View Full Version : Washing cookware
How do you do it on the AT? Does anyone use "camp soap"? Where do you dump your dirty water and left over food bits? Carry a small sponge to clean out left over bits? Want to practice Leave No Trace. Thank you.
capehiker
09-04-2017, 22:38
LNT principle #3 -
-Pack it in, pack it out. Inspect your campsite and rest areas for trash or spilled foods. Pack out all trash, leftover food and litter.
-Deposit solid human waste in catholes dug 6 to 8 inches deep, at least 200 feet from water, camp and trails. Cover and disguise the cathole when finished.
-Pack out toilet paper and hygiene products.
-To wash yourself or your dishes, carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes and use small amounts of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater.
I carry camp soap to wash my hands. I do freezer bag cooking so I don't have to worry about cleaning my pot.
Turtle-2013
09-04-2017, 22:40
I don't use camp soap for dishes ... I do carry a small knitted "sponge" and a small knitted wash cloth ... but mostly I use a small "rubber scraper" to remove and eat every bit of dinner. Some areas have a specific place for food bits and dish water, OR you can dispose of them well away from camp and from the water source. I hope that helps.
Pastor Bryon
09-04-2017, 22:41
I use Dr. Bronner's soap, put a little water in there, a little soap. I've used a towel, a scraper, or my hand. Dump dirty water and food 200 ft away from a water source (not in the fire! Yeah, I've been guilty of this, but have changed my ways).
Would most people consider it adequate to simply rinse out cookware and dry? No need for soap? Can someone elaborate on "freezer bag cooking"?
Sarcasm the elf
09-04-2017, 22:50
I carry some Dr. Bronners that I use for hand washing and hygine, but honestly when it comes to cooking items I just scrape them clean and bring each meal to a rolling boil, making sure to immerse my spoon in the boiling water for a minute as well.
Sarcasm the elf
09-04-2017, 22:56
Would most people consider it adequate to simply rinse out cookware and dry? No need for soap? Can someone elaborate on "freezer bag cooking"?
Looks like you posted this as I was writing my response. I just rinse my cookware because all my cooking involved boiling the water or food and that sanitizes everything.
Freezerbag cooking is a method where all food is selected to be quickly and easily rehydrated such dehydrated food, couscous, instant oatmeal etc. The meals are then portioned into individual servings each inside a ziploc type freezer bag. To cook, boiling water is poured into the bag, the food then stirred, sealed shut and put inside an insulated cozy to rehydrate for several minutes. I tried it a few times but wasn't terribly impressed since the food never seemed to uniformly rehydrate and because it was too easy for me to burn myself while handling the bag or poke a hole in the bag while trying to stir (I am admittedly quite clumsy.)
DownEaster
09-04-2017, 23:28
Your biodegradable soap options for the trail are pretty much Campsuds and Dr. Bronner's. I use Dr. Bronner's for all my cleaning (body, clothes, and cookware). I try to scrape the pot clean and use a bit of hot water to dissolve the remnants that are left (and swallow those remnants down to avoid waste), but then I wash with soap and water. If I'm cooking away from where I'm sleeping (most of the time, as conditions permit) I'll broadcast the wash water there where I've (inadvertently) dropped bits of food already. If I've got a big mess for some reason I'll dig a cathole, dump the wash water in it, and fill in the hole.
Messes happen more often than most backpackers like to admit:
You could cook the food dry and burn it.
The pot could boil over.
Your spork might poke through the meal envelope.
Clumsiness could result from stiff muscles at the end of a long day of hiking.
You might fumble because your bandana wasn't an adequate potholder.
cliffordbarnabus
09-04-2017, 23:52
you don't need to wash yourself from yourself. don't worry. the crust is just a flavor-savor. also, you're boiling water each time. so you can, if need be, take comfort in that sterilization process.
DownEaster
09-05-2017, 00:36
you don't need to wash yourself from yourself. don't worry.
