laundry on the playa?

[Eric]

We do the "fresh clothes in a bag" thing, but we don't put them on until after we've arrived in Reno & showered. There is something lovely about your body being as clean as the clothes. Pro tip: bring at least two sets of clean clothes (or at least shirts/ underwear/ socks) for Reno - one to wear the night you arrive, one to wear for the drive home. Unless, of course, you plan on doing laundry while you're there.

[pretty_monster]

I also want to point out that body odor is pretty much from bacteria that live off your sweat. Since sweat evaporates so fast out there it is not much of an issue with even a minimum amount of personal hygiene (baby wipe baths for example).

and some deodorant, PLEASE. pleeeeeease. as has been said, most people end up favoring a few clothing items and it can get rank out there come thurdsay/friday.

if something gets super grungy, i find that using camping soap & water to rinse it out and then hanging it to dry is sufficient. or putting it on wet. that's nice during the day

except underwear and socks. i bring 2 clean pair of each for every day, plus some more. playa foot and stank crotch are not your friends.

[Simon of the Playa]

I have not used deodorant since 8th grade.

My natural man stink is an aphrodisiac.

Im like kevin kline in a fish called wanda.

Funk baby. Funk.

[louisacrystal]

Underwear is just something that someone made up to get people to buy more! so I can't help with that one.
We did however have to wash clothes for my husband one year, because we forgot a bin at home. I always keep a small amount of laundry detergent in the trailer. So it was a lifesaver! Just do the old bucket and clothesline trick. But remember that one gallon = one less shower.

[mudpuppy000]

We do the "fresh clothes in a bag" thing, but we don't put them on until after we've arrived in Reno & showered. There is something lovely about your body being as clean as the clothes. Pro tip: bring at least two sets of clean clothes (or at least shirts/ underwear/ socks) for Reno - one to wear the night you arrive, one to wear for the drive home. Unless, of course, you plan on doing laundry while you're there.

Might want to take a few showers. One year I stopped at a truck stop, took a long-ass shower then as I was drying myself on their fluffy white towels I noticed I was turning them playa dust brown. Oops.

[Eric]

We do the "fresh clothes in a bag" thing, but we don't put them on until after we've arrived in Reno & showered. There is something lovely about your body being as clean as the clothes. Pro tip: bring at least two sets of clean clothes (or at least shirts/ underwear/ socks) for Reno - one to wear the night you arrive, one to wear for the drive home. Unless, of course, you plan on doing laundry while you're there.

Might want to take a few showers. One year I stopped at a truck stop, took a long-ass shower then as I was drying myself on their fluffy white towels I noticed I was turning them playa dust brown. Oops.

Throw a fresh loofah in your Reno (or "way home") supply kit. Do your first wash with the loofah, which will really get shit off your skin. Do a second wash with the washcloth, which will pick up more dust. Repeat as necessary.

[Captain Goddammit]

[gaminwench]

Theatre trick:

Spritz vodka/water (20/80) on smelly areas of your garments.

[Rice]

Greetings, all.

I was just wondering how the long-term folks (DPW, ESD, etc.) handle laundry issues. If one is only there for a week, you can bring a week's worth of clothes with you and haul the dirty stuff out upon departure, but my regional is looking at sending me on early entry. So, can clothing be cleaned on the playa (or bussed into a laundromat in Gerlach)? For drying, would an indoor clothesline and a window fan work almost as well as a swamp cooler for an RV? Or is the whole idea of cleaning clothes on the playa just silly? (as in, just bring more clean clothes and a bigger dirty-laundry sack)

Hi apavlin,

I am one of those peeps who spends weeks on the playa (Gate): pre, during and post-event. When a group of us have a bunch of dirty clothes, someone leaves BM and goes to the nearest laundromat to wash them. While the machines do their thing it is a good opportunity to take a shower and then purchase some supplies (more beer, smokes, snacks, repair parts, etc). I personally have at least a week of daytime/nighttime/cold clothing, but over a 3 week period tend to wash clothes two or three times. - It is nice to wear something truly clean for the entire multi-day trip home...

For yourself, Just bring enough stuff for the time you are there. As others have said you might want two sets of socks/underwear for each day, and one complete set of clean clothes (in a dust proof bag) for heading home...

[Captain Goddammit]

Theme camp idea: Juan's Chinese Laundry...

[FIGJAM]

No tickee, no lime disease!!!

