Sanitation

[Nosynchro]

For those of us potentially still going in September what are thoughts on the camp site showers and bogs. Although they have got better over the years I am not sure they will be great places to use in covid times. We are planning on taking our own bladder type shower bags and either portaloo or the bucket with a toilet lid style. Any thoughts or better ideas?

[chasingracecars]

Caravan!! Haha

[Truckosaurus]

To be fair, the cleanliness of the bogs and showers has been much improved in recent years since they outsourced it all to proper cleaners rather than the disinterested locals who just sat around waiting for tips (having first removed all the toilet roll).

I've always carried my own liquid soap (you can get small travel bottles) and hand sanitizer so you can wash your hands properly (especially as you eat lots of BBQ food with your fingers at LM) so no change this year.

Hopefully they'll keep the bogs better stocked with soap, and they'll make you queue at 2m intervals but otherwise the normal facilities should be safe enough.

[gt6]

The showers and toilets on our campsite were regularly cleaned and always had soap and loo roll. they should be ok and as it is likely the campsites will only be open later in the week than normal things should be ok.

[DMN]

Well I hope not too much later, as I plan on arriving in LM on Wendesday morning.

[Mad Mike]

DMN said:

Well I hope not too much later, as I plan on arriving in LM on Wendesday morning.

Me too, arriving Tuesday lunch time as normal, Hmmm - will need to keep an eye on this

[FredericRobinson]

Me too, we get there bright and early Sunday, not having 3 days peace and quiet before those pesky noisy cars get going would make for a different experience

[Output Flange]

Well, I'm going to either take my caravan or motorhome so I'm self-sufficient, and I'm setting up a 3m exclusion zone around whichever.

I'll also take a litter-picker thing so I can pass cold beers to passers-by - you can choose to sanitise those if you wish!

[Truckosaurus]

Output Flange said:

...I'll also take a litter-picker thing so I can pass cold beers to passers-by...!

Remind us where you're camping...

[SimonD996]

I have decided not to attend this year, having only missed one year since 2005.

The final straw was exactly this - sanitation. With the creation of villages of circa 5,000 people (although I doubt it will be as high as that), our regular private campsite could not possibly cope. The mind boggles at what will happen after the seal has been broken collectively by that number of people.

I stand to be corrected, but my understanding is that your village is your home for the duration, and you are not at liberty to wander to other villages. The actual circuit village itself will be closed, there will not be any pit walks allowed, the drivers parade is cancelled as is (if you are interested) whatever band was due to play. It will be a very different event that is for sure.

I am gutted not to be going, but on balance there does not seem to be a decision to make. Now on the look out for a very large screen so that we can have a 24 hour party in Sussex instead, and hoping that the TV coverage will be available.

[Vette_1978]

I think this year will be the cleanest Le Mans ever! There will be so much cleansing going on the air will have a constant whiff of Dettol. They will have to consider the numbers in each village and make sure there is adequate facilities in each to limit the queues. I’d expect lots of temporary stuff being installed, more toilets, more bins, more sanitation stations. I’d also like to think there will be fewer light fingered tea leafs grafting the circuit as well.

I have to remind myself of the events missed this year so far, TT, Spa, Classic, holiday in US for IMSA race, so to still be able to attend the greatest motorsport event in some form is a bonus.

[wsn03]

Vette_1978 said:

I think this year will be the cleanest Le Mans ever! There will be so much cleansing going on the air will have a constant whiff of Dettol. They will have to consider the numbers in each village and make sure there is adequate facilities in each to limit the queues. I’d expect lots of temporary stuff being installed, more toilets, more bins, more sanitation stations. I’d also like to think there will be fewer light fingered tea leafs grafting the circuit as well.

I have to remind myself of the events missed this year so far, TT, Spa, Classic, holiday in US for IMSA race, so to still be able to attend the greatest motorsport event in some form is a bonus.

Before Surveyor rightly steps in and says it...shhh

It's going to be a horrible experience

See you at that place we will go to when we have to get away from it because its all so bad

Edited by wsn03 on Friday 24th July 08:32

[JT3K]

Things have gotten considerably better over the last decade. The genuine cleaning company (rather than some rando employed to clean) actually comes round on a regular basis and does clean. I expect this year they'll simply run on an 08:00-22:00 loop of cleaning. In the grand scheme of things, the two expenditures the ACO will have "upped" this year will be security and cleaning budgets, I don;t expect they'll make much with limited spectator numbers anyway.

Pro tip will be to remember to bring cheap flip-flops to shower if using the main showers (as normal for me).

I did a fair amont of maths around running our own shower last year and decided against it. You would need:

• some sort of plastic water-butt/barrel/cage thing. These seem readily available but would be heavy when filled;
• a way to elevate it for pressure (difficult when it'd need to be ~3m up and it weighs that much - considered scaffolding but worried it'd tip/sink), some sort of electric pump (not a good idea when on a wet campsite) or some sort of mechanical pump
• some sort of refill mechanism - you'd need to be near the existing showers so you could run a hose from there
• sufficient drainage - if you weren't near an actual drain, it'd be flood-central
• sun. The wildcard. Problem is, too much sun and the water would be hotter than you'd want, not enough and unbearably cold. A heater of some description could be possible
• bonus points - a mixer unit with a hookup to your cold "tank refill feed"

In the end it looked like too many variables, too many safety issues., too much to take down, too costly in bits and too likely you wouldn't be near enough a drain/supply to make it viable.

