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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

That hand washed dishes should be rinsed with clean water?

269 replies

Drew79 · 24/06/2025 21:42

When hand washing, interested in how many people either -

Wash dishes then rinse with clean water, then put on the drainer to dry

Or
Wash dishes and put on the drainer with soap suds and dirty water still on them?

I don't like the idea of eating and drinking from something that's got some cleaning chemicals left on it, but my partner says I'm being fussy!

OP posts:
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Tryingtokeepgoing · 02/07/2025 15:42

Drew79 · 02/07/2025 14:19

Not sure about that! After swimming even after showering I can smell chlorine on me and it irritates some areas of my skin, particularly my nose for some reason!

Also, I'm not eating food off someone's post swimming chlorinated body... or are you?!

Why rule it out 😂😂

I'm with the common sense view that not rinsing is a lazy half arsed way of washing up by hand ;)

Drew79 · 02/07/2025 14:19

Tryingtokeepgoing · 02/07/2025 08:58

Another take on it; theres no real need to shower after swimming in a pool - it's only water and the level of chlorine is miniscule, and anything else in the water (!!) is so diluted it poses no threat. But, we all still do shower after the pool becuase to do otherwise is to not feel properly clean. That's how I view rinsinig after hand washing-up :)

Not sure about that! After swimming even after showering I can smell chlorine on me and it irritates some areas of my skin, particularly my nose for some reason!

Also, I'm not eating food off someone's post swimming chlorinated body... or are you?!

OP posts:
Tryingtokeepgoing · 02/07/2025 08:58

Another take on it; theres no real need to shower after swimming in a pool - it's only water and the level of chlorine is miniscule, and anything else in the water (!!) is so diluted it poses no threat. But, we all still do shower after the pool becuase to do otherwise is to not feel properly clean. That's how I view rinsinig after hand washing-up :)

mathanxiety · 01/07/2025 23:28

@SeaShellsSanctuary1

It's not about eliminating all risk, just the risk you can personally control.

If I wanted to eliminate all risk I'd never go out. I'd sit at home all day inhaling only air from a purifier, and bathe in dettol.

JennyShaw · 01/07/2025 19:14

The NOAEL is determined by experiments on animals that last weeks or months. If a human is ingesting Sodium lauryl sulfate in small amounts over decades then the NOAEL is not much help in determining how much of a problem it will be. That could only be determined by a longitudinal cohort study and only then if they asked the right questions.

Skin and Eye Irritation: SLS can strip away natural oils, leading to dryness, irritation, or allergic reactions—especially in people with sensitive skin or conditions like eczema.

Cumulative Exposure: While most studies involve high concentrations not typical of everyday use, there’s concern about the long-term effects of repeated, low-level exposure. Research on this is still limited.

Toxic to aquatic life: Studies show that SLS can damage the cell membranes of fish and amphibians, impairing nutrient absorption and waste expulsion. In some cases, it caused 100% mortality in zebrafish embryos at higher concentrations.

Developmental effects: In early life stages of fish and amphibians, SLS exposure led to malformations, reduced hatching rates, and altered heart rates.

Community-level disruption: Even at low concentrations, SLS reduced populations of Daphnia magna, a key grazer in freshwater ecosystems. This could ripple up the food chain, affecting fish and other predators.

Ecosystem imbalance: By harming sensitive species like amphibians and microcrustaceans, SLS can shift the balance of aquatic communities, potentially leading to algal blooms or reduced biodiversity.

And you're happy to have this chemical in your gut? It might be only half the NOAEL but I wouldn't risk the possible long-term effect of harm to my gut bacteria or the cells lining the gut. I also don't buy dispersible aspirin containing SLS.

JennyShaw · 01/07/2025 12:26

JaninaDuszejko · 27/06/2025 17:00

I used the NOAEL of SLS which is the most common anionic surfactant used in household products.

Are you talking about Sodium lauryl sulfate?

MuckFusk · 28/06/2025 21:04

JaninaDuszejko · 26/06/2025 14:43

Hope you don't eat chips or the many other foods that naturally contain formaldehyde.

You're probably thinking of acrylamides, not formaldehyde. Some foods can contain small amounts of formaldehyde naturally, but potatoes are not among them. Acrylamides form in starchy foods when they are cooked at high temperatures.

