British Dishwash

[lexico]

My brother lived in Oxford for a couple of yrs.
He tells me, "People here don't rinse their dishes after applying dishwash.
Once the rubbish's been wiped off, the dish goes directly onto the rack.
Ready for the next meal after drying."
Can anybody explain how this is possible ?
Edible dishwash ? Biodegradable dishwash ? Vitamin fortified dishwash ?
I don't get it.

[bossel]

My brother lived in Oxford for a couple of yrs.
He tells me, "People here don't rinse their dishes after applying dishwash.
Once the rubbish's been wiped off, the dish goes directly onto the rack.
Ready for the next meal after drying."
Can anybody explain how this is possible ?
Edible dishwash ? Biodegradable dishwash ? Vitamin fortified dishwash ?
I don't get it.

Don't know about the UK, but that's pretty common in Germany, too. I'm one of the few who actually rinses the dishes with clear water afterwards. But it's not really necessary to do so. Detergents are designed in a way that there is usually only minimal residue. If you'd lick your dishes clean after every meal, you'd ingest perhaps 100 to 150 mg per year. Not really dangerous.

[Mycernius]

I always prewash plates before I wash them with the washing liquid. As I used to work in a kitchen I do rinse them after, but not always. Depends on how I'm feeling.

[smoke]

My brother lived in Oxford for a couple of yrs.
He tells me, "People here don't rinse their dishes after applying dishwash.
Once the rubbish's been wiped off, the dish goes directly onto the rack.
Ready for the next meal after drying."
Can anybody explain how this is possible ?
Edible dishwash ? Biodegradable dishwash ? Vitamin fortified dishwash ?
I don't get it.

i think his experiences may have been deemed mass fact...i just don't wash my dishes!!!

[Frank D. White]

I had only been living with my girlfriend a week when I noticed she washed dishes in cold water and didn't rinse them after. I freaked because I had always been taught to use very hot water to wash and boiling water to rinse after. We got in a big fight and I moved out that night. Sweating the small stuff can ruin life sometimes.

Frank

[lexico]

Thanks all for you personal testimonies.
Maybe I need to dig up something on European dishwash chemicals.
It is still a great mystery for me; perhaps the chemicals are different in your areas. And yes, I tend to lick the platter clean most of the time.

btw; Contratulations to Bossel on your 1,000th content-oriented post !

btw2: Smoke, it's not clear from your post whether you don't rinse after wiping, or don't do the dishes at all ? There is a difference, you know. Either way I am totally ed !
I used to procrastinate for one-month max, but eventually did the dishes and rinsed out the slippery stuff.

btw3: Frank, sorry to bring back the sad memory. I always knew warm water help cut rinse time, but I guess the standards were higher back then. At least I know I'm not totally weird for rinsing...

[Maciamo]

There is not much point having a dishwasher if it's to rinse and dry up all dihses one more time afterwards. There is an inegrated rinse function anyway (which rinses several time). I personally dislike dishwashers because it doesn't wash as well as by hand, and we can't wash the very dirty stuff (pans, plates with sticky cheese from pasta, etc.). What's more it's actually more of a hassle to put every dishes, glasses and cutlery in the dishwater (then out, then in the cupboard) than just take the plate, wash them properly and immediately wipe them and put them in place. I guess dishwashers are more useful more people with many children.

[lexico]

Your mentioning wiping with a dish cloth might have an impact.
The residue would probably get lower down to 1/10.

Dishwashers are limiting and cumbersome indeed. One thing that made me dislike the dishwasher was the high utility bill. I would sometimes turn off the drying function because of it. But yes, I agree, dishwashers aren't necessary; just too wasteful of everything.

So the question should be stated more precisely; When you hand wash the dishes, do you
1) immerse in detergent, wipe off mess, straight to rack w/o drying
2) immerse in detergent, wipe off mess, wipe w dry cloth, to rack
3) immerse in detergent, wipe off mess, rinse in water, to rack
4) immerse in detergent, wipe off mess, rinse, dry, to rack

or

5) apply detergent individually, wipe off mess, straight to rack w/o drying
6) apply detergent individually, wipe off mess, wipe w dry cloth, to rack
7) apply detergent individually, wipe off mess, rinse in water, to rack
8) apply detergent individually, wipe off mess, rinse, dry, to rack?

I should probably turn this into a poll sometime. Thanks all again. One step closer to solving the rinsing mystery.

Edit: Maciamo, your 9) is actually my 8). I cut down on words in 8) "wipe with dry cloth" to the simple "dry." Sorry about the confusion it caused.

[Maciamo]

My solution is not listed :

9) apply detergent individually, wipe off mess, rinse under tap, wipe w dry cloth (or let dry if glasses or wooden utensils), to rack. I change so often my towels that we have a pile of like 40 of them and have to wash them every few days.

[miu]

I change so often my towels that we have a pile of like 40 of them and have to wash them every few days.

I've never quite understood why don't people just have a cabinet where you can leave your dishes to dry? So much more convenient and it saves time. After they're dry, you can put them where they belong.

It looks like this

[bossel]

It is still a great mystery for me; perhaps the chemicals are different in your areas.

Since you can read German, perhaps you want to check out the article where I got the number of 100-150 mg/y from?

