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 meat is actually unhygienic. The official advice is that you are splashing raw meat germs around and all germs will be killed during cooking - so don't wash!

A lot of the shock at washing machines in kitchens comes from people who live in less crowded countries, where houses are a decent size. I'm sure most Brits would love to have space for utility rooms. Some new houses don't even room for a table you can eat on.

@Pemba If they're Indian, it is partially cos wetrooms are most common in India and the floors are always wet. My friends there are always astonished when I don't have a communal pair of chappell (flipflops) outside the bathroom door!

A lot of the shock at washing machines in kitchens comes from people who live in less crowded countries, where houses are a decent size

I've been in a few European countries where the washing machine is in the bathroom, and they're not big bathrooms! At my grandmothers house you used to have to squeeze in to use the loo! Maybe not that practical!

Because she isn't a cleaner. Just a 'influencer' my kid can clean better than mrs hinch.

More important to thoroughly wash hands and utensils after handling raw meat. I am a bit 😮at the thought of washing meat with actual soap!

On a lot of traveller sites they have brick built toilet blocks because they do not use the toilet in their own homes / vans because it is classed as dirty . No animals inside either .

CactusFlowers a jug would make complete sense, I'm sure the water saving is how it originated, though. We were definitely told off for leaving a tap running.

Our washing machine is in a utility room aka outside the downstairs loo! When I lived in a a flat in London, it was in the very small kitchen.

Plenty of people wash their meat, have done for eons, and have survived.🙄

My grandparents washing machine was in their bathroom in a Victorian house (so a bedroom was converted to a bathroom I guess). It was a pain in the bum because you had to carry all the heavy wet washing downstairs to hang out. Not great when you're old.

They were Indian so also had a jug beside the loo to wash your bottom after a poo.

My grandma was very fastidious about changing into comfy home clothes having been out, washing hands after handling money and washing fruit and veg before eating. I think that was a cultural thing because diseases and germs spread very quickly in a warm climate where she was from. Not sure though.

I'm very glad I don't havve a washing machine in the bathroom.
My bathroom is my sanctuary- full of beautiful things- river stones, candles, essential oils.
When I take a bath I like to feel peaceful, not gaze at a washing machine.

Not rinsing dishes is weird and frankly, disgusting. By the time you get to the last few items, the water is greasy and you're literally just dipping a plate / fork / pan in yellow-ish, greasy, soapy water and then leaving it to dry. All that doesn't just magically dry off the dish.

I'm Spanish and dishes always get rinsed. Laundry room separate, or appliances in bathroom. Some newer flats do have them in kitchens though. You walk into a house, shoes off, slippers on. Guests are offered slippers too unless it's someone important or workmen. But that's mostly because there are no carpets, it's tile throughout the house and in winter it gets cold.

The main one for me, although not cleaning-related, is airing. You air your flat/house every day, all year round, doesn't matter how cold or windy it is. We used to leave all bedroom windows open when we went to school in the morning and one of my parents would close them at lunchtime. In the UK way too many people keep their windows closed 'to keep the heat in'. I agree insulation is poor in most homes, but even for 20 minutes, every room should be aired daily, ideally multiple times a day. Then you put a jumper on if some heat has escaped. It prevents mould, the house smells fresh, you too can breathe in some oxygen after a full night with closed windows and doors. It's extremely unhealthy to not air rooms every day.

@viques surely you can’t be serious?😂 no one washes meat with soap…

People wash meat with lemon/lime/lemon juice etc. That means putting the meat in a bowl of cold water with a lemon and putting the bowl to the side to soak. You then drain the bowl and pour the water down the sink. @Cafemiga there’s no ‘splashing raw meat germs’ anywhere btw. People are more than able to wash meat cleanly and wipe down surfaces

@pedropony76

see the first post!

@Jimmyneutronsforehead some prefer gypsy to traveller. Some see traveller as a slur. Don’t speak for everyone.

@EileenGC yes to airing the rooms! I can not stand to be in a house that hasn’t been ventilated!

@viques I did but no one mentioned washing meat with actual soap?

@emuloc yes they might have but more at risk from a tummy bug! Look up the UK and US government food safety advice. Plenty of people have survived not washing hands after going to the loo- doesn't make it hygienic!

To those sitting meat in a bowl of lemon water...um where is the evidence lemon water takes away bacteria. It's all old wives tales!

We had a washing machine in the bathroom growing up.
We also had a teeny tiny room with a sink off the kitchen for washing up - kitchen sink was for washing vegetables, not dirty plates.

Indoor shoes (proper shoes, not slippers) for indoors, and they must never ever go outside even onto the top step. Outdoor shoes must never go beyond the hallway.

The most heinous crime ever though, was to sit on your bed in clothes that you had worn outside. That was viewed as off-the-scale unhygienic. I can’t bring myself to do it even now.

Whilst staying at Uni I was shocked at how some women from some cultures throw the dirty sanitary wear in an open bin, non wrapped along with toilet tissue with poo/blood/wee on. The toilets all flushed fine with paper! Smelt and looked disgusting. Bag it, cover it. The smell and flies. Yuck

Still bigger than any bathroom in a home I've ever lived in. I'd have had to climb over a washing machine and stand on the seat to use the toilet in all of them.

Some even use olive oil soap and massage it well in I am hoping this is an auto correct for olive oil, but you never know!

Same here, I'm going over in my head all the bathrooms of friends /family, ranging from flats to decent sized detached houses, and none have any space for a washing machine. There is usually toilet, washbasin, bath or shower cubicle (maybe both if you're lucky), possibly a bidet. That's it, end of available space.

It's not doable in this country for most people. Besides, what if the washing machine develops a leak, it could come through the ceiling. And washing machines are so heavy too.

No outdoor shoes in the house, and no bathroom use without wearing the bathroom sliders. The same in most public buildings as well.

Dettol or similar in your bath once a week.

Washing any meat before eat (no, it isn’t a problem, unless you are gross and choose not to clean your kitchen).

Airing homes at least once a day.

Wet cleaning everything with bleach.

Cleaning our bodies rather than using paper.

Wudu.

Clothes washing contracted out.

MIL does indeed use olive oil soap to wash chicken. It's a soap they hand make, so I assume hope it's safe. I thought it was really odd but then I saw the gunk that was coming off the chicken. It's the same when you use flour or salt with lemon juice - weird membranes that you can't see come off it 😷