Washing up and washing in camp – away from water

Many stomach bugs are passed on by the so-called faecal-oral route: tiny amounts of germs from the gut get into another person's mouth via hands, dishes or food. Clean dishes and clean hands interrupt exactly this route. In groups that cook and eat closely together, such infections spread particularly fast.

Soap loosens grease and dirt so that water can rinse them away. In the soil, small scattered amounts of soap and washing water are broken down by microorganisms. If soap goes straight into a lake or stream, however, it acts on the creatures living there – even biodegradable soap, because it needs time and soil to break down. That is why Leave No Trace gives a distance of about 60 metres from water for washing up and pouring away.

Food scraps are a problem of their own. They do not rot in the woods as quickly as people think; they smell and attract animals – from mice to foxes to larger animals, depending on the area. Animals that get used to campsites as a source of food often become a problem for people and for themselves. So scraps are strained out and carried away.

Washing up starts with eating: eat pots and plates clean or scrape them out with a spoon. Whatever is left goes into the rubbish bag. The fewer scraps stuck to the dishes, the less water and soap you need. A splash of hot water right after cooking often loosens burnt-on food even without soap.

Wash with warm water and little or no soap, from the cleanest to the dirtiest item: first mugs, then plates, the cooking pot last. Then rinse with clean water. For rinsing use water that is safe to drink or has been treated – otherwise you put the germs from the stream straight back onto the dishes. Let the dishes air-dry instead of wrapping them in a damp cloth where germs thrive.

Pour the used washing water through a fine strainer or a piece of cloth. The scraps go into the rubbish, and the water is scattered widely, well away from water and camp – not in one spot but in a broad swing. Where local rules require waste water to be carried out, or where there is a dedicated washing area, those rules come first.

Washing hands before preparing food and after every toilet visit is the single most effective measure against stomach bugs in camp. Take your time: soap, rub thoroughly – including between the fingers and under the nails – then rinse. Where water is scarce, hand sanitiser helps in addition. It works less well, however, when hands are visibly dirty or greasy; then clean them with water first.

Water from a stream or lake is not automatically clean, even if it looks clear. For drinking, cooking and rinsing it is treated, for example by boiling. How exactly is described in the entries on water treatment. If someone gets severe diarrhoea with signs of dehydration, or seems very weak or confused, that is serious – call the local emergency number (112 in the EU).

Fix the washing area when setting up camp: well away from water, apart from the tents, near the kitchen. A large pot serves as a washing bowl, and a collapsible water container saves many trips to the bank. A small strainer or a piece of cloth and a rubbish bag belong right beside it.

For groups, a hand-washing station at the toilet and at the kitchen is worthwhile. It can be a hung-up container with a tap or a bottle with a small hole in the cap, plus soap and a catch basin. If washing hands is so easy that you cannot forget it, it actually gets done.

You wash yourself with water from the container too, away from the bank. Where swimming is allowed, wash off sunscreen and insect repellent first so they do not get into the water. How hygiene works without running water at home, for example during a water outage, is explained in a separate entry.

A common mistake is thinking: “The soap is biodegradable, so I can use plenty and wash up in the lake.” Biodegradable only means that microorganisms can break the soap down over time – in the soil. In the water it can still do harm before that. So little soap and a large distance remain the rule.

The Leave No Trace principle “dispose of waste properly” sums all this up: little soap, a large distance from water, strain and scatter dishwater, carry out scraps. It takes a little more effort than washing at the bank – but waters stay clean, animals stay away and the group stays healthy.