what do you do with the water from the sink

[muddyluxury]

Hey guys,

what do yall do with the soapy water from shower and sink run off when at the camp site? I have always used paper plates waited till i got home to scrub the pots, and used baby wipes for personal hygine.. gotta love the army bath, but the soon to be Mrs isn't so wild about that idea.

 

[roverdoc]

pour it on the ground....its water

 

[Desert Dan]

It gray water and I use campsuds so I pour it near a tree or bush especially in the desert.

 

[Skylinerider]

As long as you are a good distance from lakes, streams etc. just pour it out on the ground.

 

[off-roader]

IMHO, if you're using a 'green' / biodegradeable soap, you should be fine pouring it on the ground if a proper sink/drain isn't available.

 

[Corey]

Same here, I use REIs Campsuds which are biodegradable.
http://www.rei.com/product/692852

I pour the gray water in the bushes/ground a few feet away from where I cook.
I find that this stuff really suds up too, just as good as Dawn dishwashing soap does at home.
Plus you can use this for bathing/shampoo too if you care to.

 

[Stumpalump]

I buy the "green" camp soap at camping stores. It comes in a nice squirt bottle and can be used on ever thing from pots to wifes skin. My sink drains into a 2.5 gallon bucket and I dump it when full. I also keep a couple of gallon jugs around in case I don't want to dump it on the ground. Nation parks like Yellowstone ban the dumping of grey water on the ground so you have to have a way to catch and store it. It takes practice but it's easy after a few trips. The baby wipes are great and you can go an extra day or days before a shower if you get used to using them daily. I also always bring enough clothes so each morning I'm in clean fresh clothes. That helps a lot.

 

[RHINO]

parks like yellowstone ban grey water dumping because of food particles in the water and bears. if you can strain out the water or filter it you'll be fine.

like most others i leave my grey water behind when camping, it does no harm to the environment bio soap or not.

 

[Cypher]

I recently switched to the Camp Suds from the Dr. Bronners brand and love it! It does well cleaning dishes, hands, face, and anything else you want to clean. I recommend it over the Dr. Bronners as it seems to suds up better, it is more concentrated, and smells good to!

 

[adventureduo]

We just pour it out and use camp soap.

 

[jammyauto]

Hey guys,

I have always used paper plates waited till i got home to scrub the pots, .

You must either have lots of pots or go on very short trips! For me water is the limiting factor that usually forces me back to civilization. My water usually goes thru several stages of cleanliness before it reaches the ground.
My Dog even seems to perfer gray water over the good stuff!

 

[muddyluxury]

Thank's guys. yes i usually do short trips nothing more than a weekend, with poptarts and ramen usually being the staple. normaly only cook one or two meals, and do hours of recovery when we get home.

Thanks for all the answers and input guys.

 

[MDH33]

If there's food particles or soap in the water, try to "scatter" it over a road or durable surface Away from the campsite or at least don't dump it all in one place or on vegetation. As mentioned, animals will be attracted to the scents. If you strain out food particles and scatter it away from camp, this is less of a problem.