Since writing my How to Wild Camp in a Van series of blogs I’ve been asked to write something to explain how to wash and keep clean in a van. So here goes…
Just do exactly what you would do if your shower/bath suddenly broke at home. It might not seem it at first, but it’s kind of that simple.
For some reason people are intimidated by the idea of not having regular showers, but the truth is we are the first generation of people in the history of mankind who shower every day. Your parents didn’t grow up with a hot shower every morning, and your grandparents certainly didn’t. It never did them any harm, and it won’t hurt you either.
I think that the shower thing is the deal-breaker that puts off a lot of potential van owners, but really if you can’t have a shower in your van then you can still find ways to get washed. I didn’t fit a shower in my van, and didn’t often miss it, in fact lots of people have told me that their van shower is more often a storage cupboard due to the amount of water it uses and the impracticalities which that can bring.
The simplest solution would be to just use a campsite for the night and take advantage of the facilities there. However, as the question seemed to be prompted by the posts I wrote regarding Wild Camping, I’ll answer as though that is the scenario.
The options are…
Just don’t wash
Honestly, I just don’t think you need to wash every day. Depending on what I’ve been doing that day, and factors like how hot it’s been, will determine how much I’ve sweat, and if I really need to wash or not. If I’m on my own in the hills for a few days I probably wont bother, and I’ll probably just re-wear that smelly top again tomorrow because I can’t be bothered putting on a clean one just make it sweaty as well!
And when I do wash I don’t always use soap or deodorant. This is all entirely personal opinion, but I just don’t like the idea of covering myself in chemicals if I can help it. My body is supposed to sweat, so I just let it do its thing.
Have a sink wash
After a while though, you do need to wash. The sink wash would be my go to option if I woke up in a house and found the shower wasn’t working. I’d run some hot water (or heat some in a kettle on the hob) and then dip the corner of my towel in it, scrub myself with it, apply soap, splash some water on, scrub again, and dry off. In a van you need to take some care to not get the floor too wet, but having an absorbent rug you can dry out alleviates this issue somewhat.
Find a real shower
Admittedly though the sink wash only cuts the mustard for a while. I know when it’s time to find an actual shower when my mood dips and I get irritable. It’s quite interesting how much a hot shower, or lack of, can affect you psychologically. There’s no hard and fast rule, but I’ve learned to feel it coming and act before I get too grumpy.
Showers are easier to find than you might at first think. They can be found in motorway service stations, gyms, swimming pools, hotel spars, climbing walls, campsites, hostels, literally all over the place! You just need to ask around and you’ll find something.
Most of the time you have to pay a couple of quid, but that’s fine with me.
I used to be really hardcore and only get free showers wherever I was, but then I got caught trying to sneak a free shower on a campsite on Skye without permission, which was incredibly embarrassing. It’s pretty uncomfortable having an argument whilst being acutely aware that you are simultaneously in the wrong, and in the nude! And let’s be honest, for the sake of a couple of quid, there’s really no need. I ended up finishing that particular quest for a shower in a local school. The islands of Scotland really are their own little world, I somehow can’t imagine schools in the rest of the UK opening their doors to strangers to use their changing room facilities!
Of course there are places where free showers can be had, but you’ll just have to sniff them out for yourselves! I’ve found word of mouth is a much better way to share such hallowed knowledge than the internet.
And lastly… The gold standard...
Jump in a Lake/River/Stream
This is the best and most liberating of all! Find a body of clean water and submerge yourself to cleanse both the body and the soul. It makes me feel like Robinson Crusoe or one of the Lost Boys, and it feels like in this world there’s something really important about being a big kid now and then!
It’s more appealing in the long hot days of a heatwave, when the cold embrace of a sparkling lake can be a welcome respite from the weather itself and not only a practical way of maintaining an acceptably low body odour. But it’s more exhilarating in the snowmelt when you have to build up the courage to plunge in and brace against the shock of icy needles.
There are a few important points to remember though. One of these is safety; it’s very easy to get caught out by currents in moving water, or by cold water shock, act with real caution, keep it shallow until you're used to it, and always make sure that there are easy ways out of the water before you get in. I'm not qualified to dish out safety information so I wont! Do yourself a favour and do some research. It should also be remembered that not everyone is as excited about your long overdue wash as you are. If there are other people about, they probably don’t want to watch you scrubbing your pits-n-bits so keep it discreet. And most importantly of all, if you are cleaning yourself in nature, keep nature clean as well; no litter, no damage, and no harmful chemicals from soaps, shower-gels, and shampoos in the water.
So there you have it, my how-to guide for washing when staying in a van. As always, if there’s anything you feel I’ve missed or that you would like more light shedding on, just ask me the question and I’ll do my best to answer
