Has anyone ever washed their dishes with wood ash? I was looking into how homemade soap is made and why it works when I realized that all soap is, is a fat or oil like grease mixed with an alkali like wood ash. After a bit of research it turns out that some wilderness guides suggest adding hardwood ashes and hot water to a greasy dish to make a primitive soap.

It seems easy to do and safe, since all washing really is is rinsing everything away from a surface. So has anyone actually done this? Would it be better for the environment than biodegradable soaps? I know that with this method it was stressed to use clean water, but you wouldn't rinse with lake water anyways.

So it seems like a cool concept but I don't know how practical it is. At least it is something you could do if you forgot, lost, or ran out of soap on a trip. BTW, this would be a harsh soap and is not recommended for a body soap.

I tried it years ago. To make soap with wood ashes you have to have a large quantity of wood ashes. A handful of campfire ashes is too dilute to get much effect I think. So the cleaning action is mostly mechanical. I’ve also used mud which works pretty well. Not sure about the environment.

I have as a tip from my grandmother but she stressed that it must be dry hardwoods because of the oils and saps from pines and cedars are difficult to rinse off.

Yeah the instructions I saw said 2 cups of hardwood only ashes. Charcoal or even embers mixed in aren't a problem due to mechanical scrubbing and heating the water. This mixes with only slight amounts of fat and oils to make a very weak soap paste. A good portion is mechanical scrubbing, but it also cuts the grease. It might work well with a twig stove if you are careful about what you add.

I wouldn't worry about the quantities too much though since you are only making enough soap for the one washing. It shouldn't take that much ash to equal a couple drops of dish soap.

I have a better tip bring dawn dish soap.

riverrunner: "I have a better tip bring dawn dish soap."

No arguments there. Just stating an alternative and possible back up if you were to forget or lose yours.

A1t2o: "

riverrunner: "I have a better tip bring dawn dish soap."

No arguments there. Just stating an alternative and possible back up if you were to forget or lose yours."

My alternative would quickly turn toward modifying my meal plan. Some meals clean up easier than others. My boiled water or water based meals would all move up the list. Greasy, fried meals would be eatened last or eliminated entirely.

Although, in 30 years of camping, I have never forgotten dish soap.

OCDave: "Although, in 30 years of camping, I have never forgotten dish soap."

For some of us it not entirely about need. I don't ever plan on needing to do my dishes this way. I simply find it interesting to know I could. I figured others here might think the same way.

My back up is water and a little sand. The sand will scour away any stuck on food. A handful of wet sand also works well for scrubbing the fire grate if you plan to do any cooking directly on it.

nofish: "My back up is water and a little sand. The sand will scour away any stuck on food. A handful of wet sand also works well for scrubbing the fire grate if you plan to do any cooking directly on it.


"

Second the sand it works great.

riverrunner: "I have a better tip bring dawn dish soap."

Some prefer to not use toxic products in the BWCA.

I teach pioneer school and we have the kids watch dishes with sand. The ash will have a pH that can make your hand sore. Sand almost always works then you just wash it out with clean water.

If you want natural soap just find a birch tree and pick some green leaves. Crushed green birch leaves contain a small amount of saponin.

As a fun project we do with the kids in pioneer school... I bring some birch leaves to class for the kids and they all have pint jars. We rip of the leaves and had some water and shake till you see suds. If you shake the jar every now and then for a day or two you can make liquid hand soap.

I too use sand. It is quite effective.
What you describe is similar making lye, which is caustic and can be corrosive. Be careful. My grandmother used to make lye soap when we butchered.

cool thread.

I’ve never even thought of ashes to clean my dishes. Sand maybe, but ashes?

nofish: "My back up is water and a little sand. The sand will scour away any stuck on food. A handful of wet sand also works well for scrubbing the fire grate if you plan to do any cooking directly on it.


"

Count me in for 3 with the handful of sand

PSA having made soap before the wood ashes are gathered and water slowly pured thru them to gather lye. The lye and fats are what make the soap.
I don't think yyou could add enough ashes to you water while doing the dishes to produce anything close to even a weak soap

how to make soap from wood ash

So much water do you have to pour on the fire grate to make sure you get all the sand off before you cook on it?

We always use nothing but sand and a paper towel.

We always use nothing but sand and a paper towel, taught that way by Head of the Rapids camp in the early 1970's

yogi59weedr: "So much water do you have to pour on the fire grate to make sure you get all the sand off before you cook on it?"

None.

Scrub your grate before you start your fire. Then you can do one of 2 things. If you've got enough time just let the grate dry and then brush off any loose sand left over. Dry sand brushes off very easily. Or if you're in a hurry scrub your grate and then start your fire and let the fire dry the grate. Then brush the sand off once the fire has dried it. If you do it this way I would suggest improvising some sort of brush so you don't burn your hand on a hot grate, a handful of dry grass works well.

Couple of pine needles off the ground for agitation and water is all I've used for cleaning dishes until I get home. Have used this method for years and for trips that even last more than a month in length and never gotten sick. I don't see the need to deep clean after every meal, and the water was gotten everything clean beyond maybe some smells left over like hot sauce... maybe I'm just naive??

jamdemos: "Couple of pine needles off the ground for agitation and water is all I've used for cleaning dishes until I get home. Have used this method for years and for trips that even last more than a month in length and never gotten sick. I don't see the need to deep clean after every meal, and the water was gotten everything clean beyond maybe some smells left over like hot sauce... maybe I'm just naive??"

I don't think you are... For extended trips I just bring enough to really clean things up after certain meals. Most things are at least somewhat water soluble.

Gadfly: "

riverrunner: "I have a better tip bring dawn dish soap."

Some prefer to not use toxic products in the BWCA."

If it was "toxic" we would not be using it in our kitchen sink.

"Ever wonder why Dawn soap is the wildlife cleaner of choice after an oil spill? According to the International Bird Rescue Research Center, Dawn effectively removes grease but does not cause harm to the skin of the birds. It's also biodegradable and contains no phosphates."

jamdemos: "Couple of pine needles off the ground for agitation and water is all I've used for cleaning dishes until I get home. Have used this method for years and for trips that even last more than a month in length and never gotten sick. I don't see the need to deep clean after every meal, and the water was gotten everything clean beyond maybe some smells left over like hot sauce... maybe I'm just naive??"

Red and white pine have a natural antibiotic. We make pine needle tea for that and the vitamins.