Hygiene and Sanitation Options for Tent Camping and Survival

One of the fundamental features of RVs that is so appealing to people is how they emulate many the conveniences of home.  On board systems provide sleeping, cooking, water, climate control, and bathroom services.   But you don't have those same built in facilities when tent camping or in a wilderness survival situation.

Campground facilities can sometimes be used.   Commercial campgrounds often have full service restrooms with flush toilets, sinks, and hot showers.  More primitive places may have only a few central water faucets and some pit toilets -- or just pit toilets, which are usually adequate (though often quite nasty!) for most tent camping needs.  However, if you choose to take advantage of boondocking in "open camping" and other primitive areas such as those offered by the BLM in many locations and by forest services in some areas, you will be dependent on what you bring with you.

Boondocking options are limited to what you can reasonably transport along with your regular camping equipment.   The most basic tools for personal hygiene and washing dishes is a water jug and a small, plastic dishpan.  If you want hot water for dishes, washing, shaving, etc, you can heat it in a pan or teapot on your campfire or camp stove.   For more convenience there are portable sinks, some with built-in water reservoirs and manual pumps that make them pretty easy to use.  In some cases you may be able to dig your own latrine for temporary toilet facilities.  A really simple toilet option that I've seen used in truck campers and very small camping trailers, is a folding toilet.  It consists of a toilet seat with legs that fold up like a camp stool.  Plastic bags are fastened underneath the seat to collect wastes for proper disposal.  It is not the ideal solution, but is far more convenient and familiar than an open latrine.   For a more home-like solution, get a "Port-a-potty".  These are made of plastic and the box-like construction includes a built-in clean water reservoir and pump and a small holding tank.  The lid is usually padded so they can be used as an ordinary seat or footrest when not in actual use as a toilet.   Some other variations, often offered as disaster toilets, are seats that attach to an ordinary plastic 5-gallon bucket.  I've seen some that fasten into the hitch receiver on the back of a tow vehicle.  No doubt these are much sturdier than the folding type if there is any question of sturdiness.   Port-a-pottys require chemicals like those used in RV holding tanks to break down wastes and control odors and must be dumped in toilets or in approved dump stations.  Dumping chemically treated wastes in some pit toilets or septic systems may be prohibited because the chemicals interfere with the normal process in the system.   Holding tank chemicals may be used in plastic bags on folding portable toilets and bucket toilets to reduce odors.  You can buy special waste collection and disposal bags called "wag bags" that  contain a  gel to control odors and reduce spillage.

Disposal of gray water usually isn't a major problem.  Many primitive campgrounds provide sumps where dishpans can be safely dumped.   These are often old perforated 55 gallon drums buried in the ground and partially filled with sand and gravel.  If the campground has any sewer plumbing at all, you may be able to dump dishpans down a sink drain or toilet (check with your camp host first).   Always follow the posted guidelines you will usually find near a common sink in a campground.  When boondocking in remote areas, you may be able to dump lightly contaminated water onto the ground, but check with the land manager prior to exercising this option.   In many places dumping of ANY waste water onto the ground is strictly prohibited.  If it is allowed, make sure you are a safe distance from any spring, stream, lake, or well (usually at least 200 feet) and dump it where it won't flow onto any camp site, trail, or road.

Toilet wastes can only be disposed of in a toilet or an approved dump station.  Even dumping Porta-a-pottys into a pit toilet may cause problems and may be prohibited.  NEVER empty your Porta-a-potty onto or into the ground!   If you happen to be tent camping in a site with full RV hookups, do not attempt to dump your Porta-a-potty into the sewer connection at the site.  These connections do not include a catch basin to prevent ground contamination.  Some portable toilets may have a connection for an RV style dump hose and those might be used successfully in a sewer connection, but take extra care to ensure the hose doesn't slip out of the sewer pipe while you are emptying your toilet.   You won't like cleaning up the mess it makes!

Portable hot water heaters add a level of comfort and convenience seldom found in tent camping until the last few years.   Until they came out, you had to heat your water in pans on your campfire or camp stove.   That worked OK for doing dishes and shaving, but was pretty inconvenient for showers or bathing.  Propane powered portable hot water heaters can be hooked up to provide home-like showers.  You'll probably need a shower enclosure, an inexpensive self-standing 360 degree shower curtain that provides enough privacy to enjoy your hot shower.

