See how easy it is to make your own washing machine to clean your clothes while camping. No need to drive to a laundromat!
We like to go on camping vacations. We will go out west and enjoy the mountains or up north to cool off. Keep your food cold longer with this DIY Thermal Cooler Cover.
These longer trips mean extended time away from home. That means we need to do our laundry while we are gone.
We stay in public campgrounds, which usually means no laundry facilities.
It’s a pain to take the time to drive into town to find a laundromat, feed a machine with quarters, or carry back wet laundry to hang.
We just wash clothes at our campsite with a portable washing machine.
Portable Washing Machine Directions at the Bottom of the Post
Campground Laundry Tips
- Wash approximately 4 shirts and/or shorts at a time.
- Separate clothes by the level of dirtiness, then wash the least dirty first.
- Change the water after 2 or 3 cycles.
- Wash undergarments and socks last.
- Use clothespins on the clothesline.
- Dispose of the water properly.
- Remove stains before you wash with a baby wipe. I was able to remove a grease stain on my shorts by rubbing it with a baby wipe for about a minute.
Kids love using this washing system. They also love this Roasting Forks Cover or Fishing Pole Cover.
When we were on our last trip, one of the camping neighbors came over to our site and offered to help. His parents wondered why he was so enthusiastic to help because he’s not so enthusiastic to help at home.
That’s kids for you!
They took off to ride bikes once it was undergarment time.
Look how bright and clean our laundry came out.
Have you ever washed clothes by hand like this?
Portable Washing Machine for Camping
Wash your clothes by hand when you are camping or homesteading.
Materials
- Two 5 gallon buckets with lids
- Two new toilet plungers
- Two different colored permanent markers
- Biodegradable laundry soap
- A clothesline or drying rack
Tools
- Drill with a 3/4" drill bit
Instructions
- Drill a hole into the middle of each bucket lid.
- Optional: Drill 3 evenly spaced holes in each plunger to create the agitators.
- Color a small section of each plunger handle a different color so that you know which one is wash and which is rinse.
How to Wash Clothes While Camping
- Add water to each bucket. We like to mix in hot water into the first bucket.
- Place a small amount of laundry into the wash bucket and place the plunger agitator in.
- Put on the lid. It helps keep the water from splashing out.
- Move the plunger up and down, moving the clothes around as you go.
- Ring out the clothes before adding them to the rinse bucket.
- Repeat the plunging process to rinse the soap out.
- Ring out the water and hang the clothes to dry.
Notes
Change water as needed. Properly dispose of water, please.
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Kim
Saturday 17th of June 2023
Salad spinners work great. I work in the theater and allot of touring shows bring them in for small batches of clothes we need right away! My son took his washer to summer camp every year and now his son will be using it.
Diana Hansen
Tuesday 20th of June 2023
Love this idea!
Anne
Saturday 24th of December 2022
Rolling pin And a wash board is a diy wringer.
Diana Hansen
Sunday 25th of December 2022
Great idea!
Rhonda
Friday 1st of July 2022
I was looking for an idea to help our camping cadets ( we had 114) to do their laundry and I think this will work. Need to get an idea how to hang them up to dry since there are no trees where we camp.
J. Shaw
Thursday 28th of July 2022
@Rhonda, you can string cord from tent peak to tent peak or from car door to tent peak to hang clothes for drying.
Diana Hansen
Tuesday 5th of July 2022
That is a challenge. Look at Karen's comment above. It might help a little.
Teresa
Saturday 12th of March 2022
Look up eco spin…. Made for clothing it’s rather expensive. I got lucky and found mine brand new at a second hand store for 5 dollars
Diana Hansen
Saturday 12th of March 2022
That is an AWESOME find!
Pam
Tuesday 11th of January 2022
I made 2 of these due to Hurricane Ida here in Louisiana last year. My mother in law has 1 and I have the other one we still do not have washing machines due to us living in campers. These have helped tremendously!
Diana Hansen
Wednesday 12th of January 2022
I am sorry that you've had to endure Ida and the hardships from it, but am grateful that you can use this trick to have clean clothes!