Sometimes you just can’t wait to get on the road and travel to distant, remote places. But it’s important not to forget some of the basics of every-day life on your journey. That’s why you want to know how to stay hygienic on the road. Buslifers know that it’s not tough to stay clean on a trip, so keep these tips and tricks in mind when you’re planning your next long-distance adventure.

Being hygienic on the road is incredibly important

Sure, you don’t have to worry about brushing your teeth and showering on a short drive. However, when you’re sitting in your bus for hours a day, days at a time, you need to keep clean. In fact, when you’re on the road, you’ll need to stay even more hygienic to avoid BO, bad breath, and oily skin. 

Most of your trips will happen when the weather is nice, meaning you may be sweating more than average. Without your normal routine of getting out of bed, washing up, and starting the day, it’s easy to neglect the basics. Plus, if you’re traveling with a partner, you’ll quickly smell any odors from lack of hygiene.

Don’t forget the hygiene basics

Just because you don’t have access to your usual shower, bathroom, and washing machine doesn’t mean you should stop taking care of yourself. Even on the road, you need to do the basics. This includes brushing your teeth, using deodorant, and wearing fresh clothes. Many road trip novices assume that Buslifers neglect even basic hygiene. The truth is that anyone can take care of the basics.

Keep hand sanitizer, soap, hairbrushes, toothpaste, and any other simple products with you. These essentials help you stay clean throughout the day when you travel… They’re easy to find at gas stations and convenience stores, making them easy to stock up on.

Fortunately, many highways are littered with rest stops roughly every 50 miles. These are excellent spots to use the bathroom, stretch your legs, and wash up. Use the sink to clean your face, brush your teeth, and clean up any spills or dirt on your skin. You can easily brush your hair, apply cosmetics, or any other task you’d normally do in your bathroom.

Learn how to wash your clothes on the road

The big hurdle for hygiene is fresh clothes. You can easily pack enough new clothes for a short trip. Alternatively, if you’re going to be spending a week, month, or more on the road, you need to know how to do laundry. You may occasionally find a laundromat in a city, but you could be finding yourself going days at a time without machine washing.

There are a few tricks you can use to wash your clothes on the road. You’ll want to stock up on traveling detergent and a rubber drain stopper. You can fill up any basin with water and detergent and throw dirty clothes in. Or you can put a stopper in the sink at a rest stop and use that. You’ll want to refer to your specific detergent’s instructions for the best method once you have your clothes in the water.

When you’ve washed your clothes, simply leave them out to dry. You can use clotheslines or put them on a drying rack. In fact, you can place the drying rack on the hood of your bus to make them dry even faster.

How to shower on the road

Showering on the road is easier than it looks. Depending on how clean you need to be, you have a number of options for cleaning your body on the road. If you’re out camping in the wilderness, swimming frequently is a good way to get rid of dirt and sweat buildup. Even in an urban environment, community swimming pools can be a nice refresher.

When you need to get a more thorough wash, you’ll want to use body soap and shampoo. If you’re doing this in a natural stream, make sure you’re using organic, non-toxic products. When you want to have a shower on the road, you can purchase containers that you can fill with water, put on top of your bus, and shower with.

If you want a full-fledged shower and you have a membership with a gym franchise like the YMCA, you can use their showers. Of course, that requires a separate purchase and still requires you to be in an urban area.

Being hygienic on the road

Staying hygienic is important when you’re traveling. Long stretches on the road, close quarters, and heat can quickly make you have to wash up. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways you can enjoy your bus and stay hygienic. Take advantage of all of these tips and tricks to make sure you’re staying clean and fresh on your next road adventure.

Have you been on the road a while? What other hygiene tips do you have? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Samuel Anderson