How to shower at Burning Man with the wind???

[Wildfire)'(]

Went to Burning Man last year for the first time and loved it. We camped in tents and made our own shower. The tents were OK but the shower situation was a disaster. Between the wind and the weight of the water bags and the disposal of the water it just made the expereince a pain in the ass. Just curious if anyone has any ideas for a better showering experience other than renting an $3500.00 RV? Thank you!

[theCryptofishist]

Spray bottle. People use (new) pesticide applicators--the ones with the pump and hose.
Baby wipes. Maybe not as clean, but very little waste and not a whole lot of shivering in the wind.

[Elorrum]

It varies, I guess. Pick a good time of the day, the reverse of wanting to fly a kite. You could build or utilize a windbreak, tall vehicle, outside a tent, etc. I wash my hair over a basin with less than two liters of water, and use adult disposable washcloths before I go to bed. I end up with less than 5 gallons of gray water, from that, and kitchen etc. which I pack out in a 5 gallon container.

[unjonharley]

The Human Carcass is a public shower of sorts..

[Captain Goddammit]

Don't blow $3500 to rent an RV for the week. Buy a $1500 camper or trailer and be totally set up!

[Mojojita]

Google "Zodi shower". It is a small inexpensive battery operated pump with a shower hose - hust heat some water (could use a solar bag without having to ever lift it), dump it in a bucket and voila.

[tamarakay]

Well, the way we showered together in the wind involved a lot of "oh my god" and jumping up and down with a few "hurry hurry hurry" thrown in. So we waited to use the shower until it was as still as possible. In between times, the pump sprayer and wash cloths as mentioned above.

[geospyder]

Yep -pump sprayer and Fresh Bath wipes ...and as unjohnharley mentioned you can also do the Human Carcass Wash. I'd been meaning to do it for a few years now. Last year I finally worked up the nerve and did it. I'll definitely do it again this year.

[NikkiG]

I bathed in my tent with an Ice cream bucket filled with water, a washcloth, a bar of soap, Baby wipes, alcohol wipes and a travel towel. You might want to lay out an opened up trash bag on your floor. I was fortunate to have a tent that I could stand up in and a small chair to sit down on too. After washing, I used my dirty wash cloth to dry up the wet patches on the floor and any playa dust that mightve gotten in, then I trashed it. I had a new washcloth for every bath.

[Thecatman]

I've used a concrete mixing tray to stand in. About 5in x 15in x 24in. You can find them at the normal box stores. I'll stand in it and pour a one gallon bottle of water over my head and then wipe myself down with a washcloth. I'll use about a half gallon of water each time. It's not a shower but it gets most of the grit and grime and sweat off. I'll leave it in the sun throughout the next day and most if not all the water will evaporate. As far as the weather/wind goes, one has to use their own judgment. Even without wind it can be chilly as the water evaporates off my skin at 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. And if it windy, it might be useless to take an outside shower, especially if dust is blowing. I posted a picture showing what the tray looks like.

[Eric]

I gave up on showering out there years ago - with all the dust you're just going to be dirty a few minutes after you finish anyway. I just use baby-wipes on face & hands, pits & bits in the morning & at night, and wait for my shower until we hit Reno after the event. A real hotel shower after a week is like heaven, even if you wreck 2 or 3 washclothes trying to get all the grime off.

[Sham]

I like a shower every day. We have a camping shower stall with a large evap pond. I can wash down with about a gallon of water. I take it mid afternoon when the water is warm and use a plastic salad bowl for washing.

[delle]

Unencumbered, airy but enclosed space

Spritzer and 2'x4' wipes (Patsh knows how to find these wipes... they're Amazing!!!)

Add a soft blanket and some pillows and a Willing Partner, and this can become your favorite time of the day!!!

For hairwashing, a large tupperware bowl is helpful.


Mr.Delle and I had some of the best washing-up times of our entire married life in that space.

[Thecatman]

with all the dust you're just going to be dirty a few minutes after you finish

This is true. It doesn't have to be windy and there is still tons of dust in the air.

[FlyingMonkey]

I kind of felt out of place until I got a good layer of dust on. You may as well embrace what you can't prevent. Just get un=stinky, take care of your skin, & then expect to get dusty moments after getting "clean". The big thing is if the dust adversely affects your skin try to prevent/manage the damage. I found that taking care of my feet, hands, & lips went a long way. Showers were a luxury that I indulged in every couple of days. Maybe one of these days I will work up the courage to try the carcass wash. It actually sounds pretty fun.

