Cleaning Survival Cookware

[PHR]

This subject comes about to me cause everyone thinks about cooking and most of us guys know there is that chore of doing the dishes, but without that warm flowing water brings to the point of cleaning after cooking.. Spray bottles may allready have been covered but worth going over again. Water can be gold. Pots / pans can be sprayed with a thin film of water-repeated can qualify as soaking, outside they can further drip off then using a paper towel cut into 4 pieces can begin remove the leftover. One paper towel with proper spray and soak can do a pretty good job on that large pot. This cuts down on dirty dishes and even drinking glasses kept clean this way. In Africa it has been estimated that > 75% of disease such as cholera can be eliminated by hand washing so spray your hands or others to rub and clean them also.... Just think we get to stock more toilet paper and paper towels and collect a few reusable plastic sprayers.

[Zombie Axe]

My survival cookware is mainly setup to heat water for Mountain House or MRE meals. I have some dish washing detergent for when I need to cook some stew though :) Good post :)

[Rustyshakelford]

This subject comes about to me cause everyone thinks about cooking and most of us guys know there is that chore of doing the dishes, but without that warm flowing water brings to the point of cleaning after cooking.. Spray bottles may allready have been covered but worth going over again. Water can be gold. Pots / pans can be sprayed with a thin film of water-repeated can qualify as soaking, outside they can further drip off then using a paper towel cut into 4 pieces can begin remove the leftover. One paper towel with proper spray and soak can do a pretty good job on that large pot. This cuts down on dirty dishes and even drinking glasses kept clean this way. In Africa it has been estimated that > 75% of disease such as cholera can be eliminated by hand washing so spray your hands or others to rub and clean them also.... Just think we get to stock more toilet paper and paper towels and collect a few reusable plastic sprayers.

We just hang em out on a fence post on a day like this and let the sand do the cleaning.

[Parthenox]

I used to be a Boy Scout and I know a good trick...

If you mix clean sand and powdered dishwashing detergent, and scrub reeeeeally hard with folded over pine needles, it gets just about anything off.
Then the sand can be filtered and reused. Of course, then you want to rinse with iodine water. Leaves a tinge on the hands, but it cleans like nothing else.

[RossA]

A lot of pioneers traveling west would use sand (preferably from a stream) to scrub out pots, then rinse them in the stream. Even if you don't have running water, sand will rinse out pretty easily with small amounts of water since it doesn't leave a soap film.
A final coat of iodine water or bleach water will kill any germs left behind.

[RossA]

A lot of pioneers traveling west would use sand (preferably from a stream) to scrub out pots, then rinse them in the stream. Even if you don't have running water, sand will rinse out pretty easily with small amounts of water since it doesn't leave a soap film.
A final coat of iodine water or bleach water will kill any germs left behind.

[brightstar]

Glad to see some mentioned using sand to scrub outdoor survival cookware with as this is what I was going to mention also.

As far as using the iodine water or bleach, I personally do not think it is necessary afterwards because once you clean them, sit them in the sun and let the sun and air dry them, they they are clean. Besides you are going to be heating them when cooking, thus if any germs might still be on the dry pot, then the cooking process will definitely kill anything else. So save your iodine and clorox for making drinking water safe cause you sure don't want to get any peskies and get diarrhea.


brightstar

[ashelocoa]

Natural pot scrubber

I use handfulls of grass, dry or green, and double it over to make a durable pot scrubber. A little water and scrub away! Then rinse. I use this technique around the campfire and with my chicken waterers.

[voodoo]

Baking soda and a rag. Thats all you need...