by M. Es Torrens

Created on: July 18, 2009

Forgetting the dish soap when you go camping is not the end of the world. In fact, unless you purchased environmentally friendly soap specifically for camping you would be doing far more harm than good in trying to get those dishes sparking clean. Still, camping doesn't mean that hygiene goes out the window. Rather than panic, try the soap-free methods outlined below to wash your dishes.

Remember to always make sure you do your washing at least 15 feet from any water source. You should also do your washing away from camp as any wash water will have the smell of food and could attract bears or other wildlife to your camp.

1) Scrape off as much food residue as possible. You can either burn this residue in your campfire or bury it at least 200 feet from your campsite.

2) Rinse off remaining residue with cold water. Any hard to remove residue can be removed using sand and a rock to scrub it off in the same way as you would use a scouring pad. Baking Soda can also be used as a scouring agent if it is available.

3) Boil some water. If your plates are heat resistant, i.e. NOT plastic, you may boil the dishes for ten minutes to kill all harmful bacteria and make them sterile.

If your pot is not big enough to contain your dishes or your dishes are not heat resistant, simply use the boiling water to scrub off the plates using a rag. If any of your utensils came in contact with raw meat, you should try to boil them or go over it several times with the boiling water.

If you have vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or rubbing alcohol with you, a little of this can be either added to the water or diluted and applied to a rag and wiped across the dishes.

Again, if you cannot boil items that came in contact with raw meat, you should use any antibacterial agent at your disposal to wipe off the contaminated item.

4) Rinse off your dishes in clean water and dry with a clean rag or allow to dry in the air.

5) Dispose of the water you used for washing in an area away from your campsite and at least 15 feet from any water source.

Washing dishes without soap is a not only ecologically friendly, but also a hygienic and efficient way to clean up after yourself when camping.

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