Fulan
05-26-05, 01:52 AM
Do any of you guys do it? Is it really harmful to the environment if one uses just a little bit of soap and shampoo? Any other advice on this topic?
Touring - bathing/showering in lakes or streams...
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Dutchy
05-26-05, 02:07 AM
In a lot of places it is illegal to use any soap or shampoo in a river or stream. Usually it is OK to bathe minus the luxuries.
CHEERS.
Mark
CHEERS.
Mark
Camel
05-26-05, 02:08 AM
...Is it really harmful to the environment if one uses just a little bit of soap and shampoo?...
yup.
Do any of you guys do it?...
Nope.
...Any other advice on this topic?
From Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics:
"To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater."
and-to further ellaborate, similarly rinse yourself (even if you are not using soap), prior to just going for a swim-or a cool down dunk. This will help remove your salts, as well as insect sprays, lotions etc helping to reduce contaminants.
Click here for more information (http://www.lnt.org/programs/lnt7/)
yup.
Do any of you guys do it?...
Nope.
...Any other advice on this topic?
From Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics:
"To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater."
and-to further ellaborate, similarly rinse yourself (even if you are not using soap), prior to just going for a swim-or a cool down dunk. This will help remove your salts, as well as insect sprays, lotions etc helping to reduce contaminants.
Click here for more information (http://www.lnt.org/programs/lnt7/)
MichaelW
05-26-05, 02:46 AM
If you want to try outdoor washing, check out the list of hot springs at
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/describeField?t=100006&s=1&field=11029
I managed to find one in Idaho in the middle of a wood. There was an ancient man-made pool lined with stones, with a small stream supplying cold water and a rock to balance the flow into the pool. Its a bit sulphurous but its free and fun.
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/describeField?t=100006&s=1&field=11029
I managed to find one in Idaho in the middle of a wood. There was an ancient man-made pool lined with stones, with a small stream supplying cold water and a rock to balance the flow into the pool. Its a bit sulphurous but its free and fun.
Magictofu
05-26-05, 07:52 AM
I've done it in many places... there is soap and shampoo that is supposed to be cleaner available in camping stores... I am sure it is not perfect so you might want to use it as little as you can.
MichaelS
05-26-05, 08:00 AM
The real problem with most soaps in not chemicals (although the perfumes in some womens soaps can be not so good), but that the soap is a nutrient and contributes to algae growth which in turn uses up the available oxygen in the water and helps prevent light from entering the water, therefore killing both aquatic wildlife (including the bugs the bigger fish eat) and below surface plants. In a true wilderness area, a little soap (use the "natural" available at camping stores without perfume etc) will not hurt anything. In an area with a lot of use and stress on the stream, it is better to wash away from the water.
MichaelS
MichaelS