I doubt, that the chemicals are very much different. Maybe in Asia they add some more aggressive stuff, I don't know, but usually the detergent should mainly contain tensides. Ideally those destroy the coherence of the water, so much so that virtually no residue is left on the dishes if left to dry on their own (properly, that is, which means on a rack as Miu proposed).

[smoke]

btw2: Smoke, it's not clear from your post whether you don't rinse after wiping, or don't do the dishes at all ? There is a difference, you know. Either way I am totally ed !

in jest...i do not wash my dishes
in reality...i wash my dishes very well...you could practically eat off of them!

[Maciamo]

I've never quite understood why don't people just have a cabinet where you can leave your dishes to dry? So much more convenient and it saves time. After they're dry, you can put them where they belong.

We have one, but it's too small for all the dishes. But I do rinse very well, and the towels are always clean, so...

[Lina Inverse]

As bossel already said, it's common in Germany as well:
2) immerse in detergent, wipe off mess, wipe w dry cloth, to rack

Dunno about the UK, but here there's a norm that all detergents are 98% of its contents are bio-degradable (or something along the lines). Guess the same applies for the UK as well.

[ljj589]

Ready for the next meal

[Olga]

Im from Germany and that's common back home!

[I1a3_Young]

This is fascinating.

Americans rinse with water after cleaning with detergent and a cloth or sponge. After large family gatherings where many pots and pans are used, we will have one person washing with a rag and soap and then one person rinsing with clean water and wiping with a dry cloth.

Normally we put anything "dishwasher safe" in the dishwasher machine, which can vary in quality.

[Angela]

I never saw this thread. I always prefer to use the dishwasher because of the higher temperature for both washing and drying, but before putting the dishes inside I scrape them off well and rinse them off as well, as the dishwasher instructions indicate. Pots, pans, things that are too large I wash as in the post above, which sometimes requires soaking them for a while as well.

I think it's been found that washcloths and especially sponges are breeding places for germs, so I normally use a paper towel, although some of my friends just put the cloth in the dishwasher as well. I never use a dishcloth for counters and things, and I clean the damn things multiple times a day, not unless I use a new one every time.

[davef]

I never saw this thread. I always prefer to use the dishwasher because of the higher temperature for both washing and drying, but before putting the dishes inside I scrape them off well and rinse them off as well, as the dishwasher instructions indicate. Pots, pans, things that are too large I wash as in the post above, which sometimes requires soaking them for a while as well.

I think it's been found that washcloths and especially sponges are breeding places for germs, so I normally use a paper towel, although some of my friends just put the cloth in the dishwasher as well. I never use a dishcloth for counters and things, and I clean the damn things multiple times a day, not unless I use a new one every time.

I prefer the dishwasher out of sheer laziness. :)

[Apsurdistan]

I prefer the dishwasher out of sheer laziness. :)

You think you're lazy... I've never even used a dishwasher or a laundry machine. All the females in my house always do it. Might be cuz I'm Bosnian. It's just simply expected for females to do the household chores. And I'm lazy.

[davef]

You think you're lazy... I've never even used a dishwasher or a laundry machine. All the females in my house always do it. Might be cuz I'm Bosnian. It's just simply expected for females to do the household chores. And I'm lazy.

I'm so lazy I take piano lessons on a player piano.
Homer's voice: I am so lazy! I am so lazy! L-a-z-y! L-z-y....D'OH!

[stryke]

That's true, it's common in many countries. I've lived in Scotland and as it's part of UK they tend to the same as Brits basically.

[BarryBlile]

McGuinness is a comfortable minister of the British clown and serves every master but the Irish people. The EU will break up in a few years anyway.

[Joker]

I'm pretty careful washing my dishes.
I have a rare immune system disorder called CVID, and it makes me prone to all kinds of infections.
Hot water + antibacterial dish soap that is thoroughly washed off and I make sure to fully dry my dishes.

[Angela]

If I didn't have a dishwasher, I personally think it's gross as well as unhygienic to wash all those dirty dishes in the same sink or pan full of water with food particles in it. On the other hand, individually washing a dish or glass with a sponge or washcloth is also something I wouldn't do, given that reports indicate they're breeding places for bacteria, unless I used a Scott towel or something which I could discard. So, if I didn't have access to a dishwasher, I'd do what my mother used to do, which is scrape off the biggest pieces of food, rinse off any actual food "stuck" to the dishes, and then wash them in a bowl of hot sudsy water, rinse them in hot water again and leave them to dry in a rack or towel dry with a fresh towel.

There's nothing, however, that gets bacteria off dishes and glasses like dishwashers, because of the really high temperatures.

People don't get how many of their colds, flues, intestinal flues etc. abdominal "issues", come from bacteria on their own hands and house surfaces, and from food. One of my doctor friends told me to wash my hands the first thing after I come into the house and to wash them multiple times a day, especially, of course, after the bathroom, and, use the dishwasher. :) They are indeed energy guzzlers, however. Oh, she also says having a glass of wine with lunch and dinner is an excellent idea because the alcohol can kill any bacteria in the food.

News accounts always rave about how much modern medicine has done in terms of people's health. The vast majority of the gains are vaccines, antibiotics, and more and better hygiene.