Taming the Wild: Cleaning Campground Restrooms

Don’t be fooled as campers swarm the wilderness this summer. Yes, these hearty souls crave a reconnection with nature but not at the expense of comfort. Witness glamping, or glamorous camping, a major trend in the UK since 2007 and now here in the US. Glampsites offer five-star amenities (concierge-made s’mores anyone?) and accommodations. Extreme? Sure, but even standard campsites, summer camps and National Parks are upping their game, offering better experiences and a commitment to environmental protection. Camping’s gone upscale so cleaning campground restrooms is more important than ever.

Not Your Grandpa’s RV Park

Recreational Vehicles sales are on the rise, with the fasted growing cohort aged 35 to 44, according to CNBC. To accommodate these younger, fitter travelers, campsites are offering amenities like free Wi-Fi, yoga classes, walking trails and bike rentals. Along with taking advantage of these upgrades, RVers are also using campsite restrooms and showers, even though their vehicle, which can cost well over $100,000, is fully equipped.

Why use communal facilities when your expensive rig comes with a private toilet and shower? The facilities are not only larger, but there’s less loading and dumping of black and gray water tanks. So cleaning campground restrooms is still important when considering your guests’ experience.

Summer Camp Upgrade

Summer camp is big business, with revenues of $18 billion, according to the American Camp Association. While campers and their parents don’t expect five-star treatment, they do demand facilities look and smell clean. Filthy floors, walls and fixtures turns prospective campers away, impede repeat business and hampers fundraising efforts. Camping specialist for the YMCA, Gary Forster explains, “All those satisfaction surveys I see every year? The ones that say, ‘The bathrooms are filthy?’ If one of those camps asked me for a donation toward new facilities, I don’t think I would. If they can’t fix their biggest complaint without a new building, then maybe the campers aren’t getting all they could out of camp. Their parents aren’t either.”

National Parks Go Green, Lean, but Still Clean

National Parks face a unique set of challenges. Restrooms and showers must be cleaned with limited chemicals to protect water, plants and aquatic life, according to an EPA study. But there is less and less staff to do the work. National parks are busy and getting busier, but budget shortfalls and deferred maintenance mean staff has to do more with less when cleaning restrooms.

Pack a Kaivac for Cleaner Campground Restrooms

With camping going upscale, why rough it with mops and buckets? An all-in-one No-Touch-Cleaning system cleans camp restrooms and showers quickly and completely. Lightweight and easy to use, the technology works with plain water, making it perfect for environmentally sensitive areas. It even makes it easier to clean remote restrooms with the use of an available powerful lithium-ion battery pack.

Frequently Asked Questions: Cleaning Campground Restrooms

Why do RV campers use campground restrooms when their vehicle has its own bathroom? Even with a rig costing well over $100,000 and a fully equipped private toilet and shower, RVers often prefer campground facilities because they're larger and using them means less loading and dumping of black and gray water tanks. That makes communal restroom quality a real part of the guest experience.

How much do dirty restrooms hurt a summer camp's business? Summer camp is an $18 billion industry, per the American Camp Association, and filthy floors, walls, and fixtures turn prospective campers away, block repeat business, and damage fundraising. YMCA camping specialist Gary Forster says of camps whose surveys say "the bathrooms are filthy": "If one of those camps asked me for a donation toward new facilities, I don't think I would."

What restrictions do national parks face when cleaning restrooms? Per an EPA study, national park restrooms and showers must be cleaned with limited chemicals to protect water, plants, and aquatic life. At the same time, parks are getting busier while budget shortfalls and deferred maintenance shrink staffing — meaning crews must do more with less and with fewer chemical options.

How do you clean restrooms in remote campgrounds without power access? An all-in-one No-Touch Cleaning system is lightweight, works with plain water (ideal for environmentally sensitive areas), and can be paired with a powerful lithium-ion battery pack. That removes the power-cord constraint, letting crews clean remote campground restrooms and shower houses with the same process used at developed sites.

Recommended Kaivac Solutions for Campground Restrooms

For campgrounds, RV parks, and summer camps facing the standards covered in this article, these Kaivac products apply:

• Kaivac No-Touch Cleaning® System — the all-in-one, plain-water system this article recommends for camp restrooms and showers, including in environmentally sensitive areas.
• KaiVac 1250 — Kaivac's lightest, most portable No-Touch system, sized for the smaller bathhouses (up to 25 fixtures) typical of campgrounds.
• KaiO™ Multipurpose Cleaner — general-purpose concentrate for developed campground restrooms where a diluted cleaning solution is appropriate.