Keeping Clean in the Tiny Prius

A few folks out there might think this post is pointless. They live and die by the wet wipe and the sponge bath. Or perhaps they’re into not worrying about smelling because they’re out in the wild, feeling like Tarzan. Well that’s cool if that’s your thing. You Tarzan, me Jane. But this Jane has really long hair that doesn’t like being greasy or smelling like campfire. So if soap and water are your thing, read on!

There are only two ways to heat large amounts of water within minutes when you’re traveling. You can use electricity or propane. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

The first water heater I ever bought was a propane heater. It’s relatively compact, and provides hot water almost instantly. You put the pump into a bucket, adjust the thermostat, and hot water comes out the other end. There’s even an on/off switch on the shower head that let’s you turn off the shower so you conserve water, which is very important for folks with limited water. The water coming out of the shower head will continue to be hot until you turn off the thermostat and the pump will keep running until disconnected from power.

Things to note: 1) You’ll have to make sure you never let the water source run dry, because that could burn the pump motor, 2) you have to connect the pump to your car or another DC power source to power it. (See my solution here). My biggest issue with this system is the size. Not that 15 inches square is huge, but when you need to maximize space, freeing up more than a square foot is huge! Another advantage to my next system is that I don’t need to carry propane in my vehicle.

The most compact system is an immersion heater. These high wattage coils work just like the small coils used to heat a cup of water, they’re just bigger and more powerful. The downside, for most folks, is that the coil wattage requirement begins at 1000 watts, so you’ll need a powerful inverter connected directly to your battery. The cost of an inverter begins at about 100 dollars (plus installation fee) for a modified sine wave inverter. Though if you intend to run any sensitive electronics, like a laptop, I recommend a pure sine wave inverter. Mine was more than 300, and installing my first inverter cost me about $200 at an RV dealership. I installed the second one myself, since the original install included adding a circuit breaker, and that lets me safely cut off the power from the battery.

To heat the water, I simply drop the coil into a hard plastic bucket, and plug it into the AC outlet on my inverter. I swish the water around a few times so it heats up evenly, and I have about 2.5 gallons of hot water in about 10 minutes. That’s with really cold river water. Lukewarm water from a faucet will heat faster. That’s enough water for washing and rinsing my hair, but if I think I might need more, I pour the hot water into my collapsible bucket, and set a second bucket of water to heat.

The collapsible bucket holds about 4 gallons and fits anywhere when it’s empty. It doesn’t tip over or let the water spill over.

My shower is powered by a battery pump, charged by USB. The battery is inside the handle, and you can keep it near you as long as you don’t actually drop it in the water. The only thing it lacked was an on/off switch on the shower head itself, so I replaced the shower head with one that had a switch, so I can conserve water.

If you’d like privacy for your shower, you can get a compact shower tent that folds up. I took one of these with me in my roof box, but only used it twice as a place to put a portable toilet at night. In the end I concluded that I really wouldn’t be using the tent, so I left it with a friend who needed it more than me. It’s not that I don’t like outdoor showers, but I was always busy in national parks during the day and that meant taking showers at night. I didn’t like the idea of being outside, with lots of warm water and attracting mosquitoes to the place where I’d be sleeping. For showers in the great outdoors, you can always use your car as a barrier between you and other people, or wear a bathing suit.

My best discovery when traveling on my last trip was that there was often a river or lake nearby. Remember not to drink the river water by accident. Clean for bathing doesn’t mean it’s safe for drinking! This gave me a fresh source of water for showers that was free. All I needed were my buckets, and my water shoes so I could wade in the river. If I didn’t have a water source, however, the best container for carrying a large amount of water was this one. It’s enough water for a couple showers, and it has wheels so you can roll it to the car after you fill it. And it fits in the foot area of my back seat. When empty, it can go in the roof box. The only downside is that 8 gallons is heavy for me to lift in and out of my car.

For something more compact, the ultimate is a collapsible water jug. Just keep in mind that a 5 gallon jug of water is pretty heavy once it’s full of water. And if you plan to use one for drinking water, keep it separate from jugs used for bathing to prevent contamination.

For small hygiene tasks like washing my hands or brushing my teeth, I use collapsible cups. I keep a small bottle of water and a collapsible cup in my back seat, with my toothbrush and toothpaste. I brush my teeth inside the car, then toss the water out or toss it into a jar with a lid, that way I’m not out with the mosquitoes at night.

The organizer in the back seat folds up when not being used, and fits basic toiletries in various pockets. It also serves as a place to put my phone and keys at night.

The other thing you’ll have to wash besides yourself is clothes, and since my car is small, I like to wash clothes often, keeping my dirty laundry to a minimum. I use the Scrubba wash bag to wash my shirts, pants, socks, with a minimal amount of water. You put a few cups of water and some detergent in it, and then seal the bag by rolling the top. There are bumps inside the bag that scrub the clothes when you put pressure on it.

Very recently I bought a foldable bucket with an agitator. The agitator uses a combination of ultrasonic vibration and agitation to wash the clothes. It’s quite small and not too powerful, so I’ll probably only use it for light tank tops, socks, underwear and face masks. The scrubba bag is probably faster, but if you’re feeling lazy….

Yes, you can have a tiny dryer in the tiny Prius! Don’t imagine that you’ll be drying your jeans in this, they’ll probably make the whole thing crash down. But if you accidentally let the tide get the best of you and your sneakers are wet, or your quick-dry towels won’t dry because it’s winter, you can imprison your wet belongings in this nylon hamper and turn on the electric heater. The dryer works by keeping all the air inside the hamper. The heater goes into a tube, and the top has a zipper, so the heat is maximized. The heater only uses 800 watts however, so the drying process isn’t quick. Try to keep its use to items that are light, well wrung to remove excess water, or just damp.

For those times when you’ve got lots of clothes, or need to wash heavy items like bedding, laundromats are the only option. Fortunately they’re ubiquitous near the national parks, and some don’t even need quarters anymore. You just swipe your credit or debit card to pay for laundry.

Aside from being a place to wash your clothes, many laundromats also offer showers. This is especially true near heavily touristed places like national parks, and the level of cleanliness can be quite good. This was a godsend on my last trip, since the showers at national park campsites were closed, and private campgrounds weren’t allowing non-guests to use their showers, even for a fee.

On those rare occasions where you need to take a shower or do laundry at 2am, there’s only one place to go, the truck stop! They’re always open and have an excellent level of cleanliness. They can be expensive though. My last shower at Love’s was around 15 dollars. Totally worth it after a few days in the desert, but I still had sticker shock!

So there you have it, all the ways to wash up while traveling in a Prius! I hope you have clean, safe travels wherever the road takes you!

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