Save water by not washing pans and plates

[wasanah2]

Now that's just plain wrong. LOL

 

[John61CT]

Reverse osmosis watermaking systems, as used on cruising boats at sea, take up a fair bit of space and are an expensive investment up-front, but

would allow you to live long-term near any ocean, or salt lakes like in Utah or Nevada

many produce as much as 30-40 gallons per hour, can also get your batteries charged at the same time

and last for decades properly cared for

 

[wasanah2]

John:
For the person who invents a way to make a smaller reverse osmosis system that costs little and charges batteries, you'll find yourself a billionaire.  That technology would be very useful...especially down under in Australia where desalinization is a household word.  If on a well, many times the well is salt water and a system like that would be very useful as well as on boats and others who camp near the ocean.

Something that would help our community though would be a system that you shower in water that's collected, that water is purified through a system in the rig and the water is returned to your drinking water holding tanks for reuse.  If you are able to put back as much water as you take out, minus of course evaporation and the water you drink....unless, well maybe this system could be so awesome that it could purify even urine and put it back into the water tanks.   If you put back as much water as you take out, desert dwellers would be able to significantly increase their time out boondocking without having to return to civilization for water.

For me, fresh water is everywhere.  In my current location,  I have my awning cistern and rain barrel for soft water washing.  And there's a very clear creek nearby that can be purified and used.  A river is a further walk, but it's nearby too.   Water on the east coast isn't a problem....except that there is sometimes too much of it.   Everything is so green here.  I love it.

 

[wypoon]

If you're boondocking with access to a stream/river, and don't want to pollute your ($$$) drinking water filter, but need to replenish your non-potable water for cleaning purposes, you can add a teaspoon of Clorox (Pool) Clarifier to a pail of stream water, give it a stir, and wait a couple of hours. Then slowly tip the pail and empty it into your holding container, discarding the last two inches of water at the bottle containing the accreted particles.

Virtually unlimited clean water for showering and washing

 

[CosmickGold]

Use peroxide (the drug store variety) in your spray bottle instead of vinegar. Vinegar does not kill some of the most dangerous kinds of germs. Peroxide does.

 

[Dingfelder]

Out of curiosity, what sort of germs does vinegar leave behind?

 

[Cat Lady]

Just a different way of looking at a age old concept.

Make a big pot of chili and rewarm it every day. Save a plate of left overs and reheat in the microwave later. Shove the pizza box in the fridge or as many do, just leave it on the coffee table. lol

This can be a thread on how people handle their dishes/pots

I use parchment paper in my fry pans to avoid the mess. Often it can be slid right on to a plate for consumption. This leaves me with a spatula and a fork to wash. Often when I make multiple portions I bag them and put them in boiling water to reheat.

To heck with the dishes...Jim, when you get tired of the pup, I’ll take him...too cute.  We had one that looked just like him.  He passed away a few years ago...hubby and I still miss him every day.

 

[BigT]

I never use plates or bowls, opting to eat my meals straight out of the pots / pans directly.  Less to wash that way and super easy to clean with very little water.  

I suppose if water were really scarce, I might try soaking a paper towel in a little water and cleaning my pans with just that.  
If you don't want to accumulate too much trash, you could always leave the paper towel out in the sun, and burn it when it dries.

I don't drink tap water, ever, but carry a 1 gallon water bottle which I fill from a tap whenever I can, for washing dishes and bathing.  
That way I'm not using my drinking / cooking water for cleaning things.  

Then again, I generally don't camp out in the middle of nowhere, with no services, for weeks on end, so perhaps my system wouldn't work for everyone.  

 

[yugogypsy1963]

Big T, I've also been known to eat straight from the pan and am a great fan of one pot meals. Saving water will be a concern, simply because I don't want too much extra weight in my trailer. I will have my drinking/cooking water separate from my cleaning water and make both last as long as possible. I'll definitely use peroxide if I have any doubts about the cleanliness of the pot or pan I'm eating from or the utensils I use

Cheers
Lois

 

[Regie]

Dirty... but useful tip. Especially when using paper plates is not eco-friendly(

 

[wasanah2]

If you're boondocking with access to a stream/river, and don't want to pollute your ($$$) drinking water filter, but need to replenish your non-potable water for cleaning purposes, you can add a teaspoon of Clorox (Pool) Clarifier to a pail of stream water, give it a stir, and wait a couple of hours. Then slowly tip the pail and empty it into your holding container, discarding the last two inches of water at the bottle containing the accreted particles.

