How To Wash Dishes While Camping (Step-By-Step Guide)
Unfortunately, dirty dishes don’t magically disappear off your to-do list when you’re enjoying the great outdoors. Although cleaning dishes is not fun, it doesn’t have to be a hassle. Learning the best way to wash dishes while camping will help speed up the process and get you back to enjoying your time in nature.
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How To Wash Dishes While Camping
The most common way to wash dishes while camping is to use two containers. The first container is for your soapy water, and the second container is your clean rinsing water. When washing dishes, you’ll first want to scrape food scraps off your dishes. Then, you’ll scrub your dishes in the soapy water. After the dish is scrubbed clean, you’ll finish by dunking it in the container with clean water and setting it aside to dry.
This step-by-step guide is mostly used while car camping. If you’re backpacking, then scroll down to the section below to learn the easiest way to wash your dishes while out on the trail.
Tools Needed To Wash Dishes While Camping
Like mentioned above, the best way to wash dishes while camping is with two containers and a few other tools.
In general, you’ll need
- Containers (ideally two)
- Food scraper
- Sponge
- Biodegradable dish soap
- Drying rack (optional)
- Strainer (optional)
Containers For Washing Dishes
When washing dishes, you’ll want one container to soak and scrub your dishes in. For the easiest washing, you’ll also want a second container for rinse water to rinse those dishes in.
If you only have one container, then another option is to use a water bottle to pour water over each dish to rinse. This way can potentially use more water if not done carefully.
For your containers, you can choose anything that works for your camping gear set-up. Some options are:
- Your cooking pot or pan
- Plastic storage bins
- Collapsible buckets
- Large tupperware
We use our large pot to scrub our dishes in. It works really great because you can pour some water into one of your dirty pots after cooking and start to heat it up while you eat your meal.
Food Scraper
This is a self-explanatory tool that comes in handy while camping. For easier washing, you should scrape all of your food residue into a trash bag before scrubbing with soapy water.
You can buy an actual food scraping device, or you might use a spatula or other utensil to scrape away your food waste.
Sponge Or Scrubbing Tool
This can be whatever you prefer to wash dishes with. Sometimes we use a sponge or we use a rag that we have in our camping bin.
The key is to use what works best for you and make sure you can let it dry in between washings.
Biodegradable Dish Soap
In order to keep nature in good shape so you can continue to enjoy it, you should opt to use biodegradable dish soap. This will have the least amount of impact on the environment as you’ll most likely be dumping your soapy water outside. Regular dish soap can pollute the area and take years to break down.
Drying Rack & Towel
This is up to your own personal preference as well. In my opinion, a drying dish rack is a luxury item while camping. We opt to just hand dry dishes with a towel. Or we set them on a tree stump or the tailgate to dry naturally.
Having some sort of hand towel, or at least some paper towels, is going to be helpful if you’re in a hurry to dry and pack up your dishes.
Strainer
Again, this is an optional item that can make the dishwashing process while camping easier. After you finish washing your dishes, you’ll want to strain out any food particles from the dirty dishwater before dumping it.
If you don’t have a strainer, you could poke holes in a plastic bag or trash bag to strain the water through. We sometimes just use our hand to pour the water through our fingers to catch any food debris if necessary.
Steps To Wash Dishes
Washing dishes at your campsite isn’t that complicated. It’s very similar to if you were hand washing dishes at home. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you with the process.
- Heat water
- Fill one bin with hot water & soap
- Fill the other bin with clean water (hot or cold)
- Scrape excess food from dirty dishes into trash
- Scrub dirty dishes in the soapy bin
- Rinse dishes in clean bin
- Set aside to dry
- Strain food bits from dirty dish water bin when finished
- Discard of your water at least 200 feet from your campsite & water sources
1. Heat Water
This first step isn’t totally necessary, but very helpful. In general, hot or warm water is able to clean your dishes better by breaking down grease and food waste. Very hot water can also sanitize your dishes.
If you’re not able to boil water on a fire or stove, then cold water will suffice. Just make sure to use enough soap on any dishes that have raw meat on them and rinse well.