Tryingtokeepgoing · 28/06/2025 09:46

SeaShellsSanctuary1 · 26/06/2025 12:34

So all you rinsers follow a procedure to avoidinstant death by detertergent or dirt but probably eat at hotels, pubs, restaurants, canteens etc without a care in the world

Do you use a kettle in a hotel room......don't Google it 🤮🤮

I have always rinsed if hand washing-up; I don’t understand why you wouldn’t…it’s just doing the job properly. Though of course, with dishwashers, as used by the hotels, pubs, restaurants you refer to, the rinse cycle is part of normal operation and so there is no need to think about it. I first encountered a non rinser when sharing a house as a student, and so I now associate non rinsing with the slovenly student lifestyle ;)

PiscesScot · 28/06/2025 09:18

Always rinse, was raised to and can’t imagine anything else now

Katemax82 · 28/06/2025 09:15

Another thread on here is about silly things that give you the rage...seeing Nigel on eastenders washing up and putting stuff in the drainer with TONS of bubbles all over it!!!

Katemax82 · 28/06/2025 09:11

JaninaDuszejko · 27/06/2025 16:49

If you use the recommended 3mL fairy liquid per 5L of water, that gives you a concentration of 0.6 mL/L (approximately 600mg/L or 600ug/mL) in the washing bowl. Fairy liquid consists of 15-30% Anionic Surfactants, 5-15% Non-Ionic Surfactants, Benzisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Perfumes, Limonene so over half is water but let's assume your 3mL of fairy liquid results in 300mg/L or 300ug/mL of surfactants in your dishwater.

Assuming you live in a household of four people and the dishes are done twice a day using 3 bowls of 5L each time that's 9g of surfactants in your 30L of dishwater or 0.03% (well below the level that is known to result in irritation which is ~1% for many surfactants). Assuming you then digested quarter of all the surfactant in the washing up liquid used each day (4 people in the house so worst case scenario) that would be 2.25g consumed by a small 45kg person would be a dose of 50mg/kg/day which is less than half the oral toxicity NOAEL of 100mg/kg/day.

It's not about that its about rinsing off dirty dish water from stuff you eat or drink from

TheTecknician · 27/06/2025 19:40

Kim Woodburn was an advocate of Vim scouring powder, which has been around since God was a boy. I have some but I don't need it often, thankfully.

Katemax82 · 27/06/2025 18:24

When watching an episode of how clean is your house Kim taught these 2 men to wash up, they stacked everything with soap suds on so she told them (now you need to rinse everything in very hot water!"

Katemax82 · 27/06/2025 18:20

SeaShellsSanctuary1 · 26/06/2025 12:34

So all you rinsers follow a procedure to avoidinstant death by detertergent or dirt but probably eat at hotels, pubs, restaurants, canteens etc without a care in the world

Do you use a kettle in a hotel room......don't Google it 🤮🤮

I don't...I'm equally grossed out by restaurant plates and cups

Katemax82 · 27/06/2025 18:18

UndermyShoeJoe · 26/06/2025 10:53

The I’m still alive is a funny one isn’t it. We used to do loads of things we don’t know and most people lived. Other countries do things we don’t and the other way and we go well I lived. Doesn’t mean there isn’t a better healthier or safer way depending on each things.

Exactly...just cos it doesn't kill you doesn't make it ok. Im sure smearing shit on your face wouldn't kill you but its hardly pleasant

TheTecknician · 27/06/2025 17:26

Irritatediron · 27/06/2025 08:57

Trust me the industrial machines in pubs are good but those long lasting lipsticks are a bloody PAIN in the ass to get off glassware. In an old job they had to order a specific chemical to get it off before it went into the machine. I can understand how someone would miss this step if it's busy etc I hope you got a fresh drink and enjoyed your experience x

It wasn't my glass. It was one standing on the bar with the prints pouting at everyone. I think it was Revlon. The glass was definitely changed!

TheTecknician · 27/06/2025 17:24

limescale · 27/06/2025 00:27

It was "Now hands that do dishes..." and it was a classic 80s ad.

Nanette Newman will be very cross with anyone who doesn't meet her standards of washing-up. She ain't mild but goes green!

JaninaDuszejko · 27/06/2025 17:00

I used the NOAEL of SLS which is the most common anionic surfactant used in household products.

JaninaDuszejko · 27/06/2025 16:49

If you use the recommended 3mL fairy liquid per 5L of water, that gives you a concentration of 0.6 mL/L (approximately 600mg/L or 600ug/mL) in the washing bowl. Fairy liquid consists of 15-30% Anionic Surfactants, 5-15% Non-Ionic Surfactants, Benzisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Phenoxyethanol, Perfumes, Limonene so over half is water but let's assume your 3mL of fairy liquid results in 300mg/L or 300ug/mL of surfactants in your dishwater.

