to be pretty sure this is the wrong way around?! Washing-up scuzziness/cleanliness

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Disclaimer: Yes, I have a full and exciting life, but I don't want to make you feel jealous, so instead of telling you all about it, I shall instead make up a totally banal and boring problem so that you may feel patronizing towards me instead. Or, alternatively, so you may judge me and my extended family as scuzzy dirtbags.

Anyway:

My parents wash up by running a bowl of hot soapy water and washing everything in there. DH and I wash up by putting soap on a cloth and washing each item under hot running water, then rising the soap off. When mum say me do it my way (out of habit) she wrinkled her nose and commented 'I don't know how you think you get things clean like that!'. Mate came over today and commented the same thing, although she runs a bowl of hot soapy water and rinses each item in hot water after it has been washed in the bowl.

Which of us is right, O wise and slightly bored ones? Is there some kind of lurgy you can get by never fully immersing your crockery in hot water, as my mum obviously believes? Or is everything she washes going to taste of fairy (not that I've actually noticed this, but I want moral high ground, please)?

Thank you mousy yes I do :)

No dysentery or DV or salmonella and I've been doing it this way since having DD 8 years ago so all good (I change the washing cloths etc but they get washed a few times before getting chucked).

I have no scientific evidence to back me up rhonda but I would have thought that a go through the washing machine would hygiene-ify your dish cloths without contaminating your towels.

ok everyone,

TEATOWELS

This is a massive bone of contention chez Pru. DP soaks them. I'm not sure why/how. I think he wipes down the worktops with a really soaking wet cloth, then dries them with the tea towel. Or perhaps its from washing his hands then not shaking them before drying on the tea towel - thinking about it, the handtowel in the bathroom gets wet (?) pretty quick too. Soggy bastard.

Whenever he's finished a task in the kitchen, there are at least 2 sopping tea towels screwed up in the corners. It DRIVES ME NUTS. Tea towels last half a day round here. I suggested to him that perhaps he could make it his new years resolution to try and make a tea towel last at least a day. He was all

HELP

Mesh thingy, Katie? what in the world of WTF is that all about

I don't always wash at 60, but if I don't I scald them with hot water then cold, which I think works too.

I will admit, I have a brilliant immune system since my mum's food hygiene leaves a fair bit to be desired, and I am fairly blase about stuff like BBE dates, but not about festering dishclothes. Bleugh.

There is nothing so revolting as that smell.

You keep the hot water tap running the whole time?? I'm hoicking my judgypants right up here at the waste of water and energy.

Wash tea towels and dish cloths at 60 or higher def. then that (disgusting, meat infested) food residue, which unavoidable, will be made germ free and clean. Food poisoning can kill, never dry your dishes (watch Corrie instead)

Sorry, I'm a bit of a paranoid veggie

Vivi, are you married to my dad?!

(I sincerely hope not because if so you're a right mucky one with washing up, but my dad does exactly that with tea towels and we've no idea what it's about eiter.)

"You keep the hot water tap running the whole time?? I'm hoicking my judgypants right up here at the waste of water and energy."

And I wash tea towels at 90.

I laugh while I'm doing it.

HA.

No help from me vivi, depending on what I am doing in the kitchen I can go through 3-5 teatowels (can't bear wet ones), I am trying to reduce my use of kitchen towels though.

ninja - I honestly don't think it uses more water than running a bowl. I'd notice the difference - the boiler is right there in the kitchen and you can hear when it has to fill up again.

My mum always runs it to the point when it goes cold by doing 2/3 bowl fulls. I've only ever run it cold when washing up after a big roast dinner.

Ok

I have a steel sink

Inside my steel sink is a fitted steel basket

One puts the plug in the sink with basket in, places dishes in basket and fill it up with fairy and hot water.

The basket can then be raised, lifting all dishes out of scuzzy water in order to drain scuzzy water and refill if required.

There is more space as you are using the whole sink rather than a bowl.

You also don't have to clean below the bowl scuzz

HTH

Or, what tethersend said.

I bet you frown at butterflies too, you evil crone.

tethers

Oh yes - I don't own a washing up bowl. I use the stainless steel sink (and I am a teeny bit OCD that it shines after each use)

Off to seek help.

LRD- I wash up your way, tis the only that makes sense to me.

My mum finally got dad to agree to a new, sparkly, poncey, granite-worktops and stainless-steel-sink kitchen refit. It involved actual structural building work to change the position of walls and new underfloor heating (this all sounds posh, btw, but they had been living with the exact same kitchen, 'vintage' 1970s lino, that was there when they moved into the house over 20 years ago).

When it was all done my dad proudly fished out the same old battered plastic washing-up bowl, with it familiar orange stains from soaked-in grease, and popped it into the new sink.

Mum now pretends it 'didn't fit' and has somehow 'forgotten' to buy a new one.

Jay - I am the Voice of Reason.

(Always wanted to say than on MN but have never had anything reasonable to say.)

mummynic Surely the point of rinsing after the soap is not to get rid of the dirt, but to get rid of the soap so your food the next day doesn't taste of soap?

sparrowfart The hot water coming out of your boiler will not be hot enough to kill many germs, so soaking vs running is irrelevant for hygeine (the running might be more as you'll probably rub them cleaner I'd've thought rather than the dirt floating off in the soak but pretty irrelevant whatever there won't be many)

Towel drying is horrid, not because I'm worried about germs, just because it's a horrid waste of effort to do something that would just happen anyway. But it's really become pathological and get uncomfortable even when someone else wants to do it - I can see myself falling out with MIL one day about it.

Isn't hot water from the boiler pretty near boiling? It's fucking hot from mine, anyhow.

How hot does it need to be, btw?

I used to share a flat with someone who, if you left your stuff to dry, would remove it all (soaking wet) and dump it in your cupboard with a snotty note about 'this is what tea towels are for'. When I realized he did this despite the fact he didn't actually need to use the draining board himself, I began to have idle fantasies about where to stick my rather damp forks.

O la di da Katie

I don't think I'm married to your Dad, LRD . What's it about though? Do let me know if you ever get to the bottom of it. DP and I can stand side by side and prepare a meal together and lo, the soggy tea towels appear and I still have NO CLUE how, even though I've been there the whole time.

We have a really silly argument about the hand towel in the cloakroom. Its a driftwood colour, so darkens when wet. I'm like "WHY is the hand towel so dark already" and he's all "well I dried my hands DUH" so I'm like "but WHY SO WET?!"

@ the memory of houseshare after your last post, OP

i put used crockery near sink/dishwasher. hope DP or cleaner deals with it!

i have become the 'man' no woman in her right mind would marry!

(i tell myself it is for feminism ;-) but really i just think i can get away with it....................................)

Running under a tap is much cleaner then a bowl of water
Dishwasher even cleaner

I will let you know vivi. And I am mystified too.

tilly - but it is for feminism