Cultural cleaning practices

[mubarak86]

Sort of reminded by another thread about how when I got with DH and spent time with his non British family, how they were horrified by some of my cleaning (or not so) ways.
Eg, his family always wash meat/chicken before use. Not just a rinse under the tap, but they use flour, lemon juice and some even use olive oil soap and massage it in, before thoroughly rinsing it off.
Another one is how they wash the dishes. Small bowl of warm soapy water, sponge is dipped in, dish washed and set aside before rinsing soap off. Wearing of flip flops in bathroom, no bare feet ever. Flip flops left in bathroom, never to be worn outside of bathroom.

Would be interested to hear if you are in a mixed culture marriage or if you are not white British in what ways you feel you do things differently (or even if you just know others) . Keep it respectful please, no one is asking for opinions on what is the "right" way to do things.

Washing up: bowl is for hot, clean soapy water only, so dishes rinsed under cold tap, then washed (without going into bowl), then rinsed again under cold tap, then dried.

Am British and would always rinse dishes so that's not necessarily different though

This.
Scrape, cold rinse, wash, rinse the residue.

I'm British and would always rinse dishes, but I'm aware that many people don't and have often heard comments on this from people from other cultures who find the not rinsing thing weird. I have to say that I agree with them!!

DH's culture does the flip flops in the bathroom thing.

We used to wash meat when it was from the farm or local butchers but as it swapped over to supermarket and better abattoir hygiene standards it fell away.
My grandad served in India so we imported washing with a jug in the toilet (have a spray hose now) and some of the working class habits have stayed like doing the laundry on Mondays and wiping the window frames and painted bits and sweeping the path.

I've always found washing up bowls to be utterly grim contraptions, so that sounds much more sensible.

Sorry, OP my previous comment wasn't very respectful 😕

Travellers are typically very, very clean. Like working class they may not have much but they take great pride in what they have.
Most traveller homes make Mrs Hinch look a scruff.

Most of the things I can think of relate to washing clothes. It is seen as odd that we have washing machines in the kitchen. Most of the countries I've visited/lived in, it was either in the bathroom or a seperate laundry room. I wish it was that way here. I don't really like sorting out dirty washing where I prep food. But have no sperate laundry room and tiny bathroom! I also dry my clothes on hangers on a rail. Outside in good weather, inside in bad. Take's up much less room, no creases/peg marks, and dries quickly. I saw it in another country and copied it!

My grandmother who lived in another European country always used to put the quilts half out the window to air every morning, as did many of her neighbours. It's not something I've seen here.

I tend to soak dishes, sponge over to clean or scourer, followed by clean rinse. The idea of not rinsing soap off really is rank to me and far too common in the UK (I mean, it's dirt plus soap).

I think the not rinsing dishes was a saving water measure. I was a child in the 70s and leaving a tap running would have been frowned on. I'm sure the habit started changing as it became less of an issue.

This is really interesting but would love to know which cultures these practices stem from!

Don't say gypsy. It's a slur. They're travellers.

I wouldn’t leave a tap running but I’d tip a jug of very hot water over washed dishes to rinse them.

I do rinse glasses and cups individually.

Some people refer to themselves as gypsies, particularly if they are of Roma heritage.

What is the logic behind the flip-flops in the bathroom thing I wonder?

@Jimmyneutronsforehead she calls herself a gypsy, it's even in the name of her channel. She's American so don't know if that makes a difference.

Slovakian relatives- all guests are expected to take shoes off in the house and are offered slippers to wear which are left in by the door. Same in their schools (including high) - pupils put their shoes in their lockers and wear slippers whilst inside.

Bathroom are considered dirty.

It’s not unusual in Japan to have ‘toilet shoes’. Including shared shoes in some ryokan.

I'm in Australia , it's unknown to have laundry appliances in the kitchen. All houses have a dedicated laundry room, adjacent to the back door so you have a short trip to the line. Aussies are aghast to see people in the UK washing clothes in the kitchen .

@Pemba the flip flops thing is not transferring any bathroom dirt into the rest of the house. Many countries have wet room style bathrooms and water can pool on the floor, or at least be damp. If men don't sit down urinating (which they do in my dh's country) the urine can go onto the floor, and if you're in bare feet/socks this will be carried into the rest of the house.

We used to do this at my primary school in England - we had to wear what we called 'Jesus Sandals' indoors, changed as you got into school and again for break and play times.

I suppose urgh yes that's true about bathroom floors, I never considered. But then you'd have to find a space in the bathroom to store the flip-flops. Many uk homes have tiny bathrooms. Could the problem be solved by cleaning the bathroom floor more often.

It's like with washing machines in the kitchen. Americans and Australians can be aghast all they likes, but most UK homes have no space for a utility or whatever, so there's no choice really. Many building regulations should be improved. Like I believe all new builds have to have a downstairs toilet now? Which would be a fairly recent change.

I can't really see what's so terrible about the washing machine in the kitchen anyway. The clothes are inside the machine, not lying around the kitchen surfaces! Then when the cycle is finished they go straight outside or to wherever you'll dry them. (Not in kitchen).