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26 Comments

  1. I suggest your consider a mobile laundry service. People can use a wash rag and a cup of hot water to scrub off with, but mobile laundry setups are very scarce and there is no real way to clean a families laundry regularly without machinery.

    Anyone interested in doing this should check out an appliance repair shop. We use one in Bremerton which rebuilds hundreds of machines every year and gives a 90 day warrantee.

    I used to be scared about running out of gasoline to run generators (as for laundry) but with the research out showing PRI-G can keep gasoline fresh for years with an annual treatment, and even rejuvenate old gasoline, I’m much more at ease with stockpiling fuel.

    In addition to laundry service for TEOTWAWKI, laundry service for disasters and tourist areas is in demand.

    Best wishes and God Bless.

  2. Your ideas are great. The idea of a portable shower is good thinking just don’t make it complicated. You could make a shower using the sun for heat.Use a shower hose with a small head. You can also us what I have a “Zodi out back portable Hot Shower.”Check out gun shows, survival gear and equipment show’s etc.
    The zodi uses a small propane bottle in a rack with a burner. As for laundry don’t make it to complected keep it simple. Always remember “KISS” when you are making something. Don’t be afraid to ask some old timer for help. We have lot’s of time and old ideas that work.
    I wish you well and God’s blessings.
    Gman

  3. I am a missionary with a faith based disaster relief organization. We head into events rather than away from them. Many times I’ve come across (and been blessed to be able to use) mobile shower/laundry units. Most contain 4 shower stalls (2men, 2 women) and 1-2 washer/dryer combos. They are dependent on a cold water source and power. With the exception of the solar option, I would hazard a guess that plans could be found online and adapted to meet your specifications.

  5. I’ve heard of a woodstove setup that used coiled copper tubing to heat water. If anyone could expand on this, it’d be helpful. When we camp we simply use a huge canning pot heated on a fire to bathe from.

  6. 1. Use a newer horse trailer, they come with padded water proof floors and walls.
    2. A 12 volt camper pump and some batteries would handle the water.
    3. Heating the water is your bottle neck, my suggestion is to do it with wood. Perhaps a “rocket stove” with a coil of copper pipe wound inside the chimney would suffice.
    4. A timer is a must to make this profitable, turning off the hot water after 5 minutes would move things along.
    5. The hotel soap bar is a decent idea but why not just use larger ones? I doubt very much SHTF that people will gripe about sharing the soap and the cost is sure to be lower.

    1. Skin diseases make sharing any washing materials a dangerous idea. While washing will reduce the likelihood of skin diseases, most of them won’t go away with just soap and water. Even a bad case of poison ivy could be transmitted with shared soap.

      And people are more responsible when they have to buy the soap.

  7. One of my rather loosely organized prep group has a large family that is dispersed around the area in their own homes. His house is rather small with 1 bathroom. In order to accommodate everyone, if they all show up at his place, with sleeping and hygiene he has acquired several old but functional travel trailers with working kitchen and bathing facilities that still work. He is quite handy and has refurbished or replaced the propane powered stoves, ovens and hot water heaters as well as the 12 volt powered pumps. Each trailer has a solar panel battery maintainer to keep the batteries in good shape. If the SHTF he has ready made “apartments” for his kids and their kids. If need be he could hook one up to his truck and take it to town at the church parking lot to perform the tasks you suggest. Perhaps you might consider this route, rather than custom building a “mobile” unit.

  8. Good article. You should consider writing a section about the need for a standardized medium of exchange “money”. We held a Barter Faire years ago in the Kooskia, Idaho area. It was a heated topic in our community preparedness group but we finally realized why you need a form of money.
    1) Needed to be easily recognizable and divisible–how do you buy a roll of barbed wire with a jar of jam? Change please.
    2) It sped up the transaction time-less time bartering. Bartering is fun but tedious and time consuming also. Thought: the velocity of money in a recovering economy.
    3) Allows kids to be involved with set pricing on goods like candy, soap etc.

    Kids need a means to learn how to barter–some adults too. We finally agreed on .22 LR ammo as our money. Now–who’s going to play banker?

  9. Good article. I agree that cleanliness is relevant to health, but I could not tell if your plan is to “give” this service away free for the benefit of your neighbors or are you going to “charge” for each shower/soap/towel?

    What would you want in exchange for providing a hot shower? I thought the price of “barter” depends on the value of the product/service to the two parties. Cleanliness may be highly valued for good health, but it might be a luxury to another who needs food or drinking water more and can’t justify the expense of a hot shower.

    Having the service at a community church is an excellent idea, but, most of the churches I know of run on volunteer service of their members. What do these people get out of providing a location, protection, setup and cleanup; a free shower? In a SHTF situation, everyone needs something because no one is 100% totally self-sufficient, but it depends on the individual/family. Just saying…

  11. Good article, but I’m very concerned with the age factor. To farm, chop wood, hunt, and security if your both in your60’s doesn’t seem feasible. Especially if one of you falls ill or injured. You need to plan with friends or family to assist & team up with you.

    1. @David Mark, this is something few take into consideration, and fewer still, have tried. How ya going to plow when the machinery breaks down,and parts are no longer available? The hungry moon is coming.
      My grandfather was active well into his 70s, splitting wood, plowing, the little things that a farm requires… but at reduced pace, as he got older some things just didn’t get done!

