Shelter · Living in Your Vehicle
Staying clean without a home bathroom.
Clean hands, dry feet, a shower when you can get one, and a laundry rotation that keeps clean clothes coming. None of it is complicated. It just takes a routine and a few supplies that fit in a small bag.
Start with your handsBy Dan Whelan, founder of New World Survival
Researched from government agencies, university extension services, and other published sources. See our sources
What this guide covers
Hygiene is health. It is also dignity.
Cheryl, who reviews this section, calls a daily shower one of the small blessings people with a home never think about. Staying clean keeps you from getting sick, protects your feet, and helps you walk into a job interview or a clinic feeling like yourself.
This guide covers handwashing and hand sanitizer the way CDC recommends them, where to find a shower, daily care when you cannot get one, foot care, and laundry. All of the health guidance on this page comes from CDC.
Hands
When is hand sanitizer good enough?
CDC says washing with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations. When you cannot get to a sink, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is the backup.[1]
Washing, the CDC way
Wet your hands with clean running water, lather with soap including the backs, between the fingers, and under the nails, scrub for at least 20 seconds, rinse, and dry with a clean towel or air dry.[1] Without a tap, a large water jug can serve as a handwashing station.[2]
Sanitizer, done right
Check the label for at least 60% alcohol and for the right amount to use. Rub your hands and fingers together until dry, which takes about 20 seconds.[3] CDC says sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol work against a wider range of germs than those without.[4]
When only a sink will do
Sanitizer does not work well on hands that are visibly dirty or greasy, and it does not get rid of all germs. Soap and water work better against norovirus, Cryptosporidium, and C. difficile. CDC says to wash with soap and water after using the toilet, after handling trash, and when your hands are dirty.[3][5]
Showers and feet
Where do you shower when you live in a car?
Plan on a few options and use whichever is closest that day.
Places with showers
A low-cost gym membership gives you a shower, a sink, and a place to change every day you go. Community recreation centers, public pools, campgrounds, and some truck stops also have showers. Some cities have free shower programs run by churches and nonprofits. Ask 211 what is near you.
Days without a shower
Body wipes, a washcloth with water from a jug, and a clean change of clothes get you through. Do your face, underarms, and groin, then your feet. Keep a small bag of clean clothes within reach so a sweaty day does not have to wait for laundry.
Feet first
CDC's basics for healthy feet: wash them every day and dry them completely, change your socks at least once a day, and check your feet regularly for cuts, sores, swelling, dryness, and infected toenails.[6] The fungi behind athlete's foot thrive in warm, dark, moist places, so CDC advises keeping your feet dry and changing your shoes and socks regularly.[6]
Wet feet are a bigger problem than they sound. CDC's workplace safety institute says trench foot can develop at temperatures as high as 60°F if feet stay wet, and lists reddened skin, numbness or tingling pain, leg cramps, swelling, and blisters among the signs.[7] CDC advises cleaning and drying your feet, putting on clean, dry socks, and getting medical attention right away if you suspect trench foot.[8]
Life with Scooby
"How good it is to take a shower every day, to be able to cook every day and to be able to sleep in your own bed every day, is what people don't think about."
Cheryl's take. Cheryl starts every morning with wipes for her face and body before she feeds Scooby. She keeps a duffel of clean clothes within reach, and on days she sweats through them, she heads to the gym for a shower. She keeps a week or two of clothes, wears each outfit about a week, and does laundry once or twice a month.
Reviewed by Cheryl, who lives in her car with her dog Scooby.
Laundry
How often do you need clean clothes?
CDC notes that body lice can spread quickly among people experiencing homelessness, and its prevention advice is simple: bathe regularly and change into machine-washed clothes at least once a week.[9] Build your rotation around that.
A two-week rotation
Keep enough underwear and socks for daily changes and two weeks between laundromat trips. Outer layers can go longer.
Hot wash, hot dry
For clothing and bedding that may have lice, CDC recommends the hot water laundry cycle, at least 130°F, followed by the high heat drying cycle.[9]
Do the bedding too
Blankets, pillowcases, and towels collect sweat and skin just like clothes do. Rotate them through the wash on a schedule.
Do not share
CDC advises against sharing clothing, beds, bedding, or towels used by someone who has body lice.[9] Keep dirty clothes in a sealed laundry bag, apart from clean ones.
The kit
What goes in a car hygiene kit?
Everything here fits in one small bag, and most of it is cheap.
- Bar soap or body wash, and a washcloth
- Hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
- Body wipes for days without a shower
- Hand sanitizing wipes with at least 60% alcohol
- A quick-dry towel
- Shower sandals for shared showers
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss
- A water jug kept just for washing
- A sealed bag for dirty laundry, and one for a dry change of clothes
Do not make your own hand sanitizer. CDC notes FDA reports of skin burns from homemade sanitizers and of sanitizers contaminated with methanol.[4]
Common mistakes
What people get wrong about staying clean.
"Sanitizer works on dirty hands."
Not well. CDC says not to rely on sanitizer when hands are visibly dirty or greasy. Wash them instead.[3]
"Any sanitizer will do."
Check the label for at least 60% alcohol. Those with less cover a narrower range of germs.[4]
"Baby wipes clean my hands."
They are not designed to remove germs from hands, and CDC does not recommend them for that. Use hand sanitizing wipes with at least 60% alcohol instead.[4]
"Disinfecting wipes work on skin."
CDC says not to use disinfecting wipes on your skin, because they may cause irritation. They are for surfaces.[4]
"My socks will dry overnight on my feet."
Constantly wet feet can lead to trench foot even at 60°F.[7] Dry your feet and change into clean, dry socks.
"A cold wash is fine for everything."
For clothing or bedding that might have lice, CDC calls for hot water of at least 130°F and a high heat dry.[9]
Sources
- CDC. "About Handwashing." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "Guidelines for Personal Hygiene During an Emergency." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "Hand Sanitizer Guidelines and Recommendations." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "Hand Hygiene Frequently Asked Questions." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "About Hand Hygiene in Schools and Early Care and Education Settings." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "Healthy Habits: Foot Hygiene." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC NIOSH. "Cold-related Illnesses in Workers." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "Preventing Trench Foot or Immersion Foot." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- CDC. "About Body Lice." cdc.gov. Accessed 2026-11-02.
Continue
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This section
Living in your vehicle
The full set of guides for car living: warmth, power, food, a dog in the car, parking, hygiene, and keeping the car running.
All vehicle guidesWhere you sleep
Choosing a place to park
Where overnight parking is allowed, safe parking programs, and how to keep a low profile.
Where to park