How-To Do Dishes Camping
Do you hate doing Camp dishes? I get it.
They're super annoying, and sometimes, it's a daunting task. But today, I'm going to give you a few tips and tricks that I use as a Solo Traveler that hopefully make your next experience a little more enjoyable.
The Tools
A trash can
Paper towels
A scrub brush
Biodegradable soap
A drying rag
Some dirty dishes
A water source (I use my 4-gallon water pour and love it. You'll see why later)
And For The Cast Iron
A hard bristle brush
Some cooking oil
Step One - Make Less Dishes
Rule number one of Camp dishes is to use fewer Camp dishes. Do you really need that bowl? How about a spoon and a fork? The answer is probably not.
Get scrappy. Use one knife, cook and eat with the same spoon, eat out of the pan—there are all sorts of ways to do it.
The name of the game when camping or boondocking for multiple days is water conservation. By planning meals better, pre-cooking items when you can, or even just making a conscious effort to use fewer dishes, you can make your dishwashing experience much more enjoyable.
Step Two - Paper Towels
This next tip might ruffle a few feathers, and I admit it's not the most sustainable thing I do, but I wipe down all my dirty dishes with paper towels while they're warm and before starting to clean them. Removing all those food scraps and throwing them in the trash can make washing so much easier.
Without hot water to loosen up grease and rinse away debris, greasy Camp dishes can get really gross really fast. I know we've probably all seen that camp sponge with a layer of grease on it—gross! This helps eliminate that problem.
Step Three - Washing Process
we'll talk about the cast iron later, but for everything else, after wiping out all the food scraps, I turn my largest vessel into my sink. I will put in a little dish detergent, add some water agitate, and scrub all the smaller items in this Basin. And then I spray them off with water.
I love the waterport because I can set the hose nozzle to mist. The amount of water you can save by doing this will blow your mind. Once everything is clean and rinsed, I scrub out the makeshift sink, too.
Another quick note: I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but I was curious if warm water was required for the sanitation of dishes, so I looked it up. I found that while warm water helps loosen grease and feels much better on your hands, it's not killing any bacteria. The water would have to be far too hot to touch to do that. So, soap and a good scrub were more important than water temperature. Again, take all that with a grain of salt and do your own research, but that's what I found.
Step Four - LNT Water Disposal
once all my dishes are clean, I still need to get rid of the dishwater, so what do I do? Well, I follow LNT principles, otherwise known as leave no Trace. After walking 200 ft from camp or any natural water source, I will use a sweeping motion to broadcast that dishwater. I do this because I don't want to attract Critters to my campsite, and I don't want to pollute our water systems because they're essential for life and things. Next, I dry everything off with a dish rag or let it air dry.
Step Five - Cast Iron Care
the cast iron Dutch oven is a little different. I wipe it out with a paper towel while it's warm. Fill it with water only. Scrub with a stiff bristle brush until clean. Broadcast that water. Heat it up on the stove and season it with oil while it's cooling.
Do you have any dishwashing tips of your own? I'd love to hear them. Let me know in the comments.
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