[pink]

Once I discovered sarongs I've used less underwear (panties tend to be my other costume of choice). Then some leggings & shirts, socks, jacket for night if it's cold. It hasn't been really cold at night there in a long time, although after the rain I did have to put on a shirt. I tend to wear sandals and wash and oil my feet at night (plus being in a camp that does foot washing helps keep them clean during the day). YMMV as far as playa foot goes. I'm on playa for 2 weeks and come home with lots of stuff I've never worn.

[The CO]

Socks!!!!

My advice: buy enough socks brand new to last you the entire time you will be there. Nothing like fresh socks every day.

I f****d up my own advice last year and had to was socks on playa. It can be done, but the effort to payoff ratio is bad.

[The Hustler]

I also want to point out that body odor is pretty much from bacteria that live off your sweat. Since sweat evaporates so fast out there it is not much of an issue with even a minimum amount of personal hygiene (baby wipe baths for example).

And the dust comes out of clothing pretty fast. A few foot stomps and the loose stuff is gone. Most of it can be beaten from clothes while wearing, or shaken out.

I worse dusty clothes back to RNO via Burner Express and while I was dustier than the non-burners, I wasn't leaving clouds or footprints.

It's funny, every year I think I didn't get that dusty, until I'm in a hotel lobby or airport or something.

[Elorrum]

Leaving anything out in the open, or even just in a tent with some mesh, invites lots and lots of dust all over it. I put things I'm going to wear again, or later, in a bin or garbage bag to keep them from accumulating lots of dust. Compartmentalizing your clothes into smaller packages prevents you having to open everything to dust to find the one thing you want. Once things are out of the clean bag, they go to the dusty might use again bag, or the forget it they are finished dirty bag. It's a half measure at best, (accepting the dust is the best approach) but fooling myself is a treat I try to indulge in. I bag my going home clothes, and shoes, and leave them in the car until it's time to hit the road. Those are my "yes my car is filthy and I was at burning man, but don't pull me over" clothes; khakis or jeans, polo shirt and non descript baseball hat, similar to what I wear on the trip in.

[DoctorIknow]

For camp set-up, maintenance, breakdown (combined times must equal at least 30 hours) I wear one of those expensive REI type long sleeved SPF 40 very lightweight shirts, and every year I wash it at least once. It's not that it smells bad, it's that it just gets stiff with the combo of sweat and playa.

That's all I wash.

And, yeah, it can't be said enough: SOCKS
You do not want playa foot, which you won't notice until it is too late. Prevention starts with always clean socks. Yeah, some can go barefoot with not one tiny crack/fissure on their feet, as that is where playa foot starts...but is that you?

Get huge packs of cheap new as thick as possible socks and change them before you think you need to. (I bring 30 pairs) One can always use the dirty ones as wicks in evap ponds (which I never would recommend although they are very popular for those who haven't discovered it's much more sane to haul out the water you bring in.)

[louisacrystal]

Socks!!!!

My advice: buy enough socks brand new to last you the entire time you will be there. Nothing like fresh socks every day.

I agree with the new sox advice. It also helps prevent blistering. Nothing worse than a few big blisters to show up to your Burn.

[Wigwam]

Yes! Let's hear it for socks! Last year, made the same mistake. Just takes once. I had always been pretty vigilant about the whole socks thing and I got cocky--something I *never* do.

Now I'm torn, laundry or no laundry. It sort of smells like being a domesticated burner. On the other hand, that favorite pair of boxer shorts...hmmm.

[Simon of the Playa]

ask yourself, "What Would Mad Max Do".....and there is your answer.




just burn the fucking things when you're done with them and stop worrying about such stupid shit.

[Wigwam]

Hahahaha. That's funny! Burn my worn boxer shorts? Surely that violates some clean air standards or BLM mandate on pollution or toxic waste disposal. At the very least it would trash the last remnants of my decency and self respect.


Oh wait...never mind.

[Jackass]

You should be able to find laundry facilities at the Blue Pit. Please, feel free...you won't need any quarters, it's a gifting society!!

[robbidobbs]

My rule of thumb is to bring twice as many socks as the number of days you'll be out there. Now you have plenty, and you can donate the remaining clean socks to DPW at the way out.

[Roy333]

Just go nude. No worries, no hassle. I saved a lot on laundry bills that way.

[global village idiot]

I've had a couple tricks for what to do with dirty clothes in the field. Bear in mind this is in a military context so your mileage may vary.

