Water Conservation

[B_and_D]

Anybody have tips on saving water while washing dishes?

We do these things:

1) Use paper plates & cups
2) Wipe off items that need to be washed with paper towels/napkins before washing
3) Use a dishpan of water for washing & re-use the soapy water for a couple of meals

I forgot these things:

4) Use anti-bacterial wipes for cleaning counters, etc.
5) Use non-stick pans so they're easier to clean

[Bill]

I heartily endorse your suggestions number 1 and number 2. I'm less thrilled about number 3, if only because cold water (even soapy water) isn't very good at removing grease.

When I do dishes (which is azll the time, since my wife is a much better cook than I), I don't rinse each dish individually. Instead, I wash the dishes in a sink with an inch or two of hot soapy water, and place each washed dish in a drainer. Once all the dishes are in the drainer, they can all be rinsed at once with a very small amount of fresh water - certainly less than a pint.

Ray, you cook and serve with more elegance than I do - suggestions?

Bill

[BobWilson]

What is the purpose for conserving water?
Is it because you have a short supply or no supply beyond what you bring or
Is it just inconvenient to replentish because you don't have a hook-up, or
Is it so you don't fill up the gray water tank and have to drain it?

All of those have different approaches and solutions for conservation.

[B_and_D]

Assuming that you have only 20 gallons in your fresh water tank, and nowhere close by to drain your gray water tank, and therefore don't want to keep putting water into the "system" when there's no place to let it out.

Some of the state parks around us don't have dump stations; they tell you to go use the one at the KOA, and it costs $8 to dump.

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by Bill

I heartily endorse your suggestions number 1 and number 2. I'm less thrilled about number 3, if only because cold water (even soapy water) isn't very good at removing grease.

When I do dishes (which is azll the time, since my wife is a much better cook than I), I don't rinse each dish individually. Instead, I wash the dishes in a sink with an inch or two of hot soapy water, and place each washed dish in a drainer. Once all the dishes are in the drainer, they can all be rinsed at once with a very small amount of fresh water - certainly less than a pint.

Ray, you cook and serve with more elegance than I do - suggestions?

Bill

I too like (and follow) most of B_D's suggestions, though with some exceptions...

Although I camp almost exclusively in "primitive" campgrounds, I prefer to not "rough it" inside the trailer. Hence I'm willing to expend a little more water for the luxury of being able to eat and drink from "nice" plates and glasses. Thank you very much, but no paper plates and cups for me. Since I travel solo about 95% of the time, it doesn't take much water to wash/rinse off a nice plate or two (Corelle or fancy melamine) and nice looking lexan water/cocktail/wine glasses. Take, for instance, these attractive martini glasses ...unbreakable and just perfect for my daily pre-dinner martini (always accompanied by a nice hors d'oeuvres...some wedges of a nice Brie on imported water crackers with fresh grapes is one of my favorites ). I even have a little stainless cocktail shaker to prepare the martinis ...if I'm doing a vodak martini, it'll be with Stoli; if gin, it has to be Beefeater. There's no way that I'd drink the "good stuff " like Stoli or Beefeater from a paper cup. If it weren't for the weight and fragility considerations, I'd use real china (or stoneware) and real glassware in my TM.

Definitely agree that hot soapy water is far better for cleaning grease (and sticky syrups or cheesy sauces) than cold water. One of things I disliked most about camping in a popup trailer was not having hot water for dishwashing. Instead of filling the sink with a inch or two of soapy water, though, I usually just put two inches or so of soapy water in the pot used to cook dinner and then use a sponge to apply it to the various plates/glasses/utensils.

I have been rinsing the plates/glasses/utensils under a dribble from the faucet...takes about a quart or so per dishwashing session. The concept of putting at least the plates and utensils in the dish drainer and rinsing at once does sound more efficient. Probably will still have to wash all the glasses under the faucet though so that both the inside and outside are fully rinsed. Rinsing in a pool of water in the sink strikes me as leaving too much detergent residue, especially on the glasses. Can't have any detergent residue in a wine glass spoiling the complex notes of a quality Cabernet Sauvignon, you know.

[RockyMtnRay]

Originally Posted by B_and_D

Assuming that you have only 20 gallons in your fresh water tank, and nowhere close by to drain your gray water tank, and therefore don't want to keep putting water into the "system" when there's no place to let it out.

Some of the state parks around us don't have dump stations; they tell you to go use the one at the KOA, and it costs $8 to dump.

Yeah, the biggie is the lack of dump station anywhere near the campground (like within miles)...and I have way too much respect for the environment (and consideration for others) to just willy-nilly dump grey water whereever I feel like it.

Fresh water resupply is sometimes a real challenge too...at a couple of my favorite campgrounds, the closest supply of fresh water is 2 miles away.

I've never seen a campsite water hookup except in a commercial RV Park and I now avoid those like the plague.