I don't think that's right. Your hands come into contact with all sorts of things that shouldn't get ingested. You really do need to wash at least your hands and the area around your mouth to avoid making yourself sick.
cliffordbarnabus
09-05-2017, 00:50
the more you come into contact with...the less likely you are to ultimately get sick.
hand sanitizer = chronic sickness when you leave your sterile bubble!
I use bar soap . Last longer, lighter.
Thom
cmoulder
09-05-2017, 07:43
If you're in areas where water is very hard to come by — such as desert or during the winter when all water is obtained by melting snow — it is perfectly okay to use your spoon and a little water to scrape the pot (without soap!) and then drink the water and food bits. That way you're not wasting any water and not scattering bear bait.
But FBC is much easier.
DownEaster
09-05-2017, 08:20
I use bar soap . Last longer, lighter.
Yes, you can certainly do that.
40228
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwLQcqukSug
AllDownhillFromHere
09-05-2017, 09:55
Would most people consider it adequate to simply rinse out cookware and dry? No need for soap? Can someone elaborate on "freezer bag cooking"?
Boil food.
Eat food.
Wipe out bits of cheese sauce, etc with finger.
Add clean water, enough to stir around and mostly dissolve remaining food/crud.
Drink water.
Repeat - water is basically clear at this point.
Done.
Odd Man Out
09-05-2017, 10:33
Would most people consider it adequate to simply rinse out cookware and dry? No need for soap? "?
This is what I do. First I make meals soupy so not much sticks to the pot. I have an anodized pot which makes it easy to clean. The food in your pot is not dirty. Add water, use clean fingers to slosh around, drink. I carry a chunk of plastic mesh from an onion bag as a scrubber to use in case there are some stubborn bits that need scrubbing. It doesn't absorb water like a sponge or towel so I don't worry about germs on it much, but if there is some scrubbing water to dispose of I broadcast it away from camp. I'm usually not camping in established camp sites anyway. I don't use soap on the pot. Even if the pot isn't perfectly clean, it will be sterilized by boiling the next time I use it. It gets a good cleaning every few days when you are in town for resupply.
cliffordbarnabus
09-05-2017, 23:48
Boil food.
Eat food.
Wipe out bits of cheese sauce, etc with finger.
Add clean water, enough to stir around and mostly dissolve remaining food/crud.
Drink water.
Repeat - water is basically clear at this point.
Done.
money. yes. that's it.
people worry far too much.
If you're in areas where water is very hard to come by — such as desert or during the winter when all water is obtained by melting snow — it is perfectly okay to use your spoon and a little water to scrape the pot (without soap!) and then drink the water and food bits. That way you're not wasting any water and not scattering bear bait.
A term for this is "human sumping" - no soap, no food waste to scatter, all water goes to personal hydration, no FBC bags with food stuck in the corners in your trash. Good in the desert and good anywhere, actually. This is what I've done for decades, no matter where. Try it and see what you think.
MtDoraDave
09-06-2017, 11:40
After spooning out as much food as possible, then adding water and using the spoon again to squeegee the pot, drinking that, another rinse with a splash of fresh water, drink that... I'll use a few squares of TP or a wet wipe for the final wipe, and lastly put the trash in my trash bag.
grubbster
09-06-2017, 13:05
If you cook in your pot, over time a thin layer of grease can build up around the top half even when boiling. Microorganisms can potentially build up and could cause digestive issues. I always use soap or alcohol every few days to remove any grease.
I keep a half of a green scrub pad in my cooking kit...put a little bit of water in, scrub, rinse, dry with TP.
I keep a half of a green scrub pad in my cooking kit...put a little bit of water in, scrub, rinse, dry with TP.
TP for drying !! Never It's to precious for that.
Thom
If you cook in your pot, over time a thin layer of grease can build up around the top half even when boiling. Microorganisms can potentially build up and could cause digestive issues. I always use soap or alcohol every few days to remove any grease.