Virtually unlimited clean water for showering and washing

I used to have a pool a long time ago and you're right.   I forgot about those pool chemicals, and they don't take up so much space.  They keep water clean so no bacteria/pond scum/ one celled animals can live in it.  As long as the creek isn't downstream from a place where toxins might go in (like near a farm), it should work fine.   I'm so glad I saw this.  I will pick up some clarifier.  Yep, that stuff takes all the solids to the bottom.  How big of a pail do you use for a teaspoon?  Do you use just the clarifier or do you use shock too?  Really glad I saw this!  I wouldn't drink it, but for washing, it should be plenty clean.  Thanks!!!!!

 

[yugogypsy1963]

Regie,

I do wash my pot or pan after I eat out of it, so its clean. More of a lazy person's habit than truly dirty

wasanah2; pool chemicals sound like a good idea to me and I'm sure there are directions for use on them

Where I live I know where the good versus bad water spots are and where there are wonderfully pure springs for drinking and cooking water but if necessary, I would use pool chemicals for washing up water

Cheers, Lois

 

[Regie]

I do wash my pot or pan after I eat out of it, so its clean. More of a lazy person's habit than truly dirty

Sorry, I've replied to the topic starter. No hard feelings, Lois

Usually I'm trying to wash my dishes as quick as possible, but If I don't have an opportunity to do so (or I just feel too exhausted) I eat out of my pan too. After that I'm trying to make it clean as much as I can (with forks, spoons and my husbands help). So it could stay like this for a day. Sometimes - oh laziness - I can even use it again without proper cleaning, for rice boiling for example.

 

[yugogypsy1963]

Yes, depending what you've cooked in the pot before the rice can add a bit of flavor to it

 

[Dingfelder]

I also save water when cooking rice by using the liquid of whatever I'm cooking to substitute for some of the water. For instance, when doing a veggie dish with canned tomatoes, or chili and rice, consider the liquid that comes with as part of the "cooking water" and use proportionally less water.

Or if, say you have some leftover spaghetti sauce, chicken stock, soup, leftover ramen liquid, or other type of sauce or gravy, or even just random dregs at the bottom of old sauce bottles cluttering up your fridge, toss it into your rice before cooking, just retaining the same liquid to rice ratio.

Gives those extras and leftovers something useful to do.

 

[yugogypsy1963]

Last dregs of ketchup taste good in meatloaf, your meals are only limited by your leftovers and your imagination

 

[Dingfelder]

Absolutely. Many meatloaf recipes call for ketchup. I used to put V8 in mine too. And salsa too,though I have to tip out the pan every so often to get rid of the excess liquid during cooking.

 

[vanbrat]

C00k and eat 0ff a stick--- h0t d0gs --- shrimp wrapped with bac0n --baked apple---c0rn 0n the c0b-- chicken bites-- steak strips-- etc when y0u are d0ne eating burn the stick 0r save it f0r t0m0rr0w Did this 0nce f0r 2 days was interesting

 

[eDJ_]

I live here in the east so water isn't that rare.  

But if I were out west again where it is much more precious I'd alter my menu and methods to take that into consideration.  My clean up would start with pump spray bottles with adjustable nozzles.  One with soapy water, one with
clear rinse, and one with just a bit of chlorine bleach in the water as a sterilizer.  (bottles from Dollar Tree) 

Cooking implements would  be lined with aluminum foil.  Skillet, griddle, grill. Eating utensils would be paper and plastic.

It would leave very little to clean up. Spatula, stirring spoons, knives,  cutting board(s).   

Foods in cans would be heated in hot water with the lid opened.  The cans would double as the pot.  The left over hot water would be used for cleaning other utensils.  Smoked sausage for breakfast may be heated over an open fire on a 4 ft long hot dog skewer.  Foil and cooking spray would take care of eggs, bacon,  or pancakes.  Otherwise a lot of dump dinners and 4 or 5 ingredient dishes preped for minimum clean up.

 

[jeanmarie]

After you have used a plate, pan, spoons, and forks, put them in the fridge, you can do that for 3 days if you only keep them out for a short time, then you only wash dishes about 2 times a week.

Hah! You are so spoiled! Go to Desertphile's channel on YouTube and watch "My Life as a Mojave Desert Hermit." He had one pot. He cooked in it, ate out of it, licked it dry and cleaned it out with dirt. Then, the next meal went right in on top of the dirt residue.