Cleaning Dishes

Clean Personal Dishes:

• Everyone should help eat as much as possible from the large pot and their bowls. Uneaten food must be packed out in a plastic bag. Eat it or carry it.

• Do not dump leftover food in a latrine or sump. It must be packed out.

• Each person should scrape and wipe their personal gear as clean as possible.

Cleaning All Dishes:

• The clean-up crew (2 people) washes the pots and everyone's dishes near the fire ring or sump.

• Fill the "cooking / wash" pot 1/4 full with the boiled water and add cold water to fill the pot up half way. Add 1 or 2 drops of Camps Suds.

• Fill the "rinse" pot 1/4 full with the boiled water.

• Wash and rinse all dishes. Stack them on the 8-quart lid.

• The "wash" pot should be scrubbed last.

Use Of Sumps

Concentrated Impact:

• Hold sump strainer over sump.

• Pour "wash" pot contents slowly through sump strainer into sump.

• With spatula, pull food chunks to side allowing water to flow through small holes of sump strainer.

• Pour half of the water from the "rinse" pot into the "wash" pot.

• Pour the added "wash" water into sump.

• Repeat last two steps with other half of "rinse" water.

Low Impact:

• Poke small holes in the bottom of a plastic meal bag.

• Fill half of the bag with pine needles.

• Distribute "rinse" water in a rainbow like fashion away from camp and 100 ft from any water sources.

• Filter "wash" water twice through sump strainer and bag into empty "rinse" pot.

• Distribute filtered "wash" water in a rainbow like fashion away from camp and 100 ft from any water sources.

• Place meal bag with pine needles in the Yum-Yum bag.

Both Methods:

• All solid waste must be packed in a Yum-Yum bag and carried with the trash. Clean off food particles from sump strainer and put into Yum-Yum bag. Don't forget to put the Yum-Yum bag in the bear bag.

• Leave all dishes by the sump to air dry overnight. Dishes and utensils will air dry quickly in Philmont's low humidity.

• After supper, everyone should police the area for smellables, uneaten food and unwashed dishes.

• All trash should be compacted and hung in the bear bags.

• The sump strainer goes in the Bear Bag!

• Disposal of trash and garbage at staff camp or place in Bear Bag

• Uneaten food needs to be taken care of and be sure not to forget them as Smellable items.