It's been my experience that using the "field laundry" was NEVER a good idea - it always took MUCH longer than it was forecast, and you had no guarantee of getting your own clothes back. Occasionally while I was in Iraq, water would be rationed and the laundry service there - while normally very reliable - would be temporarily shut down. These are obviously not options at BRC so that brings us to what I did when I couldn't trust the field laundry to do my work.

If I just had to do laundry, I'd make use of two options, depending on the environment:
1) If my clothes were muddy or soiled and/or the conditions were temperate/humid
2) If my clothes were dusty and stinky but not muddy/soiled and the conditions were hot/dry

In the case of 1), I made a "washing machine" out of a G.I. "wet weather bag" which is a nylon bag with a vulcanized lining. I'd be able to wash one complete uniform (jacket, trousers, socks, drawers, t-shirt). It worked like this:
o Knock/brush major mud cakes and dirt spots off of uniform (brush with stiff bristles works great)
o Turn jacket/trousers inside out (they had metal bits which might damage the bag)
o Put all clothes into bag
o Pour 1qt/1litre water into bag, along with a heaping tablespoon of soap powder
o Squeeze most of air out of bag, tie into "gooseneck"
o Agitate for five minutes ("play the bag like it's an accordion")
o Pour water out, wring clothing, replace with 1qt/litre of rinse water and repeat
o Hang to dry, exercise the patience of Job.

In the case of 2), the process is similar but no need to rinse; instead, shake/beat the dust off, then use baking soda and let the clothing soak for a while after agitation.

Baking soda in the field is great. You can use it for
o Laundry
o Tooth powder in place of toothpaste
o Cleaning camelbaks/canteens/mess kits
o Antacid (1/2 tsp in 8oz water)
o Refreshing wash-up in place of soap if you are just stinky/dusty and not dirty
o Add to shaving water - keeps water fresh if you're "using the same water 4 times" (see below)

Using Water 4 times
If you're really REALLY stingy with water (and you should be in the desert) you can make one quart of water pull "quadruple duty" with a reasonably sized basin/mess kit pot:
1) Brush Teeth (use very little)
2) Boil for coffee
3) Shave and wash once the boiled water cools down (w/baking soda added)
4) Wash socks/drawers in remainder (w/baking soda added)
It takes a bit of a knack but it's a good skill to learn when water's tight.

gvi

[edited to add] Now that I read about the high alkalinity of the site, it might be worth thinking of something else to use in place of baking soda to neutralize the dust for hygiene. Saw a thread elsewhere here that recommended vinegar, though I'd still probably use baking soda for teeth if I wanted to leave the tube of toothpaste at home.

[Captain Goddammit]

Just go nude. No worries, no hassle. I saved a lot on laundry bills that way.

I bet you didn't in '15!!

[Ratty]

I would have gladly traded some socks for undies this year. (How does this happen?) My notebook reads, 'bring more undies and more short light weight socks for hot weather'. All my socks are bright colors. Evidently they were also knee highs. I was wearing dirty shorts by the end of 2 weeks. I'll also bring more light weight tops for hot weather. I really wanted to cut it close and not bring too much clothes. Oh well. Next year I'll be back to over preparation camp level. I never wore a long sleeved shirt and only one pair of long pants. There's no predicting the weather.

[DoctorIknow]

Socks: THREE pairs times the number of days. Very cheap in bulk. By far the easiest way to attempt to prevent playafoot.

I have one of those expensive SPF long sleeve shirts that is the greatest for camp work. It's still in good shape after 6 burns.

I usually wash it with Bonners around Wednesday as it stands up by itself by then and the collar is totally grubby. It dries in 30 minutes.

[some seeing eye]

Any first hand reports of laundromats during and post-burn in Gerlach, Wadsworth-Fernley and Reno?

Theoretically one could drive out to Gerlach, but it's probably busy with LEO. Laundering in Reno would be useful for onward travelers. How crowded?

Given that clothes are light, maybe the PnP camps need laundry service by air

(all the suggestions above are good, including the costume camps, which will help you stylin' your look and love to collect good costumes when you are outbound)

[BBadger]

Those must be the low-end PnPers. It's much easier just to leave your dusty clothing with the help and just buy something new next time. Hell, the nicer PnP camps probably provide the costumes anyway. Who even has time to pick them out?

[some seeing eye]

The costume camps have nothing to do with PnP, I hope no one is proposing that!