Washing up shocker

Never rinsed don’t waste the water Wash and in the rack
Couldn’t care less what the Americans think Last time my daughter was over there she couldn’t believe that they all used disposable plates, cups, cutlery etc for everything. May have been the area she was in or the families she ate with but she was gobsmacked (and just about every meal was delivered too)

I should add I’ve never had a dishwasher I hate the idea of the time it takes, all the business of rinsing stacking and waiting you could handwash a dozen times and it uses water and electricity that I wouldn’t want to waste or afford

Wash, then dip back into water to rinse most of the soapy bubbles off, then drain or towel dry. Glasses, if washed by me, are rinsed under running water.

I find rinsed glasses impossible to dry without streaks.

AsCalendargirl said I too don’t worry, or indeed even consider how Americans wash up. They can do it any way they like and so can I

I’ve wondered from time to time why British homes often have a plastic bowl in the sink.
You don’t see bowls in sinks in NZ, so I’m curious. Is it a water saving measure?

I use the dishwasher for some things, saucepans and glasses are hand washed and rinsed.

I also rinse after washing up.

denbylover

I always use a plastic bowl. If I washed up in the actual sink, (it’s a deep butler type white one) a)it would need much more water, b)saucepans banging about in the sink would result in chips in said sink and c)crockery would be more likely to get chipped as well.

I know some worry about germs from the bowl.
Well, I don’t, and we are still here telling the tale.

Babs03, I think it has been proved that it is much cheaper, and more ecologically sound, to use a dishwasher than to wash up by hand.

I too put anything that can go in the dishwasher in it. It's way more economical and hygienic than washing up by hand.

For things that do need hand washing I sometimes rinse sometimes not. I do use a washing up bowls which I scrupulously clean depending on how often I use it.

Americans are baffled by washing up bowls - probably as much as I am baffled by the lack of kettles in the US and US hotels thinking you can make a cup of tea with a coffee machine.

I've lived many decades, and I've never heard of death by fairy liquid.

Only wash saucepans because they are copper with iron handles that rust if put in the dishwasher. TThese get soaked, scoured and rinsed to get rid of food residue.

Apart from that haven't done any washing up since 1984. What is a dishwasher for?

Calendargirl

denbylover

I always use a plastic bowl. If I washed up in the actual sink, (it’s a deep butler type white one) a)it would need much more water, b)saucepans banging about in the sink would result in chips in said sink and c)crockery would be more likely to get chipped as well.

I know some worry about germs from the bowl.
Well, I don’t, and we are still here telling the tale.

Hi Calendargirl,
Thank you for your reply, I understand a little better. I guess we all work out a system that’s best for us don’t we.

I always rinse- don’t fancy that frothy junk in any of our bodies. Dishes mostly go in the dishwasher but I often wash pans by hand. I thought about using one of those swishers with soap bits in but then decided I couldn’t be bothered really.

Nearly all of ours goes in the dishwasher, but a few delicate things do get hand-washed. As I had to explain to a kitchen designer after she tried to tell me I didn’t need a draining board. (I still have the ancient kitchen some years later!)

I definitely rinse off the suds then dry and put them away. I can't abide piles of wet washing up on the draining board!

kittylester

*Babs03*, I think it has been proved that it is much cheaper, and more ecologically sound, to use a dishwasher than to wash up by hand.

Yes, I believe so.

I think the advice to wash suds off is that there are harmful substances in some of them, but in such minute quantities that you'd have to drink washing up liquid to be harmed by it.

I rinse before using the machine so the filter doesn't get clogged up with bits of food, but I did see an item on TV where an expert said that because of modern sensors that detect how dirty the dishes are, you shouldn't rinse thoroughly before loading, as the machine will be less efficient if you do.

I rinse hollow ware and cutlery under the tap and then leave to drain. I'd not like to drink from a mug that had traces of detergent. Forks I scrub briefly with a brush .

I use a plastic bowl in the sink so that I can empty really dirt dishes into the sink and the water in the bowl remains comparatively free from gross food leavings. The plastic bowl gets washed inside and out, and so does the sink.

When my carers do the dishes I aim to rinse some dishes after they are out of the house, when I have the energy.

It's surprising how many posters to Gransnet own a dishwasher.Most people can't afford the money or the space for a dishwasher, and yet all people need to keep their dishes free from residues.

I’ve never had a dishwasher nor would I want one
I find washing up by hand very therapeutic (unlike ironing) 🤓

My husband likes hand washing dishes too. It drives me mad, as it's the worst of both worlds - a half full/empty machine and dishes on the drainer 😡.

I inherited my first dishwasher, in situ, when I moved some years ago, when our kitchen was refurbished, we had a new, smaller one fitted. It is cheaper to run than hand washing, plates are never rinsed before they’re stacked in it and it’s run roughly once a week if we haven’t had visitors.

Caleo

It's surprising how many posters to Gransnet own a dishwasher.Most people can't afford the money or the space for a dishwasher, and yet all people need to keep their dishes free from residues.

I don’t think it’s surprising, as 50% of homes in the UK have one. They only need to be replaced about every 10 years, so they don’t work out as a high cost item over time. I think once people have had a dishwasher, very few would want to go back to washing everything by hand - I know I definitely wouldn’t.

eazybee

Does not rinsing affect the taste of the food eaten from the plates? I have never noticed it.
I think Americans would do better to examine the content of the food they eat rather than criticizing other countries washing-up.

This. Americans on the whole, are huge!

Doodledog

My husband likes hand washing dishes too. It drives me mad, as it's the worst of both worlds - a half full/empty machine and dishes on the drainer 😡.

I have one of those! I just walk away until he has finished, it’s not worth the argument.