Cleaning of Pots/Dishes and Utensils

[glessed]

Is there normally water available near the shelters/campsites for cleaning purposes? Or, are there special techniques in cleaning items after eating/cooking? Someone had mentioned using charcoal for cleaning a cooking pot in something else I read. This really got me thinking. What items should be carried for this purpose?

[judgeh]

It's just like at home. You eat everything (I mean everything) out of your cup. Then you rub some dirt in the cup. Really scrub (dirt's an abrasive) with your fingers. Then you throw away the dirt into the trees. Rinse with a little water. Throw the water into the woods. Plate will come out cleaner than if it had gone through a dishwasher. No pollution in the stream. No soap, either. Works very well.

It's really neat when you can look at the bottom of a stream and not see yesterday's noodles. Way cool.

:clap

[illininagel]

Sometimes, I will boil a little water in the pot after I'm done eating. It's amazing how much easier it can be to clean pots and eating utensils with hot water.

Also, I'll place my eating utensils in the pot's boiling water for a minute before eating. My thinking is that it might help sanitize the eating utensils.

:-?

[MedicineMan]

I got a small breath mint bottle at Walmart-1/16oz ( they usually come in two's)..very very small- cleaned out the breath mint liquid and then used a syringe and fill up with Dawn (or equivalent) dish detergent.
Bought a green scrubbie thing for dishes and cut a 1" x 1" square out of it.
So that's my cleaning kit...just 2-3 drops of the detergent go a long way on the one pot we use to cook in, the detergent does even better with a teaspoonful of sand/grit/gravel....
I usually dont waste fuel to help clean and if the last day of the hike we just ziplock the pot and carry it out dirty to be cleaned later.

[Pencil Pusher]

For those of you that brave this trail when it snows, grab a clump into a ball and use that as a scrubber. It does pretty good at being an abrasive. Add a little water if it's too dry.

[judgeh]

Sometimes, I will boil a little water in the pot after I'm done eating. It's amazing how much easier it can be to clean pots and eating utensils with hot water.

Also, I'll place my eating utensils in the pot's boiling water for a minute before eating. My thinking is that it might help sanitize the eating utensils.

:-?
Combined with my suggestion, this really works...of course you should drink the water with its contents if you're a purist. Then the dirt...

:cool:

[Youngblood]

I use a little different technique. First I use a pot that has a non-stick finish and eat everything that is in the pot. Then I add a small amout of 'room temperature' water and use leaf(s) as a scrubber. Both green leaves or dry leaves work fine. I then disburse this using a wide area distribution technique. (I pitch it into the brush, down wind over a wide area.) I sanitize the pot the next time I use it by heating my meal. Works for me and is pretty easy. A spoon is my utensil and I clean it with my tongue/mouth after I eat so there is no visible material left. I use it to stir my next hot meat and figure the heat will take care of sanitizing it.

I do recommend alcohol for sanitizing your hands after you visit the fascilities to take a dump. The lack of sanitizing your hands after these visits is possibly the reason for most peoples trail related illnesses. Also, be careful of exchanging food by hand with other hikers.

Youngblood

[SGT Rock]

I often just scrup with water and my finger. If the camp is a dry camp and I am runing short on water, I will probably also drink the brown water. After all it is only water and my left overs. Didn't Model T use the same technique in his book, except he used his toothbrush instead of his fingers?

[ATSeamstress]

Another trick someone once taught me is to make your meals
with a little more water than usual. This helps prevent sticking
and makes clean-up easier.