The Best Camping Washing Machine
Laundry. Unavoidable. Even when camping and traveling.
But we’ve found a great way to get it done! After trying out multiple camping washing machine options over the years, and after having used this one extensively on our own traveling and camping adventures, we’re confident you’ll find this to be the best portable washing machine for your camping adventures as well!
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The Scrubba WASH BAG Camping Washing Machine
After two years of use on various camping trips and overland travel adventures, the Scrubba Wash Bag has proven to be the most efficient system for washing clothes on long road trips, while also being the best portable washing machine for camping.
And the best part is: it doesn’t take much space or use much water, and it gets your clothes clean FAST!
It really is the perfect camping washing machine or travel wash bag for road trips.
The Scrubba Wash Bag is basically a combination of an old-school wash board and a wet bag. You fill the bag with clothes and water, and then rub it from the outside as hundreds of nodules that line the inside of the camping washing machine agitate the water, getting the clothes clean.
It folds up to pocket size when not in use and weighs basically nothing. We’ve found it to be really durable and well made.
But because it does such micro sized loads of clothes, the Scrubba Wash Bag isn’t for everyone!
Here’s when we’d recommend the Scrubba Wash Bag Camping Washing Machine:
For a small family or individual while camping
For small wardrobes (creating a need for frequent small loads)
For stretching time between laundromat stops by washing socks, underwear, etc in between
For people who travel and need a small wash bag or portable washing machine
For extended camping trips where you eventually have to wash clothes while camping
How to use the camping washing machine
Gather the Supplies for Your Portable Camping Washing Machine:
The Scrubba Wash Bag Camping Washing Machine
We like the Tactical* one
Biodegradable Laundry Soap (go with liquid over powdered) - we recommend Sal Suds by Dr. Bronner*
A Clothesline (we use 550 Paracord*) and Clothes Pins*
Water - about a gallon per load
A Collapsable Tub* is handy (and has so many other uses!)
Toothbrush for scrubbing stains if you care about that kind of thing
A washing area that can get slightly wet (a small amount of water occasionally escapes through the fold down top)
How to Wash your Clothes Using the Camping Washing Machine:
Fill the Scrubba Bag with water and recommended amount of clothing to either the “small load” or “large load” line. And just FYI…
small = 1 pair socks, 1 underwear, & 1 shirt (or equivalent)
large = 2 pairs socks, 2 underwear, & 2 shirts (or equivalent)
Add biodegradable soap
Fold the bag down, releasing air through the vent valve
Close the valve and snap the bag shut
Scrub! The recommendation is 30 seconds to 3 minutes
Drain the yucky water and add fresh water into the washing bag to rinse.
Scrub again!
Drain the water and hang the clothes to dry.
As you can see, it’s a pretty simple process to use this portable washing machine for camping! And it works great too!
But, there’s more to washing clothes while camping than just using the camping washing machine!
Conserving water while using your camping washing machine
If you’re traveling from a small van, SUV, or truck bed camper, you may need to be mindful of how you use your limited water supply. We know from experience that with our 10 Gallon DIY Camping Shower & Water Container, it’s a precious commodity! So here are some tips to help you save water while using your camping washing machine:
Sort your clothes by super dirty, medium dirty, and lightly dirty (those are the official categories 😉)
Wash the lightly dirty camping clothes first and set to the side to later rinse
Reuse that water to give a first wash to the medium dirty and maybe even the super dirty clothes if the water isn’t too nasty. Just to loosen up that sweat and dirt.
Gross, definitely time to ditch that water.
When refilling to give another wash to the medium and super dirty clothes, first just fill the Scrubba Bag with water sans soap to rinse your lightly dirty clothes that you already washed. Then add soap to take care of washing your other loads, and repeat.
When squeezing clothes out either after a wash or rinse, do that over the Scrubba Bag to conserve the water if it’s clean enough to reuse.
Don’t go overboard with the soap. This isn’t your full sized washing machine. If you go crazy with soap, you’ll need that much extra water to rinse.
Reusing any water you can like that helps conserve a ton.
And our clothes always smell fresh and clean when we’re done, even the Super Dirty ones.
How to Dry your Clothes after using the camping washing machine
Hanging a good old fashioned clothesline and allowing your clothes to air dry while you relax at camp is the best way to dry your clothes while camping. But sometimes those clothes just won’t air dry fast enough! Here are some tips to help make the drying process easier and faster!
Use Quick Dry Clothing & Wool Clothing While Camping
Building up your camping wardrobe with quality quick dry clothing, is one way to both cut down on the frequency of using your camping washing machine AND decrease the dry time when you do. The below list will get you started, and check out our Super Simple Guide for What to Wear When Camping for more detail.
Exofficio Underwear* - these mens’ and womens’ undergarments are durable, easy to clean and use anti-microbial material to keep them cleaner longer
WoolX Endurance Shirts* - wool is excellent for camping clothing because it doesn’t retain body odors, and you can easily get a couple days of use out of each of these shirts.
Quick Dry Hiking Pants* - pants are one of the bulkier items you’ll be washing in your camping washing machine, and these will dry in less-than-half the time of blue jeans.
Merino or Alpaca Wool Socks - you can get several days use out of a quality pair of wool socks, saving you space and laundry! We recommend:
CloudLine Women’s* Wool Socks
Sockwell Ascend Men’s* Wool Socks
Warrior Alpaca Socks - Toddler* Wool Socks
Smartwool - Kids* Wool Socks
Quick Dry Towels* - these Sea-to-Summit quick dry towels dry incredibly fast and thier compact size is great for saving spa
If you have other fast-dry clothing recommendations we’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments section below!
Drying Clothes in Inclement Weather
You’ll also want to have a spot in your camper out of the elements in the event that rain rolls in or to give you a place to hang those few stubborn things that just haven’t yet dried when it’s time to pack up and leave camp.
Here’s an example of what we’ve done while truck camping and it works great!
A length of para cord is strung between the lower mounts of the roof rack. We leave it up all the time so it isn’t a hassle to setup when needed.
An indoor clothes line like this will also come in handy if you’re just wanting to quickly wash small things like socks and underwear in your camping washing machine while you’re stopped on a road trip but can’t hang a line outside.
Despite having found the best camping washing machine, we still find ourselves stopping every few weeks at a laundromat while on longer camping trips to wash sheets, our child’s favorite stuffed animal that gets carried all over the place, and maybe even our sleeping bags if we’re feeling really motivated.
We hope you find, as we have, that the Scrubba Wash Bag is the best camping washing machine for your next camping trip, road trip, or travel adventure. And that this guide helps keep you smelling fresh and clean! Happy washing!
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As always, thanks for reading!
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