How to Wash Dishes Camping

Camping in the great outdoors offers an escape from the daily grind, but it doesn’t come with the convenience of a dishwasher. So, how to wash dishes camping?

Washing dishes while camping can be more complicated than doing it at home, but with the right knowledge and techniques you can keep your dishes and campsite clean. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make campsite dishwashing a breeze.

Key Takeaways:

Camping Dishwashing Essentials:

• Use biodegradable soap to protect the environment.
• Heat water over a campfire or with a portable stove for washing.
• Employ two basins or buckets, one for soapy water and one for rinsing.
• Scrubbing tools like sponges or brushes are necessary for cleaning.
• A fine-mesh strainer is essential for removing food particles before disposing of water.

Step-by-Step Dishwashing Guide:

• Preparation: Clear dishes of leftovers, storing or disposing of them properly.
• Scraping: Remove residual food from dishes before washing to ease cleaning.
• Washing and Rinsing: Use a two-sink system with hot soapy water for washing and hot water for rinsing.
• Drying: Dry dishes thoroughly to prevent bacteria growth, using a clean cloth or air-drying.
• Waste Disposal: Strain and dispose of dishwater properly, adhering to local guidelines for greywater.
• Cleanup: Clean and store washbasins and tools properly for next use.

Camping Hygiene:

• Proper dishwashing is crucial to prevent illness and maintain hygiene while camping.
• Consider bringing your own water for dishwashing to ensure you have enough.

What Do You Need?

You’ll need several camping essentials when washing dishes. These include:

• Biodegradable Soap: Opt for biodegradable soap to minimize your environmental impact.
• Hot Water: Depending on your camping setup, you may heat water over a campfire or use a portable camping stove.
• Two Basins: Two plastic basins or collapsible buckets work well. One is for washing, and the other is for rinsing.
• Scrubbing Tools: Bring a sponge, scrub brush, or camp-specific scrubber to help with cleaning.
• Dishcloth or Towel: A clean cloth or towel is handy for drying dishes.
• Fine-mesh strainer: You need this to get bits of food out of your water before disposing of it.

Variations of most of these items are available. Look at the different options on the market and consider your needs to choose something suitable for you.

How to Wash Dishes While Camping: Step-by-Step

Let’s look at the process of washing dishes while camping. It’s important to clean dishes properly to eliminate bacteria. If you use unclean dishes, you’re likely to become sick.

1. Clear Your Dishes

Before you can wash your dishes, you must ensure they’re clear. If you have any leftovers, store them in a reusable container.

2. Prep

If your camping dishes have food remaining on them, remove as much as you can and throw it in the garbage. This will make cleaning them much easier. A scraper or rubber spatula works well for this, or you can use paper towels if needed.

3. Wash and Rinse

Wash and rinse all of your dishes. You want to do this using as little water as possible. A collapsible bucket is ideal here, but a plastic bin will also serve fine.

You want a wash sink (filled with warm/hot soapy water) and a rinse sink (filled with hot water) to clean your dishes. If you’ve been working with raw meat, sanitizing with boiling water can be a good idea.

4. Dry

You want to dry your clean dishes as moisture can harbor bacteria. If you have a drying rack, you can let them air dry. If not, you should use a dish cloth – ensure this cloth is clean; otherwise, it could transfer bacteria onto your dishes.

5. Check for More Dishes

Once you’ve finished, double-check to ensure you’ve cleaned everything. It’s easy to let a dish go unnoticed, and you want to avoid packing everything away and then find out there’s more to do.

6. Dispose of Waste

It’s important to maintain a clean campsite, so you need to get rid of any other waste. Tip the rinse sink water into the wash sink and the sanitizing sink if you’ve used one. Pour all the water back into one of the other sinks through a strainer to remove any food waste, which you can then put in the garbage.

If you’re at a campground with drain water basins, you can pour your greywater into these. If not, contact the host or ranger station in advance to ask about the correct local procedure for disposing of greywater.

7. Clean up

After use, clean your washbasins, scrubbing tools, and washing station with hot water and soap. Store them in a sealed container to keep them clean for the next use.

Bringing water with you for dish washing is something you might want to do, see How Much Water to Bring Camping.

Camping Hygiene

Knowing how to wash dishes while camping will help ensure you and your family don’t risk getting sick. Follow the steps above to clean everything properly and maintain hygiene.

Camping Essentials and More has plenty of other information on camping. Check out some of our other articles to learn more, such as How to Shower While Camping.

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