[Captain Goddammit]

I really gotta hand it to you folks who camp at Burning Man. I wouldn't even go if I had to fly in.

[unjonharley]

I really gotta hand it to you folks who camp at Burning Man. I wouldn't even go if I had to fly in.

your such a furry little kitty

[Lowz]

[trilobyte]

Put your heads together and be resourceful, there are countless showering solutions out there that cost less than renting an RV. You could build your a shower stall for not a whole lot of money, time, or effort.

[dragonpilot]

Shower? It's Burning Man fer crissakes. You can take a shower any other time of the year...try going without one for a week....you'll rarely have such an opportunity any other time...and no one will know the difference 'cause we all tend to smell the same on the playa anyway...except for those who shower everyday. Who wants to be one of those people?

[Captain Goddammit]

we all tend to smell the same on the playa anyway...except for those who shower everyday. Who wants to be one of those people?

Me! Me! You're right it's Burning Man! Not a Rainbow Gathering.

[BBadger]

The difference is that the Rainbow Gathering people don't shower in Defaultia either. It's not just one week of funk.

[dragonpilot]

we all tend to smell the same on the playa anyway...except for those who shower everyday. Who wants to be one of those people?

Me! Me! You're right it's Burning Man! Not a Rainbow Gathering.

Opps...I think my goatee gave me away.

[Wildfire)'(]

Sooo late in reading some of these replies...but these were awesome I'm getting so excited to go back! Which I can't believe since the first time was such f@#&ing hell on this princess - ha!

[some seeing eye]

Every year I've had a shower, daily. Of course YMMV. It is easy to construct a frame for a surrounding shower curtain. The fabric needs to be held at the bottom or the wind will wrap it around your body. Suggest seaming it from lycra rather than using plastic. The frame can hold your solar shower. Added features are a dirty spot for playa shoes, a clean spot for clean feet, a bench and places to pile or hang clothing. Often in the afternoon, winds are calm and the solar heated water is warm to even hot. We have even had artistic shower setups. No reason you cannot use the spray method in the same shower space.

Evaporation systems are improving: http://www.evapotrons.info/

In support of some of the above though, there is a theory that mammals mate based on body odor indicating complementary genomes....

[*Kat*]

There is a vast number of "privacy shelters" available online and in camping stores.
Last year we had a camping shower that was pressurized (you could pump it up):


It really helped us save a lot of water!

[tatonka]

my shower curtain blew over in the wind not designed right . So I said fuck it and just stood out in the buff and showered . One day the young German girl next to us in a RV parked her chair about 10ft from me as I showered . I thought maybe thats something they normaly do in Germany

[*Kat*]

Um. Yes, it is. In Germany you are required to be naked in the sauna. Some people will get really offended if you are not. We also have a bunch of nudist beaches. And you can go naked at any other beach. And small kids run around naked in the fountains all over cities in the summer.

But then again we also have campfires at the beach and beers and cocktails and nobody closes the beach down at night.

My theory is a lot of Americans go to Burning Man just cause they can be naked in public for once. And drinking in public.


(Forget what I said. It's the complete opposite. Don't come to Germany. It's horrible and everybody is really uptight. We really don't need more Americans crowding our beaches... )

[tatonka]

Um. Yes, it is. In Germany you are required to be naked in the sauna. Some people will get really offended if you are not. We also have a bunch of nudist beaches. And you can go naked at any other beach. And small kids run around naked in the fountains all over cities in the summer.

But then again we also have campfires at the beach and beers and cocktails and nobody closes the beach down at night.

My theory is a lot of Americans go to Burning Man just cause they can be naked in public for once. And drinking in public.


(Forget what I said. It's the complete opposite. Don't come to Germany. It's horrible and everybody is really uptight. We really don't need more Americans crowding our beaches... )

My moms side of the family is from Germany , she didnt speak english till she was 5 when they shoved her into school . I have a uncle that lives there , want to visit him after I retire .

[*Kat*]

We also have this public holiday coming up where everybody gets a radio flyer type of cart, decorates it with flowers, loads it up with beer & booze and goes around town drinking. Actually writing about Germany makes me wonder why I bother with Burning Man at all... We don't have dust. I think the dust is the magic ingredient.