Sun showers are a very economical and ecological option.  They consist of a plastic bag, usually about 3 gallons, that is left out to be heated by the sun.  Putting it on the hood of your car is a good place for it to get full sun and be safe.  When you're ready to use it, hang it high enough to use the attached hose and shower head.  You may also want to use a shower enclosure for privacy, depending on just how remote your camp site is.

Food wastes should be incinerated or placed in tightly closed plastic bags.  That includes scraps from meal preparation and any left overs from plates at the end of the meal.  Food wastes can attract unwanted visitors from the local fauna, including large and dangerous animals such as bears as well as pests such as ants and rodents.  Another option is to dispose of food wastes in your campfire so there are no scraps left to attract pests.  I find using paper plates a good way to reduce washing dishes -- and an easy way to dispose of scraps by putting the whole mess into a roaring fire . Just make sure what you're burning will not create obnoxious fumes for your fellow campers around the fire.

Portable sinks can make life in camp more comfortable.  A simple plastic wash basin or dishpan will provide minimum functionality.   You can pick up a sink stand at a military surplus store.  It folds flat, like an old camp stool for transport and storage, but securely holds a large plastic bowl when opened. I have a portable sink I bought years ago.  Glad I did.   I haven't seen any more like it since then and the closest ones I've found on the Internet are pretty pricey.  It is molded into a water jug so it has its own reservoir built in.   It is about the size of a 5-gallon water jug. A  small hand-operated plastic pump pumps water from the reservoir through the faucet for brushing your teeth, shaving, and washing up.  A hose connected to the drain on the bottom of the sink carries away waste water to a bucket under your table.  An quick Internet search revealed a variety of portable sink options, ranging from simple manually pumped ones more or less like mine to large ones with battery operated pumps that give you near residential functionality.  They're not cheap. Even the manual, self contained version runs about $75-80.  Or you can make your own. I've seen people cut on opening in a portable portable plastic picnic table to accommodate a plastic dishpan, then add a faucet and hook it up to a campground faucet using a potable water hose.  If you want hot water, you'll need to heat it in a pan on your camp stove or campfire or break down and buy a portable hot water heater.  A water jug and a simple battery operated pump can add convenience.   Some portable camp kitchens have a sink option, making food preparation and doing dishes a lot easier.

Wet wipes are convenient for quick touch ups between showers.  Sometimes you can buy generic wet wipes or baby wipes at dollar stores, so they don't have to be expensive.   Make sure you dispose of them properly when you've finished using them.  They don't break down well in Porta-Pottys and RV sewer systems.

Cat baths are a good way to clean up when tent camping.  All you need is a small pan or pool of water and a sponge or rag and a towel -- or some wet wipes.  Cat baths won't be very effective in handling large amounts of dirt and grime but can take care of dirt normally accumulated in routine daily activities.

Hand sanitizer is a quick and easy way to make sure your hands aren't contaminated with dangerous germs when eating or preparing food.  You can usually find several different sized containers at your local dollar store, making it cheap and easy to provide individual bottles for each person.

Survival hygiene.  If you find yourself in survival mode, you'll probably have little or no hygiene supplies with you.   Wash up in a stream or lake if you get the chance.  Fine sand or silt might help remove grease or heavy grime.  Lacking sufficient water for any kind of clean up, air or smoke showers will help freshen your body and your clothes.  Both sunlight and smoke can kill offensive and unhealthy bacteria.  To take an air shower remove as much clothing as modesty permits and expose your body to fresh air and sunlight.  Take care not go get sunburned!  For a smoke shower, add punky wood, sage brush, or green leaves or branches to your fire, then let the smoke flow over your body.  The smoke will help kill bacteria that causes odors and disease and burning sage brush or pine boughs will add a pleasant fragrance that can further disquise body odors. You can chew pine or juniper needles to help clean your mouth.  Doesn't taste very good (kind of bitter), but it does kill bacteria and clean your teeth.  Don't swallow.   If you need leaves for toilet paper, be sure to test them on your arm about an hour before using them to avoid some VERY unpleasant itches and rashes in sensitive places!  Crush or fold the leaves and rub some of the juice on bare skin.   If there are no problems within an hour, they should be safe to use.  Far better to deal with skin irritations on your arm where you can treat them than on more sensitive and remote body parts.  You can add ashes from your campfire to greasy pans to create a rudimentary sort of soap to help clean them.  Here is  link for making homemade soap from ashes and animal fat.  Here is a Youtube video that shows how.  Simply using ashes to scrub greasy pans is a kind of short cut and may be useful for quick cleanups in a survival situation.

Clean up!