[BobWilson]

SOLUTION TO THE GREY WATER- To answer the question about grey water (apparently it is grey not gray water): We use a plastic dishpan in the sink for washing dishes and rinse the dishes over the pan to collect all of the water. Then I take the dish pan and pour it into a 5 gallon blue tote. When it has accumulated about 2 to 3 gallons I take it to the restroom the next time I need to go and dump it in the toilet. If this is not possible then I dump it under a bush somewhere. This is the approved way in California to dispose of dish water. Just make sure you are not near a water source such as a lake or stream ( at least 100 ft is often stated on a sign). Use Biodegradable soaps in your water. Wipe out grease with a paper towel and dispose of it. This will minimize the grey water in the tank. I have also used my 5 gal tote to empty the grey water tank when there is no dump site. I use a collapsible hand truck if I have to carry it a long way. Sure it is some work, but it is a good alternative for extending your camping experience. But several small trips to empty the water, extended over the length of the camping trip, doesn't seem like much work to me. We try to minimize using the toilet in the TM as much as possible therefore extending its life before it requires emptying. Even when there is a dumpsite on the way home, I really don't want to have to carry the extra weight coming down the mountain (more work for the brakes).

RE-SUPPLYING THE WATER
I use a 5 gallon drinking water barrel, commonly used for construction sites, on my hand truck to bring in more water. Most of the time we go where there is a water faucet some place in the campground. I rigged up a 12v pump and pump it from the barrel through a filter to re-fill my reservoir. If the water is not potable then you can use a purification method in the barrel before pumping it out. Sometimes it take several trips but I enjoy the camping experience so much that it is hardly any bother. Finding a campsite close to the water source is helpful. Or I use a one gallon jug and re-fill at every trip to the restroom. We do buy drinking water in 2 1/2 gallon containers for cooking and re-filling water bottles.

We do pretty much the same as Bob Wilson, which is also what we do when canoe camping (with tents) in wilderness areas. Scrape your dishes as clean as possible, putting the food waste in the trash. Use a small plastic dish sink, a couple of inches of hot water, minimal use of biodegradable detergent (we use the Camp Suds brand), and dispose of the grey water appropriately by broadcasting it. There are a few places we have been that do not allow you to disperse grey water. In those places we use the tote as needed. We use the TM as a base camp, so we usually take the SUV someplace near a toilet or dump every few days. Since we "grew up" tent camping in dry sites, we are pretty careful with water useage even now. Remember that the tent campers don't have nice holding tanks, and they have to get rid of grey water too! I never use disposable dishes or utensils. When we need to fill the water tank, we use a 3 or 5 gallon water tote (again, like the tent campers use). My husband rigged up a kayak bilge pump to transfer the water from the tote to the TM.

If you have any questions about appropriate disposal of grey water at a specific site, the site owner (BLM, Forest Service, etc) always provides information. Most use the broadcast dispersal method, after first draining the grey water through a strainer to rid it of food particles.

Regarding black water (toilet), we would use one of the ubiquitous "blue totes" if we have to dump. Ours is 10 gallons, so it holds the toilet contents plus a little grey water to rinse the hose. However the most we have stayed at a single site is 5 days, and we didn't need to empty it (2 adults, 2 teens), mostly using it at night.

Pam

We dry camp a week to a time in Maine. We haul water from a spring in a 22 gal tote and dump to another (different color) tote. Gets us through the week. We found the biggest water saving trick is to leave our teenager and his friends at home with a sitter.

MaineMan

[rotor_wash]

I'm with RMR. We do NOT use commercial campgrounds except as a dump station. I have yet to hook up electricity or water in a permanent camp site (80 plus nights so far) and rely on solar power and water carried in. I have serviced water with a 6 gal tote refilled from a hand pump and use many of the afore mentioned conservation techniques. In fact, I only carry a minimum amount of water to cut down on some of the weight going over the Colorado passes. That leaves more weight available for fine wines and good food. I typically fill the water tank at home to somewhere between the 3/4 and full mark, then from that, fill the water heater (helps prevent other disasters) and just enough for a minimum charge in the toilet. That leaves about 1/2 to 3/4 available for use. Plenty for a long weekend, especially if the hand pump is out of service.

As far as conservation, like Ray, I use real plates, silverware, and glasses because I like to. A good steak belongs on a real plate and wine is best from a real wine glass. However, a sandwich is fine on paper. Just wipe plates off well and use a dinner pot to hold soapy water. With a minimal charge of warm water, it does work for more than one meal. Grey water should never be cast back into the environment.

One other conservation or weight saving techniques is to fill the toilet to less than a full charge. With the addition of liquid waste, it quickly gets to the level required for the pump to work. Works great when the females in your party don't like using the vault toilet. I've noticed the last half of the gauge moves much faster than the first half. The Thetford has actually been more of a limiting factor when boondocking than water.