Keeping clean while living on the road is a bit different from what you may know from living in a conventional home. In most cases it will be less convenient due to the lack of a large bathroom with unlimited running water, but there are many strategies to keep your body clean and hygienic on the road.
Showers
Showers in your vehicle take a lot of space and fresh water, both of which are often in short supply. Large vehicles often have plenty of room and onboard water storage. In any case, water conservation is important. If you typically park in campgrounds with full hookups, then water usage isn't an issue. Many nomads opt to find other places to shower instead. Portable showers can be used either inside or outside the vehicle.
Sink/sponge baths
A sink bath is very simple, and uses much less water than a full shower. Put some water in a sink or large-ish container (big plastic dollar store bowls work great) and use it to wet and rise a washrag, scrubber, or sponge. Wash a small area, wet and wring the rag, repeat. Soap is not required for this process. If you do you soap, consider having a separate bowl for rinse water. When using single containers for baths, consider using the standard Army procedure: face, head, torso, arms and legs, armpits, groin, feet. The wash water can be used to rinse pee bottles, etc.
Reducing odor
Due to temperature variations in your vehicle, especially during the summer, you may sweat more. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids.
Body hair naturally collects oils, microbes, and smells; removing unnecessary hair can reduce smells. (Armpit and groin hair does provide lubrication for movement, so you may wish to leave some hair for comfort.) On your skin, the sebum, oils, and dead skin cells can also hold odors, so be sure to exfoliate when bathing to scrub away dead material. For exfoliation, you can use a paper towel with some salt and a little baking soda. (Baking soda can be very difficult to remove though if you don’t have lots of water!)
Hydrogen peroxide is an amazing deodorant/body wash. If it has removed lots of microbes, there might be a smell after you use it, so be sure to do a quick rinse with water. Hydrogen peroxide is effective against fungus and is very useful for women's health. Compared to cleaning with alcohol, it is better for your skin and will keep you smelling fresher longer.[1] Be careful using it around open cuts or wounds as it can damage tissues.
Wet wipes
Wet wipes (also baby wipes and flushable wipes) are relatively inexpensive and available everywhere. They are particularly useful for quick "pits and bits" touch-ups. Wipes are also useful for folks in very small spaces, like cars and minivans, since it doesn't require large, open containers of water. As a general rule, do not flush any "flushable" wipes.
Larger size wipes are not as widely available and are more expensive, but are found in many pharmacies. They may be called body wipes or bathing wipes. They may be thicker than regular wet wipes also.
Paper towels
In some regions, paper towel manufacturers do not need to list the ingredients; many towels can contain toxic materials such as binders/glues, perfumes, and other things that aren’t good for you. For washing your body, especially your sensitive areas, be sure to get towels from reputable brands that are less likely to contain these ingredients. The cheaper paper towels are more likely to leave glues and other unhealthy materials behind on your skin. This can cause a build up of (barely perceptible) sticky material on your skin, which may help dirt and microbes to stay with you, and could increase risk of infection.[2]
Dental hygiene
If brushing your teeth outside, don't spit toothpaste on the ground, especially on plants which may be damaged by it. Instead, find a sink or garbage can.
Resources
| Resource | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Personal hygiene forum | A sub-forum of VanLivingForum.com | |
| Search forums and groups | Search van life discussion groups for "keeping clean" | |
| Search related sites | Search van life sites for "keeping clean" | |
| Search NomadLife.wiki | Search other pages on this wiki for "keeping clean" |
Some content on this page was originally sourced from doku.php?id=hygiene:bathing on RVWiki.