Washing up !!

[pumbaa]

Ok , you have just made yourself a nice meal out in the woods , fried a few shrooms and prerhaps a sausage or two , maybe even thrown some beans in (just to fill yer belly) .
This leaves a mess all over your pan . How do you clean it ? I learnt to boil cans in water after finding a moldy mess in my pan the next day
just wondered how you guys sort this problem out , especialy when there is little water about .
Cheers
Pumbaa

 

[R-J]

i usuely have some biodegradeable soap on me. splash of water, some reeds/grass and its done. i know some guyds have a fdull cleaning kit with them.

 

[Wayland]

If you have a fire add some ash and water to your pan.

Ash + water = alkali + gritty silica

alkali + fat = soap

soap + gritty silica + slight scrub = clean pan.

when you have washed the pan pour the water into the fireplace, this area has already been affected by the alkali.

Rinse with water and again pour it into the fireplace.

On the next rinse you can pour the water away elsewhere but not into the water source.

All too often I have seen people washing pans directly in streams or lakes only to pour the dirty water back into the clean source.

Always throw the water well back onto the land, this way the ground can filter out the organic materials, reducing contamination of your source water.

For a final rinse use clean drinking water or boil the water in the pan.

 

[wolf man]

I take bio-degradeable soap as standard. If the pans are really bad, put a bit of soap and water to cover and boil them up for a few minutes, then grab a handfull of plants (nettles earth) and scrub. Come out shining every time.

You could also use dishwasher tablets, but not very enviromentaly friendly

 

[MartiniDave]

Silver Birch or Horse Chestnut leaves work well as a natural soap crushed in some warm warter. If you are in a sandy soil area a little sand/soil and a handfull of grass makes a scourer. A wooden scraper can be used on the worst of the stubborn stuff, followed by the dish washer or whatever when you finish your trip.

I also carry a small sponge vacked scouring pad cut in half if all else fails.

Dave

 

[led]

If you're using cast iron pans you don't want to be using detergents or scouring, so after rinsing you can generally put the pan on the fire and burn off any stubborn residue, then scrape it out.

 

[Viking]

Sand
Moss
Spruce boughs
Hot water
Lots of things work =)

 

[neo_wales2000]

Nylon scouring pad works well, use zip lock bags to boil things like scrambled eggs in, works well.

 

[stoddy]

just grab a clump of grass


I cleaned my messtins this way for years in the mob!

also

if you get a used teabag (still warm and wet from your brew) works the same way.

you can also use dirt!

as long as its dry dirt (if you know what I mean )

 

[stotRE]

A sproggy Sapper is the best pan scrubber i know

 

[falling rain]

Most things cooked in metal pots/pans can be scrubbed without any soap or cleaning agents at all, just use very hot water and allow to soak (if things like egg are stuck on the bottom) then scrub with a metal coily scouring type thing (I know what I mean but can't remember the make) Plastic plates/mugs/bowls etc hold grease for some reason. It clings to the plastic (not sure of the physics behind this but I suppose it's to do with moecules or porous surfaces. I don't use any plastic at all for trips for this reason, and always get by on just the hot water and scourer and a rinse with cold clean water to finish.

 

[Jared]

Been on the look out (in the UK) for a "little chizler" which is supposedly handy for scrapping/cleaning pots and the like.

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000915.php

 

[Toddy]

Been on the look out (in the UK) for a "little chizler" which is supposedly handy for scrapping/cleaning pots and the like.

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000915.php

Lakeland sell a little scraper for this. 50p

Cheers,
Toddy (who has just had to buy a new one; HWMBLT used mine to remove pine resin from some trees )