Cleaning Up: - Yourself, Your Clothes / Kit / Doing Dishes.

[JackRabbitSlims]

Hi,

I'm just wondering what other readers thoughts are on carrying a "kitchen sink" - http://www.gearshop.co.nz/products/sea- ... k-10-litre or, "folding bucket" http://www.gearshop.co.nz/products/sea- ... bucket-10l with them whilst cycle touring / camping?

I'm still a little new to all this and I've missed my projected Cycle Tour in Europe for this year, will have to push it out until this time next year....so still planning and info gathering etc.

Are campers / tourers using something like this to wash themselves down after a big day, wash their clothes / kit, and also clean up their camping kitchen utensils?
I would consider heating up some water in the Trangia, making up a warm bucket of water give myself a decent wash down, soak and rinse my riding kit....and then use it again (not the same water obviously) to clean up the kitchen stuff
Is this over kill??
I suppose much depends on where you're camping and access to bathroom facilities etc.

I've done some high altitude trekking in India and Nepal - on arrival at our destination, i would usually order a basin of hot water. I would use this to give myself a quick wash down with a small flannel and travel soap, I'd then use the same water to hand wash some of my kit (mainly sock liners and underwear etc)
I thought something like the S2S offering would come in handy for similar jobs whilst Cycle Touring / Camping etc??

Cheers.

[Heltor Chasca]

I use the smaller of the two Ortlieb folding 'sinks'' (bowls) Aside from washing dishes and clothes in, the most difficult thing, when staying on a campsite is carrying the whole gubbins to the washing up area. Lost cutlery, Swiss Army knives etc. Collecting water from pristine mountain rivers? I guess you could wash (as in bed wash) yourself too. Shaving? Not that I partake in such wasteful activities

I'm a sink carrier.

EDIT: The Ortlieb bowls are square. There are 4 battens on the top lip. You can carry it full of water or have it on the ground without it collapsing and the water escaping. And you may have guessed they DON'T leak

[bohrsatom]

I guess it depends where you are staying. We always stay at campsites and have never felt the need to bring our own kitchen sink. Even with a new Trangia whose 3 pans can generate a fair amount of mess it's still possible to get to the dishwashing area carrying everything in one hand. And to wash we'd just go to the sanitary block. For clothes you can sometimes come across signs above sinks saying "no clothes washing" but if there's no alternative then we just do it anyway. All the better if you can close a door behind you. A universal sink plug is essential as you rarely find a sink with a plug..

Never wild camped so not sure how others cope in that situation but I imagine a fair amount of people forego a shower...

[JackRabbitSlims]

Thanks for the replies.

Yep - very happy to forgo showers for a few days. (did 10 days trekking Nepal without cleaning myself....this is where IceBreaker merino base layers shine!! -sock liners, Buff and underwear get a clean rinse every couple of days ) That next shower you take is magical though
Shaving can wait months at a time - not a concern.

I just know that from previous experience that a warm wash of the face, pits, crotch and feet make you feel "alive" once again after a hard days grind or longer.
I commute to work and putting on wet, smelly riding kit to ride home in isn't that great.....being able to rinse out kit and have it dry for the next day would be something I'd do if I had the time / gear and sunshine.

Nothing set in stone here - just asking the question.

[psmiffy]

I use the smaller of the two Ortlieb folding 'sinks'' (bowls) Aside from washing dishes and clothes in, the most difficult thing, when staying on a campsite is carrying the whole gubbins to the washing up area. Lost cutlery, Swiss Army knives etc. Collecting water from pristine mountain rivers? I guess you could wash (as in bed wash) yourself too. Shaving? Not that I partake in such wasteful activities

I'm a sink carrier.

EDIT: The Ortlieb bowls are square. There are 4 battens on the top lip. You can carry it full of water or have it on the ground without it collapsing and the water escaping. And you may have guessed they DON'T leak

Ive got one - I bought it a few years back on the basis that if it was no good I would discard it somewhere - I cannot work out why I didnt buy one before - wicked - use it every day on tour - for all of the above

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=tS&page_id=144256&v=3U

[Penfold]

You could always just use Milton baby wipes, sold in Sainsbury/Tesco etc for £2 I use them for cleaning pots on my Trianga plus plate and cup. Also good for hygiene under arms legs and sweaty bits.