What micro-organisms are going to survive being boiled? Just because they are not in the boiling water doesn't mean they are not going to be killed by the pot, which is at boiling temp, or the steam rising from the boiling water. If anyone has digestive issues, its probably from not washing their hands after going poo anf using those crusty finger to shove m&m's into their mouth.
grubbster
09-07-2017, 08:32
What micro-organisms are going to survive being boiled? Just because they are not in the boiling water doesn't mean they are not going to be killed by the pot, which is at boiling temp, or the steam rising from the boiling water. If anyone has digestive issues, its probably from not washing their hands after going poo anf using those crusty finger to shove m&m's into their mouth.
The upper part of the pot (around the rim) where people put their mouths to drink, does not necessarily get hot enough to kill certain organisms and their spores. When people are in a hurry to eat they often don't bring the water to a complete boil. Usually that is not a problem. I like to clean that area every few days for my own piece of mind. It's not just your hands that can spread contamination. I have seen many people set the lids to their pots on tables or floors which can then contaminate the rim.
So far, I've been sticking with dehydrated, boil-in-bag meals, so no cleanup needed. I have a nice stiff cozy, about 5X5, that I first put the bag in. It's easy to hold that cozy in one hand and pour the hot water in with the other. Only thing to clean is the spoon. I might wipe it with a hand sanitizer.
gwschenk
09-07-2017, 09:50
Soap is bad for the trail.
grubbster
09-07-2017, 09:55
Soap is bad for the trail.
Silly blanket statement. Used responsibly it follows leave no trace guidelines.
Nothing wrong with soap. Most hikers I've seen could use more of it.
I didn't much wash my pot the whole trail. I'd rinse with a squirt of water and scrape with my spoon (or wipe with an extra tortilla) and afterwards drink the gruel.
Then I'd let it dry out, or just boil more water for tea. You're gonna boil more water in it soon anyway, it's not like it's gonna be a festering lot of maggots or anything.
Whenever I stayed in town for a night I'd wash it in the hotel sink or what have you.
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I ate so much food that I had dropped on the ground during my thru that the thought of using soap to clean my cookpot so that I wouldn't get some sort of bacterial infection seems kind of humorous to me. It was a very rare meal (so rare that I can only remember one) that didn't completely go down my gullet. What was left got rinsed out and drank. No soap and always used filtered water which was part of my water "budget". I did wash my pot with soap when I did a zero in a hostel or hotel. Utensils got licked and then wiped off with a rag. We are dirty on the trail. It's part of the experience.
ScareBear
09-08-2017, 22:13
The upper part of the pot (around the rim) where people put their mouths to drink, does not necessarily get hot enough to kill certain organisms and their spores.
Ummmm....I'd venture to say that all of the pot above the water line reaches a temperature well in excess of 212F. The fact that you can only heat water to 212F is what is keeping the inside of the pot where water touches it "cool". That is how you can use a leaf to make a pot to boil water....the water acts as an insulator from the flame's heat...think of it as a heat sink...
I ate so much food that I had dropped on the ground during my thru that the thought of using soap to clean my cookpot so that I wouldn't get some sort of bacterial infection seems kind of humorous to me. It was a very rare meal (so rare that I can only remember one) that didn't completely go down my gullet. What was left got rinsed out and drank. No soap and always used filtered water which was part of my water "budget". I did wash my pot with soap when I did a zero in a hostel or hotel. Utensils got licked and then wiped off with a rag. We are dirty on the trail. It's part of the experience.
The sign of a true thru hiker!
I saw a fellow cut up his vegetables right on the shelter floor at Lambert Meadows.
Sometimes I think stated cleanliness practices are a little over rated. I do have my limits however.
The sign of a true thru hiker!
I saw a fellow cut up his vegetables right on the shelter floor at Lambert Meadows.
Sometimes I think stated cleanliness practices are a little over rated. I do have my limits however.
Yeahhhh I'd never let food tough a shelter floor, that was a limit for me.
However, I never used a rag to wipe anything off, either....
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