2. Fill Your Containers
If you have hot water, then you’ll fill your first container with it. It doesn’t have to be boiling hot, but warm enough to loosen up food residue. Then, add a few drops of biodegradable dish soap to your warm water.
Next, fill your second container with water for rinsing. This can be cold water or hot water, just make sure it is clean water.
3. Scrape Food
The easiest way to clean your camping dishes is to eat all of the food. This helps eliminate trash and food smell at your campsite.
If your dishes have excess food, then use a food scraper to scrape it into the trash. If you’re in bear country, then it is extra important to scrape it into a bag that you’ll keep away from your campsite or in a bear container.
4. Scrub Dishes
After you scrape food from your dishes, it is time to scrub them with soapy water. It is the best practice to wash your cleanest dishes in the water first to keep it from getting too grimy right off the bat.
Scrub the dishes in the soapy water and dunk them back down in the soapy water to try to remove as much suds from it as possible before the next step of rinsing.
5. Rinse Dishes In Clean Water
Your clean water should remain clean because all of your washing is being done in the “dirty water” bin first.
After you scrub your dishes in the dirty water and dunk it a few times to get the suds off it, then you can dunk your dish in the clean water container.
6. Dry Dishes
After rinsing your dishes, then it is time to dry your dishes. You can dry them on a rack, set them around your campsite to dry in the fresh air, or use a towel to dry your dishes.
7. Strain Dish Water
Now that you’re finished washing your dishes, it’s time to get rid of your dishwater. The first thing you want to do is strain out any food particles that are inside your wash bins. Dispose of the food particles in your trash.
8. Dispose Of Dishwater
Now it’s time to pour out your dish water. Make sure to check local guidelines at your campsite. If you’re at a campground, there might be a camping dishwashing station or even a designated area to dump your “gray water.” Some areas might require that you dig a hole to dispose of your gray water to prevent it attracting bears.
Otherwise, you want to make sure to dump your water at least 200 feet away (about 70 adult strides) from your campsite to prevent attracting critters and larger animals. You also need to make sure you’re at least 200 feet away from all natural water sources.
To have the least environmental impact, it’s best to splash (or broadcast) your water around a large surface area. This means, you don’t want to pour all of the water in one small spot on the ground, but fling it across a large area.
How To Clean Dishes While Backpacking
If you’re backpacking, then you probably don’t want to lug around multiple containers to wash your dishes in. Also, you’ll have a limited amount of dishes in your pack to wash in the first place.
While backpacking, we find that just rinsing our dishes with water or a baby wipe does the trick for a few days. This works as long as you’re not using raw meats on your dishes.
You could also boil a small amount of water and bring a small sponge to scrub your dishes. Make sure you’re doing this process away from your campsite so that you don’t attract bears.
In general, we find that during backpacking it isn’t as necessary to wash dishes because we’re eating freeze dried meals with little prep. It’s usually just a matter of rinsing off our utensil or wiping down a bowl and rinsing it with a bit of water.
Something about tasting a hint of of last night’s freeze-dried lasagna when you stir your morning coffee is actually comforting.
“Leave No Trace” And Washing Dishes
Leave No Trace is a popular initiative that helps outdoor enthusiasts leave the least amount of impact on the environment while they’re out on a camping trip or other outdoor activities.
There are 7 Leave No Trace principles, but the few that apply to washing your camping dishes are:
- Plan ahead & prepare
- Dispose of waste properly
It is really important to plan ahead when camping, especially when it comes to washing your dishes. You don’t want to get there with no way to wash your dishes and then you have a mess to deal with and no way to properly do it.
A Few Simple Tips For Washing Dishes While Camping
- Utilize the dollar store to purchase your washing bins
- If there’s a picnic table, use it for washing & drying dishes
- As a last resort, eat on plain paper plates (no coating) and paper towels so you can burn it in your campfire
- Make sure you have enough water when preparing for your trip for drinking and washing your dishes
- Let dishes air dry on the ground instead of using a drying rack or towel
Conclusion
Getting your camp dishes washed can seem daunting, but it is actually easier than you think. As long as you have a system in place and plan ahead, you’ll be able to wash your dishes with no issues. You might even learn to enjoy it!
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