Staying clean in camp showers

[hobbssb]

A very important question: When the campground shower floor is muddy, how do you manage to get your pants back on without getting your pants dirty? (I'm not a fan of streaking. . .)

[avanti]

B-ing wrote:
I'm so thankful that many of you use your own showers. It ensures that the stall isn't busy when I'm ready to use it.

Glad to oblige. Really glad. 😉

[BudJ]

bsinmich wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
Just step outside the shower naked and get on dry ground! Who cares! After being in the army, does anyone really care any more. If someone is that 'curious'.... shoot ... let 'em look! Believe me, after Army life, it just don't matter any more!

It gets pretty embarrassing with everyone laughing.

Just laughing is not that big a deal.

It is when they start Pointing and Laughing!

Bud

[B-ing]

I'm so thankful that many of you use your own showers. It ensures that the stall isn't busy when I'm ready to use it.

One of the first rating we look at in the Good Sam book is their rating for the washrooms.

I rarely encounter a shower that doesn't have a privacy space for changing.

I have washable shower bags that holds everything.

I wear crocs over to the washrooms and have a little pair of rubber flip flops for in the shower. Shorts or a skirt and a loose sweater are the easiest clothing. Go back to the rig to dress fully. The crocs are easy for stepping back into if your feet are still damp.

Before leaving the washroom, I wash the shower shoes off and then set them out to dry off in the sunshine. Towels are hung on hooks off the side of the van. If they don't dry completely before we leave camp, we spread them out across the beds. They'll be dry by the time we stop for lunch and packed away in our bags.

If we're dry camping, we use the shower in the B. It's not the same as a nice high pressure shower. My husband has to wipe every square inch down and clean it. This is more work than walking to the public showers.

Thanks for the idea of S hooks to add hanging space on the back of doors.

A couple of people mentioned Dr Bonners soap. I've tried that at home and don't understand the popularity.

[BudJ]

cloftus wrote:
I use an unused dog potty pad when changing in a campground shower. Easy to carry in my bag, dry to step on, and if it stays dry I can reuse it. If not, I use it to do a quick wipe of the shower stall, then discard.

Ingenious!

Tanks for posting.

Bud

[cloftus]

I use an unused dog potty pad when changing in a campground shower. Easy to carry in my bag, dry to step on, and if it stays dry I can reuse it. If not, I use it to do a quick wipe of the shower stall, then discard.

[mlts22]

I've gone a few years using shorts, underwear, towel, Crocs, and Bronner's liquid soap for the shower areas I've used. So far, so good. However, I've been lucky -- there has always been a dry place to hang up stuff.

[Naio]

drsolo wrote:

Naio wrote:
I've only had athletes foot once in my life, but it lasted for about 10 years. The itch was on my foot, but my HANDS broke out in these enormous welts that looked like something out of a science fiction horror movie. The dermatologist said it was an allergic reaction to the fungus.

I got poison ivy on the bottom of my foot. That got infected with a soil fungus. I was advised to get a sun lamp and expose the area for 10 minutes 2-3 times a day, about 12 inches from the lamp. That killed the fungus quickly. But then, like you, I developed what is called an "ID" or allergic reaction on my hands. Little blisters, red and peeling. It was awful. But then I majored in immunology and realized that my outbreaks were due to contact with fungus in the soil, so no more gardening without protective gloves followed by thorough hand washing. Immunity to the fungus is systemic, that is why the reaction showed up on the hands. I suppose if I was laying nekkid on the dirt it would show up elsewhere.

Interesting! I actually have a sun lamp. If I ever get this problem again, I might see if it works on that type of fungus :).

[sprintstream]

We used a wooden floor mat you carry your shower stuff in. Similar to one they sell at Camping World.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/portable-shower-deck/70098

[drsolo]

Naio wrote:
I've only had athletes foot once in my life, but it lasted for about 10 years. The itch was on my foot, but my HANDS broke out in these enormous welts that looked like something out of a science fiction horror movie. The dermatologist said it was an allergic reaction to the fungus.

I got poison ivy on the bottom of my foot. That got infected with a soil fungus. I was advised to get a sun lamp and expose the area for 10 minutes 2-3 times a day, about 12 inches from the lamp. That killed the fungus quickly. But then, like you, I developed what is called an "ID" or allergic reaction on my hands. Little blisters, red and peeling. It was awful. But then I majored in immunology and realized that my outbreaks were due to contact with fungus in the soil, so no more gardening without protective gloves followed by thorough hand washing. Immunity to the fungus is systemic, that is why the reaction showed up on the hands. I suppose if I was laying nekkid on the dirt it would show up elsewhere.

