Camping is a fun way to relax and enjoy nature, but it can also mean roughing it, including not always having access to running water. But one Reddit user has a brilliantly simple solution that uses something you probably already have in your kitchen: a dish soap cap.
This easy swap helps campers turn basic water bottles into efficient rinse stations — with no special gear required and no unnecessary spending.
The scoop
This post in the r/camping subreddit shows how standard dish soap caps can be repurposed to fit water bottles, giving you a more controlled and pressurized water stream to use at the campsite. "Dish soap caps are perfect if you need pressurized water around camp for washing dishes, hands, brushing teeth, etc.," the user wrote.
"They thread perfectly onto a Smartwater bottle. You can buy similar caps online, but none that I have seen have as small a hole as a dish soap cap, which gives me a very narrow, concentrated stream of water that provides more pressure and less wasted water," they added in the comments section.
How it's helping
This hack is a win for campers looking to keep their kits light, cheap, and practical. Instead of spending extra on specialized camping water containers or wasting water with wide-mouthed pours, this DIY solution offers better control with no extra cost — which is especially helpful for tasks such as rinsing dishes or brushing teeth. And, if you have already ditched single-use water bottles, this hack can be used over and over on the same bottle refilled from your water storage.
It's also a good example of upcycling — by reusing a common household item, you extend its life and keep it out of the landfill. Small changes like this add up over time and can help reduce plastic waste and keep microplastics from polluting our oceans.
For more smart upcycling ideas, check out this guide to repurposing containers and packaging or make money recycling your old clothes through organizations including Trashie, ThredUp, and GotSneakers.
What everyone's saying
Campers in the Reddit thread were quick to get behind the idea. "We use these to do dishes. It's surprisingly effective," one commenter wrote.
Another user offered a variation on the idea: "We use old laundry soap jugs. The kind that have to push to dispense spouts. They hold roughly a gallon. We use them for cleaning things off."
Another camper shared additional advice: "This is a great tip if you have a source for refilling; if you're short a water source for some time, a spray bottle is higher pressure and uses less water. Add a bit of vinegar to that and the ability to rinse soap off is improved."
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The way it looks 😍 Since camping gear can be expensive and plastic waste is a problem, this kind of budget-friendly hack is proof that sometimes the smartest solutions are found by creatively repurposing what's already in your recycling bin.
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