6.2.17 Update:  The original order of my three pot method was based on an erroneous printing of the 2016 BSA Handbook, 13th addition which has since been corrected in recent printings.  The incorrect method list the order as Wash, Cold Sanitizing Rinse and Hot Rinse.  The order below reflects the corrected method per the current BSA Handbook.  Photos from the shoot are still based on the incorrect version.

Campfire Guy here.  If you’ve spent any time camping, hiking or killing time at work on outdoorsy blogs, you’ve probably crossed paths with the phrase  “Leave No Trace”.   This is sage advice about leaving the place you camped or hiked at in better shape than when you found it.  It could also serve as a cautionary note about trying to forge your mom’s signature on a progress report in the fourth grade.

The seven “Leave No Trace” principals are:

1. Plan ahead and prepare.
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces.
3. Dispose of waste properly.
4. Leave what you find.
5. Minimize campfire impacts.
6. Respect wildlife.
7. Be considerate of other visitors.
8. Be like a Milford Man, neither seen nor heard.

For the sake of brevity and making room for more bad jokes, the Boy Scouts full explanation of “Leave No Trace” can be found here.

Time for Some Trash Talk

Yo mamma has probably pointed out that I squeezed in one extra, probably made up principle above.  Chances are, she’d also want you to be a good steward of the environment.  Let’s spend some quality time with #3, “Dispose of waste properly”.  

 

 

When all six members of the Campfire Family are camping, we tend to generate a lot of trash.  I wouldn’t call it a “plethora”, but more of a “good amount”.  One of our goals as a family is to cut down the amount of garbage we generate on a campout.  Our Achilles heel is dirty dishes. Washing dishes at a campground is usually awful.  Half the time dishes get washed in the dark, and it’s always an outdoor spigot, with cold water.  I usually end up soaked from the waist down.

 

 

If only there were a better method to washing dishes.  Perhaps our mess kits, as discussed with encyclopedic detail in a pervious post, would make it to the woods instead of the trusty 100 pack of paper plates and plastic utensils.

Enter the Three Pot Method

“Three Pot Method” refers to a method used by Boy Scouts to “Wash, Rinse and Sanitize” dirty dishes on a campout.

 

 

Supplies to Pull Off A Successful Three Pot

• Something to heat water, like the Coleman Classic Propane Stove.
• Pot to heat water in.  I used the large pot from my GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Cook Set.
• Water
• Three tubs, pots or bins.  I like the Collapsible Dish Tub By Prepworks since they pack easier.
• Biodegradable soap.  I used Coghlan’s Biodegradable Camp Soap for this demo.
• Small container of bleach (2 teaspoons per gallon of water).
• Sponge or washcloth.
• Tongs
• Dunk bag to air dry dishes.  I used the mesh bag from my GSI Cascadian Mess Kit

 

 

How To Set It Up

Once you are finished cooking your meal, set a pot of water to boil on your stove, then proceed to stuff your face.  By the time you finish with seconds, the water should be good and hot.  You want some steam coming off, but not so hot you can’t put your hands in it.

 

Pot #1 – “Wash” Pot

The first pot contains hot water that you just took off the stove with a few drops of biodegradable camp soap.  Don’t get too ham-handed with the soap, as you’ll end up with three soapy pots and have to start over.  Simply wash the dish with a sponge or cloth just like you would in your sink at home.  

 

Pot #2 – “Rinse” Pot

The second pot contains clear, “too hot to stick your hands in” water.  Use the tongs to dip the dish that just left Pot #1.  

Pot #3 – “Sanitize” Pot

The third pot contains cold water with a few drops of bleach intended to sanitize the dish and kill bacteria.  Take your freshly rinsed dish from Pot #3 and give it a nice dunk.

At this point, your dishes should be clean.  Your water will be varying degrees of dirty.

 

 

Wet Dishes, No Problem

Take your wet, clean dishes and air dry them.  I’ve caught raccoons “hugging vigorously” atop picnic tables in the middle of the night, so go with a mesh dunk bag and hang the dishes up.

 

 

So, I’ve got all this dirty water, now what?

The half dozen Texas State Parks I’ve camped in always have some sort of water dam below the faucet.  If one of these is available, go ahead and dump all the water in it.  If you can strain the dirty water before you dump it and put that food into the garbage, even better.  

 

 

If there is no water dam available, make sure to be at least 200 feet away from any lake or stream before dumping the pots.  Sometimes we’ll use the dirty water to put out the campfire before turning in.

Special thanks to my friend Autumn Barker for the article suggestion!  Thanks as well to my fellow Fighting Eggplant, Ken Pearson, who helped me with the gear list and pointed me towards the BSA info.

Happy dishwashing!

Like Arrested Development and Three Amigos references, affiliate links are sprinkled above.  They don’t cost you anything extra on your Amazon purchase.  They do go towards funding our outdoor adventures.  All products shown above were purchased with Campfire Guy’s own funds.