Paper Plates vs. Hard Plates?

[VanForNow]

Which is better, paper or hard plates? I have never tried washing pots and plates with the diluted vinegar solution which is often recommended. Are paper plates more convenient? (But they do raise the disposability issue.)

On the other side, paper plates are rather weak and prone to puncture when cutting food. But using two thicknesses of paper plate reduces this problem. As a kid, I remember we sometimes used paper plates set in a reusable woven wicker "base plate," which also made eating easier.

As a compromise, how about using those lightweight, indestructible backpacker plates made of stainless steel or aluminum?

 

[jester]

Somewhere there's a thread about toss or wash all about people's thoughts on dishware.

 

[SoulRaven]

If I'm camping where I can have a campfire, I use paper plates. Otherwise I use plastic plates from the dollar store and wash them.

Doing dishes is easy, I have 2 dishpans from the dollar store, along with 3 trigger spray bottles also from the dollar store. One bottle for cold water, one painted black for solar heated hot water, and a third with a water & dish soap mix. Unless I need to soak something, the dishpans are just used to catch the water run off. I usually leave the soapy water bottle in the sun too so it's hot water.

I spray my pots, pans, dishes, & silverware with the soapy water mix, then use a dollar store scrubby on them, then rinse with hot water, and dry. The spray bottles make this a simple and easy task, and I normally do the dishes as soon as I'm done eating. If something sticks in one of my pots or pans, I spray it with soapy mix immediately after emptying it, and by the time I'm done eating, it will be easy to clean.

I prefer the dishpan method over built in sinks because they can easily be packed away when not in use, and can be used both indoors and outdoors without duplication. When camping, if everything is portable, it is easy to take your camp stove, sinks, and cooler outside, so you have both your kitchen and your living room outside. I also sometimes take my toilet & shower outside. I can even move my bed outside if I feel like it.

 

[VanForNow]

Somewhere there's a thread about toss or wash all about people's thoughts on dishware.

Yes, the "search" function is our friend (although sometimes it is nice to have updated material.) Here is the URL for a lengthy discussion on this topic which occurred only a month ago:

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Throw-away-or-wash?highlight="paper+plates"

 

[MrNoodly]

I have one plate, one bowl. Most of the washing involves wiping off any residue with half a paper towel, then going over it with a damp paper towel half until I see nothing. Tougher cases might require pouring a little water on the dish and letting it sit, then tossing the water and using the paper towels. As for my fork, I suck everything from it I can, then go over it with the damp paper towel. I am of the belief that soap is rarely necessary and that it just takes more water to rinse it all off. Our culture has conditioned us to over-worry cleanliness. Not that we should be dirtier, but that we spend a lot of time cleaning things that are already clean enough. My cleaning techniques haven't made me ill.

 

[NickTheoBennett]

I use a 50/50 vinegar solution and wipe out with paper towels. I also have a cheapo solar shower from Walmart that I hang near the van and use to wash my hands and handle any dishes that require a more serious scrub.

Vinegar sanitizes and I've never worried too much about germs anyway. Hasn't killed me yet.

 

[highdesertranger]

paper plates = environmentally wasteful. reduce, reuse, recycle, the three r's. I use metal plates same ones for 40 years. highdesertranger

 

[poncho62]

A real camper will use a piece of bark or whatever, maybe eat over the kitchen sink......I wont get into toilet paper......lol

 

[highdesertranger]

one time on a backpacking trip I forgot my spoon(only utensil I carried). carved one out of wood. I still have it. highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

We use paper for sandwiches mostly but gave up on the burning the trash thing. Half the time there is a ban, a lot of the stuff doesn't burn well and I just don't enjoy sitting around the campfire digging through the trash looking for stuff to burn.

 

[sushidog]

I use a 50/50 vinegar solution and wipe out with paper towels. I also have a cheapo solar shower from Walmart that I hang near the van and use to wash my hands and handle any dishes that require a more serious scrub. Vinegar sanitizes and I've never worried too much about germs anyway. Hasn't killed me yet.

I was a sushi chef for 20 years. We use vinegar to disinfect everything. It lowers the pH to a level outside the range where bacteria can grow. Some bacteria it kills outright, while others it simply but effectively ******* their growth (like refrigeration does) so as long as you clean the plates well first you'll be safe. We use it on towels, knives and kitchen utensils too. It's cheap, safe and effective. What's not to like? Well it does smell like vinegar, but better than harsh carcinogenic chemicals poisoning you slowly. It's so safe you can drink it, and you probably should drink a little for medicinal reasons. We use rice vinegar which has a milder odor than distilled white vinegar, but apple cider vinegar would work as well.

Chip

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks sushidog good advice. I actually like the smell of vinegar. but the small of a skunk doesn't bother me either. lol. highdesertranger

 

[BobBski]

Generally don't use a plate..eat straight out of the fry pan and or sauce pan that the meal was prepared in. I hate doin dishes lol.

