Utensil and cooking gear cleaning?

kenk said:
Though it may seem extreme, if you're with a group, then you want to add a sanitizing step using a 100 PPM bleach solution (1 tablespoon/gallon) for at least 1 minute, quaternary solution, or boiling water. In groups its all too common for folks not to clean hands after deficating. Those contaminated hands then reach into rinse water and theb contaminate other campers' eating gear. It happens.
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That's no bull!

I went on a group bicycle trip once (BAK; about 1K people) and a norovirus ripped through the group, nailing over a hundred people. A lot of the support stops had bulk foods and things like fruit slices in ice water that people reached into, spreading the virus quickly and efficiently. :barf:

When hot water and soap aren't handy, hand sanitizer is a very good thing!

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
Also, I have been using 'wipes' for many years camping, but first I dehydrate them. I just open the packages up on a sunny window for about 3-4 days. This evaporates most of the water from the package, though not all. In their now drier state they weigh less than half the wet package. This means I can carry many more packages than if they were wet, when I need more than 1 package. Just rehydrate when you go to use and it's like a regular wipe.

I never eat from community food, unless only 1 person is serving, exactly due to things like Norovirus,etc.
 
I carry Liquid soap in my pack for cleaning cooking and eating stuff and my hands. Been doing that for many many years. Now I've started also carrying some hand sanitizer and wet wipes in my gear. Anytime I stop for food or finish taking care of business I clean up. I also offer it to others so incase we share food, thats all we share. ;)

Heber
 
Wipes are good, but the common containers are usually packets or cylindrical dispensers that are not convenient to carry. You can get small compact packs of wipes too, but when specific to camping gear, they raise the price of these things. Here is what I have used for decades: baby wipes (the moist towlettes typically used to sanitize a baby's bottom during a daiper change). Yes I know it sounds odd, but the antibacterial baby wipes can be found at any drugstore, come in a flat re-sealable package that doesn't take up much room, and above all, they are about a third of the price you'd pay for the same thing labelled with a "camping" or "backpacking" sticker. The smell good too ;) . On top of these, if worried about killing germs, a small splash of my 151 rum will sterilize anything from cuts to pots. :)
 
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Well, I buy large flat packages of wipes without issue where I am. No need to buy the small 10 in a pack baby wipes IME. Buy the bulk wipe packages, dehydrate them, and repackage them into zip bags into all your gear. Wet with a bit of water when you are ready to use.
 
kgd said:
+1 on the alcohol based hand sanitizer! Inevitably you will use a rag of some type and then burn it or toss it in an appropriate garbage container when you are done. Last time, having forgot a dish towel, I used one of my spare socks. Needless to say now I have a spare sock.
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That'll work well on those trips when you forget TP :eek:

I'm +1 on the camp suds stuff. I also bring a sponge to make sure I get the gunk out. I try to plan accordingly as to not make a total mess when I'm out and about to make it easier to clean up.
 
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