Outdoor showers OK?

[Riwright]

I know that campsites have rules against the dumping of gray water from tanks, but are there generally restrictions on an outdoor shower stall?

Tent campers wash dishes in a tub and dump the wash water in the bushes. They also sometimes have outdoor showers.

It seems that taking a shower inside the trailer and then dumping the gray water would be more or less the same as taking an outdoor shower, but the outdoor shower seems somehow cleaner.

[Barb&Tim]

I suppose the difference is that the gray water from the TM may contain kitchen waste where the outdoor shower would not.

Have not seen any restrictions on outdoor showers at the places i've been but i suppose there might be places that have rules against it.

Tim

Originally Posted by Riwright

I know that campsites have rules against the dumping of gray water from tanks, but are there generally restrictions on an outdoor shower stall?

Tent campers wash dishes in a tub and dump the wash water in the bushes. They also sometimes have outdoor showers.

It seems that taking a shower inside the trailer and then dumping the gray water would be more or less the same as taking an outdoor shower, but the outdoor shower seems somehow cleaner.

I think this is a vary vary good question. When we camp where there is no sewer hookup I always question if we can just dump the gray water after doing the dishes?????

[ShrimpBurrito]

My guess is any restrictions you may encounter on outdoor showers have nothing to do with shower water runoff.

Dave

[scrubjaysnest]

We saw this several times last year. I would say look carefully at any information kiosk where you are camped.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Beak12

When we camp where there is no sewer hookup I always question if we can just dump the gray water after doing the dishes?

My answer would be this. Would you want to set up camp in a site where the previous camper, an hour ago, had just pulled the handle on his gray tank and dumped it all on the ground? Not sure I would - and I would let the campgrounds owner / host know my feelings!

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

Originally Posted by Riwright

Tent campers wash dishes in a tub and dump the wash water in the bushes. They also sometimes have outdoor showers.

As Bill alludes to, I think it's all about volume. When we tent-camp, 5 gallons lasts us an entire weekend for cooking, washing hands, drinking, brushing our teeth, etc. Dumping 5 gallons over 3 days over a dispersed area causes alot less impact than dumping 20 gallons in 2 minutes in the same spot.

Dave

[Dave99gst]

This is a very good question indeed !
I see NO difference from gray water tank and the outdoor shower. (other then volume)

Dumping grey water raises plenty of strong feelings - for and against. We seldom have the luxury of full hookup and don't carry a blue tote. What we do on a trip of several days is to try to keep the grey water as clean as possible by using Camp Suds for showering and dish washing and carefully wiping all dishes and cookware before washing them. If we are in a site where we back up to the woods or other unimproved land, we have a termination cap with hose connector and a 25' black hose (so we don't confuse it with our fresh water hoses) and we lead the hose well away from the campsite before draining grey water. I've never been able to tell where the grey water was dumped the following day. I think it's just a question of being considerate and using common sense. If the campsite is on a nice grassy area immediately next to another campsite, we don't do it. Obviously we're never dumping the grey water on the day we check out as we have to pull to the dump station for the black water in any event.

I'll try to post the Camping World listing for the termination cap below. - camp2canoe


Termination Cap with Hose Connector

Internet Sale: $5.19
Reg. Price: $5.55

I had forgotten about the termination cap with the hose fitting. We used one in emergencies with out motorhome back in the day. It was a lot better to disperse the outflow via the hose than dump the whole tank in one place.