Staying clean & sanitary while camping
The Camping Blogger posted a good article on staying clean on while camping and shared some tips about using wet wipes and hand sanitizer. I have to say, hand sanitizer is great stuff - where was this product just a few years ago?
Anyway, one of my own minor annoyances about camping is coming home with smoky clothes and jackets. Smoky clothes I can deal with - just throw them into the washing machine and they’re fine. But jackets and other items like sleeping bags, chairs, etc. are another story. I know, I know, many campers (myself included) enjoy the smell of a campfire but it’s less endearing when I’m back at home wearing my jacket to the mall. Anyone have tips for removing campfire smoke smells from delicate fabrics without resorting to the dry cleaners?
Another area where campers need to avoid dirt and germs is dishwashing. It’s never convenient to wash dishes outdoors because you generally don’t have a source of warm running water with a sanitary drain nearby. Instead we’re often left to soaping pots and pans and giving them a good wipe with a paper towel before using them for cooking and eating again. As a Boy Scout we cleaned dishes using two pots - one filled with hot, soapy water and a second with boiling water for rinsing. Steel wool did a great job getting caked food off plates and cookware and the boiling water pretty much ensured our stuff was safe and clean.
Of course we still always ran pots and pans through the dishwasher at home upon our return from the great outdoors and that’s probably a good idea just to be safe. It seems like every serious backpacker has at least one story about contracting a food-borne illness and dirty cookware can often be the culprit. Staying clean in the campground or on the trail isn’t just a matter of propriety - it can keep you from getting sick as well!
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December 2nd, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Ugh - good point on the smoke smell, I’d love to find a good way to get rid of that. I thought about that spray-on carpet cleaner, but I think it’s too perfumey, which would attract bugs.
February 18th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Hmm.. nice tips., I like you point in cleaning dishes when camping. It’s hard to clean dishes during camping. So I really appreciate your tips.