We have a 2019 Flying Cloud 27FB named CC3 (Canned Comfort #3). We have pulled 26,000 miles and CC3 has survived blizzards, heavy rains, gale force winds, below zero temperatures and zero visibility adventures! She is a tough little gal. We need to treat her well for keeping us warm, safe and dry.
She recently had her floor re-stretched, a wall re-laminated and strengthened. We had to get her ready for a new trip. She looked like new but because half of the interior was removed to do the repairs, I needed to clean all.
The dealership did do a clean-up but when I walked into the rig I started coughing. The cleanser they used was an off brand lemon/lime spray cleanser. It left sticky rings wherever the bottle was left. Not good. My hubby is terribly allergic to fragrances and has eczema.
While I was waiting to have her home, I was reading blogs and watching YouTube posts about boondocking and saving water. It dawned on me the information about saving water while showering or doing dishes reminded me of my childhood. I am soon to be 74 years young. Looking back on my childhood, as the oldest of 5 children, I had a lot of responsibilities including doing dishes, helping keep the house clean, herding young children and cooking. My mom worked during the summer season for the Del Monte cannery in San Jose, California.
When we did dishes it involved one pan for hot soapy water, one with clean water and the drying rack. We scraped the plates and pots and then ran water for the two pans. The old 1,2, and 3 steps sound familiar? We got the water using the cooler water out of the spigot first for rinsing, the warmer water for the soapy water. Hmmm. Yep we were practicing for camping without even knowing it.
We can use the cold water from the shower, caught in a clean bucket, turn off the spigot and save for later use. This is a great job for children. A game of who can save the most water helped with the 5-10 year olds but teenagers were not so keen on it. In those olden days we shampooed our hair from one pot of water saved and warmed to use. Wet your hair with two cups of water, then lather with Breck shampoo, warmish water to rinse; repeat one more time and you have clean hair.
Children think these water saving games are almost as good as the “Navy” showers timer. Yep, 3 minutes to get wet, then turn off the water and suds your body up then run water for 3 minutes to rinse off. That is why girls like to do the separate pan cleaning of the hair. My grand-daughter is so proud she can shower in the Airstream because she has mastered the Navy Shower. Her dad is a retired Marine and thinks this is marvelous. Her sister does 40 min hot showers.
It is remarkable that the old ways to help our supplies last are now in fashion for RV living. My parents survived the depression and World War II. I did not really think of the way we conserved our water and washed clothes was unusual.oThe big rigs that are completely self-contained and 28-42 feet long often now have washing machines and dryers. These are usually smaller than our residential units but still use water and electricity.
When you have a smaller rig like a travel trailer, class B – B+ or Class C-C+ there may not be room for a RV Washer/Dryer so it is laundromat time. Both ways we like to use our own detergent, softener, bleach, stain remover and if possible water pH corrector. Remember, water is heavy and lots of supplies add to our total available weight. I was excited to find a small washer/spinner that would fit in our shower and we have a fold-up drying rack we can use on the road! WIN WIN!
I dislike commercial laundromats and I feel uncomfortable using our friends or families supplies when we visit to wash our clothes. With my families allergies and eczema it is just easier to bring our own supplies. This is a challenge to take enough supplies without having too much weight and presume on our hosts.
I decided to show you what we use that is both hypo-allergenic, safe for the environment and decreases the amount water used and weight to store on board. I have a small basket that fits under the sink for dishes, all surfaces and floor products, another small basket with laundry products (4) and a small broom too.
Basket A is for washing dishes, cleaning all the surfaces in the ring and scour the cook top:
H2O Dish liquid – it has a very mild lavender or orange scent. I used to use Dawn and kept small bottles in the rig. It was very difficult and expensive. My hubby and I realized it was very difficult to rinse the Dawn off dishes. Used a lot of water to do dishes. The H2O Dish liquid used a dish sponge with drops of the cleanser to clean a good pan of dishes. Takes very little water to do the dishes. I use a clay product to clean difficult pans, stove and bugs off the Airstream. I use a smaller plastic squeeze bottle that is about 8 ounces volume. I can then squirt just a small amount on my dishrag and start washing dishes. My dish rag also has a rough side and a soft side. It suds well but rinses easily without the slick feeling. Using less water to rinse and less detergent to wash with is great all around.
I store this is a 5×10 inch plastice carrier with handle from the Dollar Store, cute and handy to take outside to wash under the trees.
Basket B – Laundry stuff
I was introduced to H2O Home about 8 years ago by a great lady Monica Heines. 13 years ago we put together as small assortment of items to carefully, economiclly and environmentally keep our brand new 20 foot Airstream Flying Cloud clean, fresh smelling, safely cleaning the aluminum surfaces inside and out without scratching them. I use the dry powdered washing detergent for travel as it comes in small bags and you use maybe 15-30 ml of powder, a pH correcting ball filled with “magic” pellets and Eco-Boost to whiten and kill germs without bleach. These 3 items plus the “magic bar”, Netyphur bar to pre-treat stains (looks like a bar of soap). You wet the spot and apply bar of cleaner to area and then it can set until laundry time or you rinse when clear. Takes care of everything in any washer, no fragrance, no irritation and uses very little product! Great small package that solves a lot of problems on the road. The laundry detergent also comes in a liquid with a handy pump for dispensing. I like the powder when we travel.
All products fit in the same size little bucket as above.
Basket C- The rough stuff ( every surface and grimy pot/pan you have)
We are extremely sensitive to fragrances, and liquids that may irritate our skin. We also have 2 puppies. The aluminum scratches easily, either inside or outside. We do not use scouring pads on these areas. We also have cast iron and All Clad pots and pans and messy cooks. The gentle sponge to apply the cleaner rinses clean easily and goes back in a jar, I include the container, sponge and 3 chiffonets (special cleaning cloths) and a spray bottle of All Purpose Cleaner together in this small basket. I store these under the sink. Each has a handle and is a great small storage size.
These items are all I need to keep our rig clean, fresh and they protect the environment too. I have a link for more information on the items I review and use. Below is where you can find out more about these products. Happy Trails.
http://www.myh2oathome.com/MONICA/
Canned Comfort 