      Personally, at 66, I doubt my ability to keep home repairs up, much less walking behind a mule from can to can’t! It was nothing for me to walk 10-15 miles when I was a teen, (owning a car was for rich folks) and somewhere deep inside, have thus fantasy I could still do it. rrrright!

    1. If you study history, you will find that the SHTF a number of times. Fall of the Roman Empire. Muslim invasions. Mongol invasions. Viking invasions. The Black Death.

      We are responsible for working while it is yet light, and no one, not even Our Lord, knows when the night will fall. He said so Himself.

      1. True, nobody knows “when” – but he also said that we can “see the day approaching.”
        I can see it approaching now. It’s close. It’ll be global. There will be no “start over”.
        I won’t list here all the biblical signs that indicate that this “SHTF” is the Big One, but if you study the Bible, you’ll see for yourself.
        Here’s one that shows that this will not be your average, run-of-the-mill SHTF: Revelation 6:8

  14. You might consider also learning to make soap. I’m not sure what the shelf life for soap is. Vermont Soap company says three years shelf life, which can be extended by vacuum sealing in plastic and freezing.

  15. The movie Shadow Riders has a scene where there is a bathhouse/laundry business right in town. Instead of using what might be precious and irreplaceable fuel on hauling a trailer from place to place, having a location accessible to all might make sense. Of course, a companion business would be a general store and restaurant.

    Multiple businesses, as in a town center, could supply mutual protection to each other.

  16. Re: Showering and laundry solutions in remote areas or when SHTF.

    We are hobbyist gold miners with over 650 acres in three different locations, all in remote Rocky Mountain claim sites. You can imagine how dirty and sweaty we get. I have spent up to five weeks at a time on location without shower or laundry facilities. A few simple tricks will keep you and your clothes clean with minimal gear and keep you comfortable.

    SHOWERING: I use a system of 4 spray bottles. One is filled with plain water for rinsing which can be replenished on site with river or lake water (I usually boil it first). Another is filled with a mixture of water and baking soda for daily body washing. A third bottle is filled with a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol for extra cleaning power when needed. The fourth bottle is simply a mixture of water and basic dish washing soap which I mainly use for dishes or washing my hands.

    Each spray bottle (depending on size) will easily last one week or longer before refilling is needed. This is based on per person usage and over 5 years of personal experience. You will also need to have at least one liter each of dish soap and rubbing alcohol, plus a small box of baking soda to remix and refill the spray bottles as needed for extended periods.

    I generally use the water/baking soda mix for cleaning my hair but will occasionally use the water/rubbing alcohol mix as well (don’t get it in your eyes!). A final quick rinse with plain water and I’m done. I should also note that before going out for long periods I buzz cut my hair and I also bring my electric barber clippers with me which run off my truck engine inverter. Sorry ladies, but long hair out in the bush for long periods is a major pain in the butt.

    Lastly, you should have a good supply of cheap cloths for washing and drying. Big towels are not necessary and they are bulky. Cloths can be air dried and used multiple times before laundering them is required.

    LAUNDRY: Let’s face it, out in the bush we aren’t interested in separating the colored clothing from the white stuff when we have to haul pails of water from the creek. And we certainly aren’t wearing our finest clothes out there either. The main goal of clothes washing out in the bush is NOT to get every sap stain or grease spot out of the fabric. Washing clothes is more of a hygiene and comfort issue.

    You will need (and should have) several 5 gallon plastic pails… not just for clothes washing but for other uses as well. Don’t forget to string up a paracord clothes line between a couple of trees as well and have a few clothes pegs with you so the wind doesn’t blow them away. The pegs are also handy for many other uses.

    I never bother to heat the washing water. I’ll use ice cold glacier mountain water mixed with some baking soda and a bit of regular dish soap to soak clothes in a 5 gallon pail. That’s all it takes. I don’t even bother to rinse the clothes after soaking them. I just wring them out by hand and put them on the line to dry. Letting the clothes soak for longer and stirring them occasionally also help, but I generally only let them soak for between 30-60 minutes before hanging them on the line.

    I always try to do laundry in small batches since it takes minimal water and is easily done while doing other daily camp chores. Letting a small amount of clothes soak while collecting more firewood and drinking water is much easier than dedicating an entire day to do large amounts of laundry once a week. It also ensures you keep rotating your laundry quickly so you have fresh clothing and don’t deplete your reserves if you have to hunker down from storm for a couple days.

  18. The comment on skin diseases was a very good one. What comes to mind for me is Tinea Pedis a fungal infection known as Athletes Foot. Best way to keep it from happening would be to inspect peoples feet before showering, Wear shower shoes to lessen the chance of getting it and to decontaminate the shower between uses. Typically a bleach solution is used and I freely admit I son’t know what concentration is needed. I do wonder if the chlorine generator is adequate for this

  20. I saw a teotwawki device at a gun show that spritzes out water through tiny holes in a cap that threads onto a 2L bottle. If you could fit these into your design, it would radically reduce the amount of water needed per minute.

    Your idea is very timely. I was just thinking today how much worse the world would be without daily hot showers.

    Another thing to learn is how to make soap from wood ashes and lard. Your soap won’t last forever after all.

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