showering in the bush

After a lot of thought about going in the bush and using precious water to cleanse oneself I came up with the idea of using a pressurised garden sprayer. it worked a treat and didn't use too much water. You can get about 3 'showers' using about 4 litres of water. It's even handy when you run out of toilet paper !! If you leave it in the sun al day you can have a warm shower in the evening. In the morning spray the face and it's so refreshing. The wand gets in all the nooks and crannys. Believe me, it's great. Try it next time you're out bush or travelling.
skookumchuck

Well done great idea space and water saver how about it as a light makeshift fire extinuisher say if camp fire spreads ?might help?.Cheers Dave

Heat exchanger and flojet in the cruiser and a Coleman hot water on demand for a more serious type camp.....Family loves it

TM

Me

A Quick trip into town to the Caravan Park pay my $3 have a shower as long as I like and then a go reason to head for the pub for a good meal.

Gday

I have one of those 12 volt set ups you get from the camping shop, all you need is half a bucket of warm water and something clean to stand on, switch it on and wet yourself, lather up the body and hair and then use the rest to get the soap off, easy as and only uses about 4 litres of water.

A mate bought it for me? think he might have been trying to tell me something

cheers

stayyerAU

Hi all,
Pressure spray is a great idea, however I'm with StayyerAU, the 12V pump and nozzle, a bucket of water warmed on the campfire. We stand in a large meat container so you can recycle the water until it goes cold.
Detracki's idea is tops if you prospect where over the next hill is another town, where you can't fart or someone will hear you, however not at all economical in the West driving 150km's plus for a $3.00 shower.
For years we used the 20 litre solar showers, 4 showers out of one bag, the downside was having to shower before the sun went down coz they got cold real quickly in the Winter.

Cheers
Peter

yeah all those ideas are great but they all use too much water and if you're away from anywhere and water needs to be rationed this is ideal. i mean 4 litres for about 4 showers not just one ! water can be precious out in the sticks and i don't want to be running into the nearest town ever three or four days. plus you can save on loo paper and have a clean rear !!

G'day Gents,
I sometimes use a green canvas bucket which I hoist over the bough of a tree, turn the swivel 'rose' on the bottom and shower with luke warm water just long enough to soap up. Then another sluice of water to wash away the suds and hey presto! I'm clean enough for my dog to approach me. For a quick fix I'll fill a bucket with water from either my jerries or from the nearest dam if one is close by and perform a 'top and tail'. Not much water wasted either way.

MikeW

Hi folks,
Going back a few years operating windmills were many, most of the water wasn't potable but was suitable for a good tub. In 1995 there were 10 mills operating within a 20 km radius of our detecting area. 2007 the tally was zero. The sheep have either been moved or the stations have downgraded and rely on royalties the mining companies pay for water rights.
You can say the fauna is going back to the bush, back to before European settlement, they can no longer rely on a drink from the nearest mill trough.
We prospectors need to carry in our water requirements unless we can access water at a nearby mining camp.

Peter

Good idea skookumchuck, especially the solar heated water.

If water is that scarce, such as out West, then recycling waste water could extend an expedition well beyond the usual bounds. I like the way this guy uses a bent sheet reflector to concentrate the radiation and optimise efficiencies
http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/home-made-portable-solar-water-distiller/

All wastes usually destined for the sump can be reused, urine, dishwashing (that is if the missus is with you ) shower water etc., all drinkable after processing so long as you keep the system clean, and you can have a decent shower without worries.

I guess you guys are all up with this, but for those who run out of water before tucker, solar distillation is worth a look see.

Cheers
Grey.

on the garden sprayer. After using a gas operated blue-box thing that turned the gas off every time the shower nozzle (which leaked even when it was off) was, then freezing to death while showering and waiting for the contraption to be started again, we tried the black solar bag. This was a good idea until, one after the other, the carry/hangup handle would inevitably tear off and then became useless. These bags (4) were Aussie made items which barely lasted a few days.
On a trip about 4hrs away from home, we had to come back unexpectedly, and while here, I picked up a new sprayer and tossed it into the truck, after hubby cut the wand down a few inches. At first, I used the solar bag to heat up the water during the day, until the days got shorter and colder, then we boiled the kettle and, with approx 1ltr of hot water and 4ltrs cold, three of us--including 2 fems--had the best camp showers we had ever had. The two fems could wash their hair every day and come out totally rinsed off and refreshed, an impossibility with the other two systems; which also used up at least 20ltrs water at a time. At the end of each session we still had water in the bottle, and the pop-up shower tent was like a sauna for the 2nd and 3rd shower-ees.
The garden sprayer can also be used as a dish-rinser/washer, wind-screen, dog and foot washer, as needed. This is one of the most important things we take, and I, personally, would never go camping without it!

Sheila.

PS- first time, too hot water caused a leak to spring out of the on/off switch which was repaired by winding white teflon tape around thread and re-attaching, no leaks from then on.
Always spray feet first, as the first squirt is very cold!

What a great idea using a garden sprayer. 3 of us went up the Murray River for a relax over easter and due to water being plentiful used 2 solar bags laid in the sun all day and then at night used a small shower set up that runs on 4 C cells I got from Big W. 3 showers and would not use any more than 1 solar bag for the 3 of us. This was probably using more water than necessary as well. This included the wife washing her hair. Down side was the water from the Murray (thanks to carp) is quite muddy ---but a warm shower no matter how dirty the water is always great at the end of the day. This set up will stay in the camper for future trips and the solar bags were on special at Rays outdoors so bargain.

Hi gang
some good idears there the garden sprayer dose sound good i think i will have to try that one,
at the moment i use a watering can hanging from a tree and a bit of string you pull down on to tip the can

I just go home when I can't stand my own stink...usually about the same time your undies start to fracture and sock removal involves the use of a crow bar