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  • After the cooking, the cleanup.

    Although I have plenty of ideas of what to cook and how to cook using my Coleman
    Stove, I'm wondering about the cleanup in a tent-camping site, where there are showers, restrooms, but no "kitchen" to clean pots and pans.

    I suppose we can use plastic dishes, and discard them, but if I cook bacon and eggs for breakfast, and eggs and bacon for supper, and brats and baked beans for lunch, etc. how do I clean the skillets/pans at a campsite in a campground?

  • #2
    Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

    if there is no sink available I would fill up a container with whatever water is available , doesn't have to be a large container, less than 1 gallon will do,
    and give everything a quick rinse and wipe down
    even just a wet rag can be enough to wipe everything down,

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    • #3
      Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

      A Nalgene tub is your sink, a couple of Blue Walmart -Canadian-made "Gerry Cans" are your water tanks, a Solashower is your spigot, CampSoap is detergent, a nylon sponge your scrub pad. Paper plates are handy and biodegradeable, but a reuseable set of plastic or metal silverware is a lot more "environmentally friendly" and less prone to breaking apart. Reuseable plastic bowls will nest inside your cookware and are also easy to clean - a few minutes soaking in soap and water and your dishes will rinse clean. A couple of gerry cans will provide enough of the family's water for all needs including a short shower for the weekend.
      “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
      ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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      • #4
        Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

        We've done the disposable dishes and utensils thing but now we have a Coleman portable wash basin and we have been staying at sites with running water. It's typically just a spigot like you would normally see outside so we also bring a short hose with an adjustable nozzle. Taking a limited amount of plastic nestable camping plates and cups we now just wash after using along with the pots and pans. It has saved us a little space from having to bring disposable ones and is more environmentally friendly.
        Last edited by Force10JC; 10-08-2015, 10:21 AM.

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        • #5
          Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

          When I camp at places w/o a communal kitchen sink I follow the KISS mindset.

          2 plastic containers big enough to fit the dishes that stack into the other. One for washing dishes and the other for rinsing. Wipe dishes off first with napkins to get the bulk of the food residue off. Throw napkins in firepit or garbage bag. Place dishes in hot water to soak if needed (pasta with cheese dishes WANT to be soaked, LOL). Wet sponge and squish to remove most water and then place dish washing detergent on sponge. Do NOT plunge sponge back into water ( Do you hear me ya Long Island man who grew up with an automatic dishwasher and a housewife mother?!........errrrr but I digress.......) since you'll only dilute the soap. Simply wash the plate (it's already wet from soaking, right?) and place in rinsing container. Stack all the stuff ya wanna wash in there and puhleese start with least dirty to dirtiest. That generally means: glasses, dishes, eating utensils and finally cooking pots and such. The rinsing pan should have a lil bit of vinegar added to the water since it cuts the soap suds. As the dishes leave the rinsing pan, dry.

          If you make this chore a 2 adult or 2 child (Yes, I think and always have that child labour isn't exploited enuf in this country) job it goes faster. I can only assume the last statement is true because it is NEVAH my responsibility to wash; I bought and cooked the food-job over. I can now sit back in my imaginary Barcalounger wearing my imaginary pink marabou slippers drinking my real wine and critique what you are doing like a true "stouperviser":out:.

          Oh and since we often camp in sandy locations I've been known to place beach sand in a CI skillet to absorb excess grease/oil and then wipe it out with paper towels before giving it a quick water wash out. Yeah sure I could use kosher salt instead but but sometimes I don't.

          One last head's up. Plates, eating utensils and skillets with egg remains want to be soaked in cold or cool water so ya don't "cook" the remainder of the egg onto the surface.

          I use a copper scrubby from the hardware store to scrub pots and pans that are weally dirty. Found that the silver versions rust too fast.

          The end.............................as long as ya cleaned up properly. And stop dragging that dish towel on the ground cuz it's not heavy!


          Sorry about that. Having flashbacks from last summer............

          :he:
          2017:

          July 3 to July 16- annual kiddo trip
          Aug 2 to Aug 14- adult trip to recover from kiddos' outing. Bring on the Campari!