[Naio]

I've only had athletes foot once in my life, but it lasted for about 10 years. The itch was on my foot, but my HANDS broke out in these enormous welts that looked like something out of a science fiction horror movie. The dermatologist said it was an allergic reaction to the fungus.

I finally got rid of that, years ago, but now I carry a can of foot spray and I spray down the floor, faucet handles, etc. before I go in the shower. AND wear crocs. So far, no problems.

Even with all that, I don't feel public bathrooms are gross. Just germy ;).

[hobbssb]

Merrykalia wrote:
I have two shower mats that I take to the bath house for me and my 2 girls to use when showering. They are made out of the same stuff that you get for non-slip rugs or to keep dishes from moving around....navy blue and kinda squishy. I hook the hooks of a bungee cord to it and carry it back to our fifth wheel and set it up on it's side to drip dry (about 30 minutes).

Thanks for the idea to use the non-slip rug material for a bath mat. Since we don't have much room to stand them on their sides to dry, I fastened 3 small magnets along one edge and stick it to the outside of our Sprinter to dry. Like you said, they're dry in no time!

[ernie1]

I'm sure this subject regarding cleanliness in showers and restrooms can be debated for a very long time and I want to leave a final thought. Many of us that feel and look healthy can and do carry many forms of intestinal parasites that we don't realize we have because we may be asymptomatic. Some that can be acquired in an unsanitary condition are hook worms(bare feet touching infected surfaces), tape worms, round worms(younger children get it and is not uncommon) and ringworms.

Myself, I've personally gotten a bad case of poison oak from using the same public restroom over a period of 3 days. I feel it was from the handles and door knobs because we'd not been on any trail of any sort and mostly stayed in the rv or in town. And then there was the athletes foot that I got using a public shower. In 40 years after high school I'd never had a case of athletes foot until then so I don't feel particularly more susceptible than anyone else.

[FULLTIMEWANABE]

avanti wrote:
Just as some folks prize long, leisurely hot showers, I prize our private, clean, intimate wet bath. Campground showers give me the hebie-jeebies because they feel gross, not because I see them as particularly dangerous.

When our kids were small, my wife and I used to argue about the merits of various activities and cleanliness practices wrt the health of their developing immune systems.

I also agree with Dr Solo and we are farmers going back generations, as well as medical backgrounds and have no problem sticking our hands and arms in places, well........ you get the picture. Our kids from small babes have peanut butter tasting, roll and eat dirt or suck on stones off the land, chomp on an odd dog biscuit or similar and experience many things parents today would be horrified about, and so on to build up immune systems naturally. None of us appear to have any of the common allergies of today, apart from an odd hay fever susceptible person during harvest time.

However I agree with Avanti it's the "gross feel" of public restrooms, and unfortunately in this day and age with the world through air travel having become one, the spread of diseases through the largest organ we have our skin. If using a public restroom is an absolute must, none of us in our family ever touch handles, seats or even outside elevator switches, door entries and escalator handles. No we don't carry sanitizer with us and sometimes stink of fish, horses and other animals we pet and enjoy at times. I'd rather deal with ring worm any day over some of the illnesses we've seen folks in hospital come into spread through contamination from other human beings. OCD you think? Let's see how you feel when a close family member becomes very sick from contamination through others bad hygiene which has become prevalent in the last couple of decades plus moreso than ever when I was a child it appears. Even when our kids were growing up their friends never washed their hands before sitting to eat at our table unless we reminded them, so it begs the question what do parents teach today = monkey see, monkey do comes to mind.

[avanti]

@drsolo:
I actually agree with everything you say. My use of the term "brave" notwithstanding, I don't actually fear the sanitary conditions of public facilities, at least within broad limits of cleanliness, and I don't hesitate to use them when I have to. It is really more of an aesthetic choice. Just as some folks prize long, leisurely hot showers, I prize our private, clean, intimate wet bath. Campground showers give me the hebie-jeebies because they feel gross, not because I see them as particularly dangerous.

When our kids were small, my wife and I used to argue about the merits of various activities and cleanliness practices wrt the health of their developing immune systems.