Everything I Did to Clean My Laundry After 8 Days in the Alaskan Wilderness

I love being in the outdoors as much as I can, but that can be hard to come by since I moved to New York City. So, I made sure to set aside some time this summer for a backpacking trip through the Alaskan backcountry.

It was eight days of pure, unfiltered nature—we even saw a bear! But, when you’re backpacking and camping your way through the mountains for more than a week, there’s very little space in your pack for superfluous items, let alone a change of clothes.

Because of the large range of temperatures, I wore almost every piece of clothing I had with me, every single day (with the exception of socks and intimates). It works well while you’re out in nature, but as soon as I got out of my first shower since being back, I could already smell my next problem.

Here’s everything I did to get my extremely dirty and smelly camping clothes smelling like new again.

Pre-Treatment

Before loading everything into the washing machine, I made sure to treat my clothes individually for stains. I knew some of my clothes had specific stains on them, so I pulled those out to treat them before accidentally locking in marks with heat from the dryer.

For any caked on mud I made sure to remove all hard pieces and brush them off into the trash can before starting.

Then, for mud, grass, and blood stains alike, I diluted distilled white vinegar with an equal portion of water and added it to the stains. This works better with a spray bottle, but because I didn’t have one on hand, I just dribbled the solution lightly onto the stains.

I let this sit for about 10 minutes before running it under cold water. I reapplied for any stubborn stains, but almost all were lifted to my liking after the first go.

For any spots that had a lot of grime build-up—like the ends of long sleeves and palm protectors on shirts with thumb holes—I scrubbed them lightly under cold, running water.

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First Wash in the Machine

Once all my stains were treated, I put my clothes through the wash for the first time. I did this with the hottest water possible, on the highest dirt setting available.

I added more detergent than usual, but not enough to overload the machine or cause my fabrics any damage. I skipped fabric softener, as I always do, since I know this causes more harm than good.

Second Wash in the Machine

Once my items had been thoroughly washed once on high heat and intense dirt settings, I divvied up my laundry. As an editor for The Spruce, sorting my laundry is a divisive topic in the office, and I’m on a one-person team supporting it. But I stand by it!

So, I split up my laundry by fabric type and proceeded to wash it according to its care tag; this basically meant that I did one load with cold water and another with warm.

I brought my amount of detergent back down to what I would consider appropriate, but also added vinegar to each load to help with odor management.

Spot Check and Dry

After the second wash, I made sure to inspect all of my pieces for any remaining stains or odors. Everything passed the visual and sniff test, I finally moved things over to the dryer.

I added my wool dryer balls to the machine to maximize aeration during the process.

Storage

Normally, I keep my hiking and camping gear stored away in a bin at the top of my closet. But, in order to minimize the chance that my items develop that musty storage smell, I decided to hang everything up after the washing was done.

This gives the fabrics a bit more time to breathe and settle in. I’ve been giving them a sniff every day just to make sure that they’re doing okay. If they keep smelling fresh, I’ll probably put them in storage in about a week or two, or just once I need the hanger space again.

Once I do pack them away, though, I’m going to make sure to put them in a flimsy container instead of a rigid plastic one to give them a bit more breathing room until I need them again.