle of soap.
Only a few hand soap sheets are enough for multiple washes. They are handy, lightweight, and dissolveable in water, creating a lather for cleaning.
Besides, hand sanitizer is a must for campers.
Always carry alcohol-based sanitizer, which helps remove maximum germs from your skin without using water. You can place it near the hand-washing station.
It’s easy to use quickly after meals and bathroom breaks.
💅 Nail Clippers & Tweezers Are Must-Haves
Sometimes, these are just awesome for a long trip.
When playing with dirt and soil, your nails proliferate and build up with dirt heavily if not trimmed. Also, you might not want to scratch or hurt yourself with your extended nails.
In many cases, campers have a high chance of infections. So, you have to groom your nails not only for beauty but also for hygiene.
Small tools that make a big difference.
Nail clippers have all the tools useful for nurturing nails, but you can also use tweezers for ticks, splinters, or first aid.
👕 Rotate Your Clothes Efficiently
Wearing the same clothes for a long time sounds itself unhygienic.
So, you need to pack enough shirts, trousers, undergarments, and socks for a multiple-day trip. Sweat and grime from hiking and other fun camping activities can make you feel uncomfortable.
I suggest you bring lightweight, moisture-wicking clothes. Bring mix-and-match clothes and rotate to air out between uses.
They dry quickly and reduce odor buildup.
Don’t pack your clothes immediately after coming from hiking or other sweaty activities. After changing the clothes, keep dirty clothes in a separate, sealable bag.
🚺 Female Hygiene — Period Prep Tips
Though it’s challenging to continue camping if females happen to suffer from their period in the middle of the trip.
But that’s not an excuse for campers to stop their journey.
There are several ways to deal with such a situation. Many use menstrual cups, which can provide 12 hours of safety.
Besides, women can use reusable pads and tampons. Period-proof underwear is also an option. Keep used pads, tampons, or underwear in the party bag, a large Ziplock bag covered in Duct Tape.
You must add a little baking soda to neutralize the smell when packing out.
Don’t throw it anywhere but bring it to the sanitary facilities.
Final Thoughts
Though many don’t care about hygiene while camping, healthy practices not only make you feel comfortable and safe but also protect the environment.
You can plan the list of hygiene essentials based on your trip length. Also, you can develop your own camping hygiene hacks or tricks based on your creativity and knowledge.
And always follow No Leave Trace guidelines.
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