I also note Mad Mike arriving Tuesday and DMN Wed morning. Don't forget none of the official sites open until 2pm Wednesday!

[Mad Mike]

JT3K said:

I also note Mad Mike arriving Tuesday and DMN Wed morning. Don't forget none of the official sites open until 2pm Wednesday!

Yep, change of plans , coming down Monday and ‘doing’ the Loire valley for 2 days and arriving after hangover clears, Wednesday lunch time

mike

[cn7k7]

Sanitation and Le Mans have never really been great bed fellows but it has got much better recently

When I first visited in ‘81 it was disgusting....but the village was far better, bit like the Wild West...loads more atmosphere. So as you sanitise you sometimes take away the good dirt!

I’ll be there again this year and as ever will camp for three nights and leave the shower until I get to the hotel....as I always have! A bucket of cold water over the head and smear of soap over the bits does the trick. No missus there and in my own tent so hey. I’ll mitigate the risks as required and use plenty of alcohol cleanser. Leave the circuit to go to favourite haunts that shall not be mentioned as and when

I think this year will be interesting, maybe far fewer people than we think and perhaps the need for showers reduced due to p&s squirting idiots not being there

Hope you all enjoy it, I will

[Chrisgr31]

JT3K said:

Things have gotten considerably better over the last decade. The genuine cleaning company (rather than some rando employed to clean) actually comes round on a regular basis and does clean. I expect this year they'll simply run on an 08:00-22:00 loop of cleaning. In the grand scheme of things, the two expenditures the ACO will have "upped" this year will be security and cleaning budgets, I don;t expect they'll make much with limited spectator numbers anyway.

Pro tip will be to remember to bring cheap flip-flops to shower if using the main showers (as normal for me).

I did a fair amont of maths around running our own shower last year and decided against it. You would need:

• some sort of plastic water-butt/barrel/cage thing. These seem readily available but would be heavy when filled;
• a way to elevate it for pressure (difficult when it'd need to be ~3m up and it weighs that much - considered scaffolding but worried it'd tip/sink), some sort of electric pump (not a good idea when on a wet campsite) or some sort of mechanical pump
• some sort of refill mechanism - you'd need to be near the existing showers so you could run a hose from there
• sufficient drainage - if you weren't near an actual drain, it'd be flood-central
• sun. The wildcard. Problem is, too much sun and the water would be hotter than you'd want, not enough and unbearably cold. A heater of some description could be possible
• bonus points - a mixer unit with a hookup to your cold "tank refill feed"

In the end it looked like too many variables, too many safety issues., too much to take down, too costly in bits and too likely you wouldn't be near enough a drain/supply to make it viable.

I also note Mad Mike arriving Tuesday and DMN Wed morning. Don't forget none of the official sites open until 2pm Wednesday!

In reality to run your own shower you need a camping shower. Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/bulrusely-Portable-Pressu... means no need to put the shower high. Its basically a garden weedkiller pump with a showerhead instead, a toilet tent and a childs paddling pool.

Then all you need to do is put the childs paddling pool in the toilet/shower tent. Fill the shower with water at the right temperature (achieved by boiling a kettle and adding cold water). Shower user then showers in the tent (if you get a double one a cheap fold up chair keeps their clothes dry and gives a changing area). When they finish, they pick up the paddling pool and empty it. The paddling pool stops your feet getting muddy in the shower, and the water turning the while place in to a sea of mud!

[StevieBee]

Chrisgr31 said:

In reality to run your own shower you need a camping shower. Something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/bulrusely-Portable-Pressu... means no need to put the shower high. Its basically a garden weedkiller pump with a showerhead instead, a toilet tent and a childs paddling pool.

Yep - used the same. No need for the paddling pool. We just got a couple of interlocking foam tiles off Amazon - the ground's quite porous so soaks away without causing a mud bath.

[Chrisgr31]

StevieBee said:

Yep - used the same. No need for the paddling pool. We just got a couple of interlocking foam tiles off Amazon - the ground's quite porous so soaks away without causing a mud bath.

We were in Expo and just didn’t want the water running downhill on the relatively hard surface. On a grass pitch probably not as important

[DMN]

Mad Mike said:

JT3K said:

I also note Mad Mike arriving Tuesday and DMN Wed morning. Don't forget none of the official sites open until 2pm Wednesday!

Yep, change of plans , coming down Monday and ‘doing’ the Loire valley for 2 days and arriving after hangover clears, Wednesday lunch time

mike

A change of plans here also. Rolling off the ferry at 10pm(ish) Tuesday and straight into a Hotel ready to travel down at a sensible time Wednesday.