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          • #6
            Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

            This is one of the main reasons I still deal with non-stick cookware for camping. They're a bit of a pain because they require more care to keep from getting scratched, you have to use non-metal utensils, but they clean up very easily with a bit of hot soapy water, a nylon scrub pad and a bit of hot water rinse. Since we're all a bunch of pyromaniacs and always have a fire going, I always clean and rinse everything at the edge of the fire ring. That way any food residue gets burned up. My plates are stainless steel and they clean up the same way.

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            • #7
              Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

              Non discriminatory slave labourers preparing to wash dishes...........

              2017:

              July 3 to July 16- annual kiddo trip
              Aug 2 to Aug 14- adult trip to recover from kiddos' outing. Bring on the Campari!



              Comment


              • #8
                Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                I've always done pretty much what Nycgrrl does.

                Wipe off the dishes/pans first to remove lingering food.
                Wet item in wash pan.
                Add soap to dishcloth at beginning and wet it to get it soapy. Wipe items with soapy dish cloth.
                Rinse in second pan.
                Dry and put away.

                Of course, you can always just cover the item with dirt - then no one will notice the stuck-on eggs.
                “One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.” - James D. Watson

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                • #9
                  Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                  MSR cookware has introduced Dupont Autograph Series non-stick cookware designed for camping use, we have one of their Pinnacle Series large frying pans. They are hardened, so you can use metal utensils all you want without worry. "These ain't your grandfather's fry pans".
                  “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
                  ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                    Thanks for all the replies!

                    Pre-cleaning the pans and dishes from food debris is no mystery, and I understand how to wash dishes. (I have even cleaned pots, pans and food trays at a soup kitchen for 18 months.)

                    What I am uneasy about is what to do with the "dirty" water after the dishes/pans are clean. Is it OK at a campground to (discreetly and with discretion) dump it on the ground nearby? - Ted
                    Last edited by isoc; 10-08-2015, 02:50 PM.

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                    • #11
                      Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                      Never wash pots, pans, etc near the public water pump or in the toilet sink, etc.

                      Carry water back to camp and wash. Be considerate of the campers who arrive after you. Nobody wants to arrive at a campsite to find scattered rice, burnt eggs, noodle, etc at the campsite.

                      Clean up your mess including the mess you make when cleaning!. This includes not leaving trash in the fire pit or cigarette butts laying about.

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                      • #12
                        Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                        MIke, what is that on the red checkered tablecloth? There is just not enough detail in the image for me to tell what it/they is/are. - Ted

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                        • #13
                          Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                          By the way, I'm not too serious about using plastic plates and forks and spoons, as my wife will wash them anyhow! So its most likely stuff from home or another trip to Field and Stream.

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                          • #14
                            Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                            Originally posted by tplife View Post
                            They are hardened, so you can use metal utensils all you want without worry.
                            Read the last paragraph on the wrap up here:
                            http://www.easternslopes.com/2011/03...0-inch-frypan/

                            I don't care what a manufacturer claims - I wouldn't trust metal on a non-stick surface. Not for the long term, anyway. I notice the last picture shows the same GSI spatula that I have. It's one half of a snap together set that includes a large spork and the spatula with a serrated edge. Great set of tools.

                            http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MWC7LQ

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                            • #15
                              Re: After the cooking, the cleanup.

                              Originally posted by Mike View Post
                              Never wash pots, pans, etc near the public water pump or in the toilet sink, etc.

                              Carry water back to camp and wash. Be considerate of the campers who arrive after you. Nobody wants to arrive at a campsite to find scattered rice, burnt eggs, noodle, etc at the campsite.

                              Clean up your mess including the mess you make when cleaning!. This includes not leaving trash in the fire pit or cigarette butts laying about.
                              Guessing that means you can't wash dishes in the shower either...and yes I saw the aftermath of someone doing that once. The truly tacky part was the place HAD a kitchen sink and they just couldn't wait. Some people.
                              2017:

                              July 3 to July 16- annual kiddo trip
                              Aug 2 to Aug 14- adult trip to recover from kiddos' outing. Bring on the Campari!



                              Comment

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