Assuming you live in a household of four people and the dishes are done twice a day using 3 bowls of 5L each time that's 9g of surfactants in your 30L of dishwater or 0.03% (well below the level that is known to result in irritation which is ~1% for many surfactants). Assuming you then digested quarter of all the surfactant in the washing up liquid used each day (4 people in the house so worst case scenario) that would be 2.25g consumed by a small 45kg person would be a dose of 50mg/kg/day which is less than half the oral toxicity NOAEL of 100mg/kg/day.

JennyShaw · 27/06/2025 10:57

AmelieSummer25 · 26/06/2025 10:39

Exactly 'no one died'. Who knows? As an example: They're not going to be able to attribute a particular persons cancer & early death solely to one thing are they. But they can say formaldehyde should not be injested, hence washing dishwater soap (and the dirt.fat.fiid/bacteria etc if holds) off the dishes is common sense! Which is sadly lacking apparently!

It's difficult to know which lifestyle choices have long-term effects on health. Nobody is suggesting that if you don't rinse your cups and dishes you will keel over there and then. It is only longitudinal cohort studies that can determine this and only then if they ask the right questions.

UK Biobank data revealed that high consumption of artificially sweetened beverages may be associated with a higher risk of stroke and dementia, even after adjusting for other risk factors.

You wouldn't think that artificial sweeteners could be a problem, but ingesting a small amount of detergent with every meal and every cup of tea doesn't sound like a good idea. You would expect that it would have some effect on the bacteria in your gut and the cells lining your gut.

IsItTheBlackOneOrTheRedOne · 27/06/2025 09:21

ConnieHeart · 27/06/2025 08:19

Yes. Why?

Because an unrinsed glass will prevent a head from forming on the beer- it goes instantly flat on the top.

limescale · 27/06/2025 08:59

Serpentstooth · 27/06/2025 08:03

That ad was a lot earlier. I had to sing a version in German for a school thing in 1964 "hande die tische waschen weich sie gesicht mit unseren guten Fairy" or something like that 😀

It started earlier, but went on for a long time. The 80s is when I remember it most, I'm 54 now so was 10-20 in the 80s - peak telly time!

Irritatediron · 27/06/2025 08:57

TheTecknician · 24/06/2025 22:31

There were very bold lipstick prints on a wine glass in the pub earlier tonight (not mine) and it was supposedly a 'clean' glass. Shows how effective the glass washing machines are.

Trust me the industrial machines in pubs are good but those long lasting lipsticks are a bloody PAIN in the ass to get off glassware. In an old job they had to order a specific chemical to get it off before it went into the machine. I can understand how someone would miss this step if it's busy etc I hope you got a fresh drink and enjoyed your experience x

Drew79 · 27/06/2025 08:48

JaninaDuszejko · 26/06/2025 15:35

If you're doing this then your soapy water will a) have to contain a higher concentration of soap to clean the dishes and b ) be much dirtier and therefore in more need of rinsing than someone who fills the sink full with hot soapy water, cleaning from the cleanest to the dirtiest and changing the water regularly so they are never using dirty water.

I think there's two things here. Firstly there are those who are obsessive and excessive about cleanliness who can't see that their behaviour is extreme, for example, I'm quite sure most people don't get out of a bath and walk across the bathroom to the shower to rinse themselves, if you were really so dirty that the bathwater got noticeably dirty then surely you'd shower first before having a bath for relaxation?

Secondly, there are different washing techniques that mean some people have a greater need to rinse because they are using more concentrated detergent directly onto the plates as opposed to diluting detergent in a large amount of water. Or people who put everything into the washing up bowl then take out piece by piece to clean with a soapy cloth then rinse vs cleaning one item at a time through your bowl of hot dilute soapy water and using the Brownie method so the water stays
clean for as long as possible and changing the water when it gets dirty. Even on a personal level I know if I'm washing a lot of glasses vs a single pot my washing method varies.

Also, if you rinse off the soapy suds from your glasses you are more likely to get watermarks, although that is complicated further by soft vs hard water (and it would be interesting to map different washing methods against water types because I better hard vs soft water has an impact here with hard water making it harder to effectively wash anything). Reality is (like shoes on vs shoes off in the house) there's no noticeable impact on population health based on cultural norms and so it doesn't actually matter.

Good god, so we should be leaving suds, chemicals and dirty water on our plates and glasses, just so we don't get water marks?

I think I'll carry on doing a quick rinse thanks!

OP posts:
ConnieHeart · 27/06/2025 08:19

IsItTheBlackOneOrTheRedOne · 26/06/2025 22:29

@SeaShellsSanctuary1 Definitely not without a care. I surreptitiously polish or if it’s too gross ask for a replacement. Never use a hotel kettle.

Can I ask all of the non-rinsers: have you never poured a glass of beer for yourself or a guest 🤔?

Edited

Yes. Why?