 

[Txjaybird]

Queenie and I are having a bad summer.  Rain almost daily for days in a row, temps 90 to 100. My health seems to get worse instead of better.  We can't seem to get any thing done.  Granma would have said we are in a "dee-cline".  

 This year I'm using paper plates, foam saucers and plates for both of us when I feel like I  just can't face one more dirty dish   Also eating samwhiches and some one can meals....Ravioli, soup, hash, chili, stew, tuna, and vienies.  Also deli rotissere chickens....I think  Queenie cackled awhile ago   :huh:   I don't share my chili with Queenie, do you know how much no bean Wolf brand is now......TOOOO much! We have plastic  paper plate holders from $ Tree.  Tonite I put a cheap paper plate in a glass pie plate for a "fancy meal" seasoned green beans and Hamb. Helper  Queenie ate her grn. bns on a foam saucer. 
She is good company but a pi$$ poor dish washer    Now we're headed out for a mid-nite Wally World run.

Have a good weekend......Jewellann and  The Fat Possum  aka Queenie

 

[TrainChaser]

Paper vs rigid plates.  I've always carried both and use which is best for the matter at hand.  You don't really need to overthink this.

One fallacy that I wish people would stop passing along is use of vinegar as a disinfectant for dishes.  Yes, it can clean certain things, but dishes aren't one of them.  Vinegar is neither a sanitizer nor a disinfectant of bacteria.

How do you feel about having food poisoning, vomiting and bloody diarrhea in your van, 50 miles from medical assistance?  Do you feel okay with that?  Fine.  Use vinegar.

For those who don't want to indulge in voluntary self-abuse, use detergent and hot water.  If you're so intensely lazy that you just can't do that, you have a problem.  Better stick to paper.

Vinegar does not cut grease.  Have you ever mixed an oil & vinegar salad dressing?  Did you notice that as soon as you stop shaking, they separate? Vinegar does not cut oil or grease!  Just because you wiped the dish with a paper towel doesn't mean it's clean.

Vinegar can't kill the most common bacteria that cause food poisoning: Salmonella, Campylobacter, E-coli, or Staphylococcus, because they produce a coat of protective 'biofilm', which both protects them and helps them stick to things (like dishes).  This slime coat prevents them from being casually washed away and protects them from chemicals that could disable them.

Vinegar is one of the things that can't get past the slime barrier.  You MUST wash with detergent and hot water first, and THEN you can use a disinfectant (or vinegar).  But if you don't break down the slime coat, you're wasting your time.

 

[NickTheoBennett]

How do you feel about having food poisoning, vomiting and bloody diarrhea in your van, 50 miles from medical assistance?  Do you feel okay with that?  Fine.  Use vinegar.

I suppose everybody has their own risk tolerance level.  I generally eat pretty simple meals and leave very little mess behind.  Spraying with 50/50 vinegar and wiping out works just fine for me.  

I feel like implying that you'll definitely get food poisoning if you do this is very alarmist and misleading.  Maybe it doesn't clean to your satisfaction, but it does do a decent job on most things.  

To be fair, I also very rarely buy meat or eggs or dairy, so perhaps my risk of food poisoning is lower to start with.

I also spent several years with nothing but cold water in my house, so saying that you "must" wash with hot water is also untrue. I washed with cold water and regular (cheapest) dish soap for that entire time and I've never once had food poisoning.

Everything I am saying is anecdotal and I'm sure the science is there to back up what TrainChaser says about salmonella and such. To me the risk just isn't great enough to worry about.

 

[TrainChaser]

Nothing builds up wariness like experiencing food poisoning. I have. Twice.

 

[akrvbob]

In 14 years of using vinegar instead of soap and water to  clean my dishes, I've never had a single health issue because of it.  Makes me want to continue it. Here is back-up of it's safety from http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/home/natural-disinfectant:

Vinegar
Pros: The vinegar you buy in stores contains 5 percent acetic acid, which does have antimicrobial properties. Various studies have found that vinegar, usually in combination with table salt or hydrogen peroxide, can inhibit the growth of some strains of E. coli. It's also an effective mold killer. Its production doesn't take such a toll on the environment,

Produce
Susan Sumner, PhD, a food-safety scientist at Virginia Tech, has researched the effectiveness of vinegar as a disinfectant since the late ’90s. She found in one study, published in the 1997 issue of the journal Food Microbiology that spraying vinegar and then spraying hydrogen peroxide on produce killed a majority of E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, and Listeria bacteria. You can also mix it up, using hydrogen peroxide first, just as long as you don't mix the two together (they're less effective that way). Let the produce dry before you eat it.

Bob

 

[Diesel4Life]

Yes I to use white vinegar for cleaning not just dishes and cookware either, for some additional abrasiveness baking soda and or salt. As well as essential oils, hydrogen peroxide and colloidal silver that I've been making myself for years. All of these things are highly effective and very inexpensive, and have many other additional uses as well.

 

[wagoneer]

I have two plates unbreakable china glass pyrex bowls military issue flatware, drink coffee in a fluted french glass I leave them in the sun or rain then sun, some say I have an ironclad stomach, dunno how true that is .