I use em on my cycle camping trips never a prob even if there are washing up sinks

[MrsHJ]

We are also quite minimalist. For washing people, dishes and clothes usually get one of the small multi soap bottles frim millets etc. If there's more than one travelling we would take a separate bottle for the people washing. Thinnest teatowel available, a lightweight travel towel for the person, piece of string to use as a washing line. We usually use campsites.

If forced to camp wild in a crisis we are in the make do and don't wash much camp.

Ps when camping with the kids we discovered the luxury of washing machines and dryers every couple of campsites, the washing line may stay at home in future......

[JackRabbitSlims]

You could always just use Milton baby wipes, sold in Sainsbury/Tesco etc for £2 I use them for cleaning pots on my Trianga plus plate and cup. Also good for hygiene under arms legs and sweaty bits.

I use em on my cycle camping trips never a prob even if there are washing up sinks

I've used baby wipes extensively in the past and they are a suitable alternative - in 2008 I rode 1200kms of the TDF during the race as part of a tour group....post rides were wipe downs in the bus with baby wipes until we got to the Hotel for a proper shower etc.

I expect I'd like to carry both wipes and a water holder of some sort ( the Ortliebs look great) for a bath, clothes wash, kitchen sink all in one!

@MrsHJ - Yes, I try hard to keep things to a minimum when traveling...sometimes I fail and get home and ask myself why I ever thought of packing that!!
Tec Towel, small linen tea towel, wash up brush, multi use soap and a packable clothes line are all on the pack list

[Aushiker]

I prefer to camp wild; water is generally very limited, i.e., what is carried on the bike; washing if it happens at all makes use of my one cooking pot in which I warm up 200 to 300 mls of water. That is it.

Not at all interested in carrying a kitchen sink, net alone soap. I am out there to enjoy myself not lug the house along.

[Sweep]

Ive got one - I bought it a few years back on the basis that if it was no good I would discard it somewhere - I cannot work out why I didnt buy one before - wicked - use it every day on tour - for all of the above

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=tS&page_id=144256&v=3U

Is that pic of the ortlieb?

[psmiffy]

Sea to sea - cheap and nasty - not a robust as the ortlieb - but takes up less space (I think-Ive only seen the ortlieb in a shop) and weighs less - a lot better than the plastic bags that I used for the same purpose - easier to keep clean than I thought it would be - occasionaly suffers from collapse if I was not careful - a bit heavy when fishing water out from bridges using bungie cords - got lots of abuse but didnt manage to pierce it - was useful in an all round way

[Sweep]

I have a small cheap thing from can't remember who. Very useful, folds very small but can't be used for washing self. So will sooner or later get the ortlieb i'm sure. Lidl once did an ortlieb looking thing for around a fiver as a special, but just the once, it never reappeared, have no idea how good/durable it was.

[sabrutat]

I have a small cheap thing from can't remember who. Very useful, folds very small but can't be used for washing self. So will sooner or later get the ortlieb i'm sure. Lidl once did an ortlieb looking thing for around a fiver as a special, but just the once, it never reappeared, have no idea how good/durable it was.

I got one of those, I think, if we're talking about the same thing. I've totalled almost a year on the road with it, now, with no signs of failing. I also use it as an ice bucket for beer and/or wine in hot weather.

[Sweep]

Lidl once did an ortlieb looking thing for around a fiver as a special, but just the once, it never reappeared, have no idea how good/durable it was.

Talk of the washing devil.

Some Lidl's have it at the moment.

£3.99.

10 litres, when folded out it is square, unlike some of these things it is just big enough to stand in sk you could use it for a basic wash if free camping. Assume it isn't as tough as the ortlieb but seems pretty well made.

[hamster]

I have often taken a rubble bag: very heavy duty polythene bag which doubles as a sink or washbasin. You roll the edge of the bag like rolling up a sleeve - this gives it the necessary rigidity. I have used one like this as a kind of stand-in shower tray for washing as well as for dishes etc.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/rubble-sacks- ... f-30/88855