Washing Dishes

[Damien Tougas]

When traveling in freezing conditions, what is the recommended practice for washing dishes? Where do you do it? In your shelter? Outside? How do you not freeze your hands in the process?

[Bob Gross]

I have camped in some pretty awful weather before. If I am tent camping, then I modify my eating routine a little. I eat the solid food course, then I follow that with the soup, and then I follow that with the hot tea. As a result, at the end, there isn't much left in my mug/bowl to clean out. At the worst, a splash of hot water into it and then I set it upside down in the tent vestibule. It helps if your cuisine is hot-water based, and not a carefully stewed pot.

If I am camped in a snow cave, it gets easier. I repeat the above process, but at the end, if there is anything to be cleaned out, then a splash or two of hot water and then pour it directly onto the snow floor. It will melt its way down and be gone.

–B.G.–

[Joseph Reeves]

My wife loves to wash dishes. I am not making this up. She will gather everyone's 700s and trek off to the stream, break through the ice and wash them sparkling clean. She uses "orange" fish gloves — not lightweight, but sturdy — in the winter. If it is really cold she might put on a pair of liners underneath, but I've only seen this on a couple of occasions. She is pretty tough.

[James holden]

bag eating …

or eat out of a metal bowl … that way you just put the bowl on top of yr pot with a splash of water and ice/snow … and it melt when yr boiling yr water for tmr … and clean it then

save some fuel

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Damien

I am surprised no-one has let you into the winter secret yet. So I will.

When you have finished dinner and scraped your bowl 'clean', wipe all your gear down with a bit of snow (like a sand scrub) and then rinse with water. Do not dry! Leave gear sitting in tent doorway.

Half an hour later (or much less if it is really cold!), pick up your gear and scrape the ice off. Voila: clean gear!

We found this method one morning when it was really cold, and Sue got as far as a rinse before she was interrupted. 5 minutes later, everything was ice – so she just gave it all a whack to clear the ice off, and packed it away dry.

Caution: This does NOT work with plain aluminium pots. The ice STICKS! Not sure about hard anodised aluminium either. But titanium pots and polyethylene bowls and Lexan cutlery … excellent.

Cheers

[Rod Lawlor]

Hi Damian,

I've reposted this from the blog, hope you don't mind.

I generally use a handful of snow to get most of everything out, plus a tiny little plastic scraper. Give everything a scrub with a couple of handfuls of snow. Then I heat a cup of water, add some detergent, and starting with the least greasy plates, work my way through, tipping from dish to dish. I carry a pair of light weight dishwashing gloves to keep my hands dry, which makes it much more pleasant.

I also use them if I'm digging a snow platform, or pulling down a wet tent too. It means I'm happy to dry the tent off in the morning, since my hands aren't screaming at me.

I agree with Roger though, I never dry anything

I do this wherever I cook and eat. On a nice night this would be in an outside snow kitchen. If not, in the mid with no floor on my own, or the floor pulled back with the kids.

Last (first) snow trip with the kids there was an antechinus eating all the scrapings from our bowls. In the end he burrowed up from below our sump pit and would be sitting in the bottom of it waiting for breakfast!

[Damien Tougas]

Hello Rod, No I don't mind at all. I thought I would post the question here as well to see what else popped up.

[Ole Saether]

A bit off topic but in Norway most people use meals from Drytech where you eat directly from the bag:
http://www.drytech.no/old/?page_id=40

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Rod

> antechinus … sitting in the bottom of it waiting for breakfast!

Love it!

Cheers

[Bob Gross]

"antechinus"

Are they good to eat… fried in olive oil?

–B.G.–

[Roger Caffin]

> "antechinus"
> Are they good to eat… fried in olive oil?

Wash your mouth out!
They are small, cheky, quite cute, furry, about the size of a rat, and fully protected.
Now, grilled bear …

Cheers

[Author]

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