Do you do the dishes outside the camper?

[PopUpPop]

Our neighbor at the campsite was doing dishes outside his rig, no grey water containment, just washing over the grass. Is this normal (I’ve never seen this), accepted, frowned upon, never do? I’m sure there are opinions in this, or maybe not. He was a seasonal camper in 5th wheel, FYI.

Curious as I lug my 5 gal grey water bucket once a day to the dump station.

[sdelam]

I think it depends on the camp ground. Some have rules against it, as do some states. Personally, unless there is a large amount of food particles, its not much different than using the outside shower on most units. I would think the larger concern would be insects and rodents from food waste than a little soapy water.

[sdelam]

Not to mention I'm sure tent campers do it all the time.

[Homebrew]

I’ve noticed some state campgrounds I’ve visited in Pennsylvania require you to wash dishes at the sinks provided at the bathhouse.
I have to say Pennsylvania does a nice job with there bathhouses. I’ve seen a few that were more primitive but the main bathhouses are very nice.

[PoppySteve]

It's a gray area Some education on the proper disposal of gray water is helpful.

https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/gray-water

One of my biggest complaints is when a campground has a rule against disposal of gray water on the ground but does not provide dish washing facilities.

[Chuck_S]

Which campground? I want to put it on my Avoid at All Costs list. Soapy dish water on the lawn (it's probably just grass and weeds not lawn)?
Sure to attract all sorts of vermin.

[Boomerweps]

Tent campers do it all the time.
Better on the ground than direct into a stream.
No worries.

[rsdata]

lots of variables
type of soap and amount of soap and amount of water and proximity of dump site to YOUR campsite other campers among them.

DO YOU WASH CHUNKS of food/meat/seasonings or do you scrape and clean the plates/cooking utensils into the trash first?

There really should not be any visible amount of food particles in the wash water.

I have washed dishes outside a number of times, but responsibly, dispersing the water in a wide area and not doing it 3X a day for a week at a time...

[Rick the Rocket]

Yes outside the camper, spreading the water out, sometimes to settle the dust of the roadway other times in the tall grasses.

[robo44]

The U.S. Forest Service, BLM Lands, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and Army Corps of Engineers all have regulations making it illegal to dump grey water on the Federal lands that they maintain.

Most campgrounds have rules about dumping dishwater
When grey water contains food scraps, it can tempt animals to eat or drink it, which can be detrimental to their health. If you dump grey water while still in the area, it might also attract animals that you don’t want milling around your site, creating another type of danger to you and your family.

There are better ways to dispose of your gray water. Just because "others" just wash their dishes wherever they want to doesn't mean you should

[yukongold]

I added an outdoor shelf next to the outdoor shower just for washing dishes.
We use paper plates and cups so the only washables are tableware (plastic - when it breaks it goes in the trash) and the actual pots/pans we cook in.
Paper products burned or tossed in the trash. Any pots/pans wiped thorougly with wipes and scraped, if necessary, to remove as much grease and particles as possible. Wipes go in the trash.
Usually wash just once per day - sometimes every other day if little cooking done. Use bio-degradable Castile soap. Most campgrounds we use have sink waste-water dumps scattered throughout the park. We use them. If there are no dumps, I'll take the gallon or so of wash water away to a brushy area and dump it. Never near a camper. Don't feel guilty about it in any way.

[njfishing]

Not sure if it’s legal or not but I do it from time to time if I get into a pinch. Probably not smart to do this if you’re camping close to any body of water, are too close to a fellow camper or the area is all dirt and will make a muddy mess.

[TitanMike]

I camp a lot in Forest Service campgrounds oe open land under BLM management.

Most have signs just saying not to dump any wash water within a given distance of any water (lake, stream).

Campers have been doing this since camping began, before we hauled out kitchens and toilets with us.

Use your head. Dishwater should contain little more than a SMALL amount of soap if you're washing properly.

As for attracting animals, they're more likely attracted by cooking smells than by soapy dishwater.

[RobbieH]

Originally Posted by sdelam

Not to mention I'm sure tent campers do it all the time.

I've tent camped hundreds of times, and not once have I ever washed my dishes in the tent.

[boondocking]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

Which campground? I want to put it on my Avoid at All Costs list. Soapy dish water on the lawn (it's probably just grass and weeds not lawn)? He feels entitled because (1) he's seasonal/special and (2) it's a 5th wheel.

Sure to attract all sorts of vermin. Wonder if he picks up after his dogs?

-- Chuck

Another place to avoid is the wilderness. Animals dump their black tanks out there.

[Palinduff]

I grew up in tents, leantos, under the stars and tent trailers and we dumped the dishwater in the bush all the time, even in the national parks. Mind you that was in the 60s and 70s. As a boy scout we just used sand and water to wash our dishes, probably in the stream also. No soap though, feed the fishes I guess. Those were different times though. I wash my dishes in the trailer as a rule; but I will drain a little grey water out into a bucket to put the fire out at night, or when I'm leaving for a while.

[dannybye]

I have to comment here. 75 year old couple. Boy scout and girl scout. Camped all our lives. We and others like us certainly are not responsible for destroying our planet. So what we do is wash dishes in a dish pan, rinse in over a pail, then dump it all on the fire pit. Heck, you never know there might be fire waiting to happen. Bottom line, put me in jail or try and do or say what you want, I and you all who do what I do, stop feeling guilty. There will always be those who "Oh know so much better" lol go preach at your Sunday school I'm not listening.

[howie70]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

Which campground? I want to put it on my Avoid at All Costs list. Soapy dish water on the lawn (it's probably just grass and weeds not lawn)?

Sure to attract all sorts of vermin.

-- Chuck

Making some broad assumptions there.

"soapy dish water on the lawn?" Oh the horrors.

[dat]

Is it technically considered gray water if it doesn’t go through the tank, like said before, campers many times use a pan, bucket, hose, cook pot, even with the park ranger, park police, host or what ever around to see, seems like more regulations on someone with a trailer than a tent

[PopUpPop]

Thanks for the responses, good insight. We tent camped for 10 years and always did our dishes at a dish station or some other waste (grey, not black) water drain or did them in a bucket and dumped the water in a drain.