To think it's disgusting to wash up without rinsing?

[olimpia]

Just that really!
I really can't understand how seemingly clean people lather their dirty dishes and just put them to dry without rinsing the foam off. All the germs and soap residue are left on the plates surely?

Yuk. Revolting!

WE use a washing up bowl.

It saves water - you need half the amount you need for a sink.
It leaves pour-away / rinsing space down the side.
It stops delicates hitting a hard sink.
I like it.

Yes, it does get a bit manky underneath, but why does that matter?

It's useful to have the gap between the bowl and the sink itself to rinse away stuff that you don't necessarily want floating around in the washing up bowl, like gravy etc that is too liquidy to scrape into the bin.

NotaDisneyMum, I don't know about other countries, but in my birth country the environment is nowhere close to the top of everybody's daily agenda and, in most houses, you pay a fixed fee for your water/heating no matter how much you use. Heating is actually not controlled within individual houses, but hot water is pumped into houses/apartment buildings from large central boiler stations. So people wash and rinse under hot running water with gay abandon.

Once in the UK, however, I got all environmentally-minded. I still rinsed (before I got the lovely lovey lovely dishwasher), but made sure I used as little water as possible. For instance, I would not submerge dishes in a bowl or sink but have a bit of water sitting in a soaking pan and wet my sponge in there, rub the dishes, and then give them a quick rinse.

Honestly, other countries have the exact same sinks, space, water availability.

So presumably, it is something that environmental groups in other countries are trying to discourage -just like we in the UK have been encouraged not to leave the tap running when brushing teeth, and taking showers instead of baths.

It is not medically necessary to rinse off washing up detergent - if it was, then the bottle would clearly say so, as it does on other household cleaning products (rinse/wipe with a damp cloth etc).

If people choose to do so, then it's up to them (assuming they can afford it) - but it flies in the face of green/environmentally friendly living, imo!

Of course a double sink is the ideal - then you don't NEED a separate washing up bowl. Though actually I don't like washing up in a ceramic sink, to easy to chip porcelain cups etc.

It uses no more water than not rinsing!

Just start with the water low, and at the end of the wash you have a full sink. So no different than the people who wash with a full sink and don't rinse.

But the fact is that many people that don't rinse still wash their dishes under running water, so the water saving argument makes no sense.

And it's not "medically necessary" to shower every day, and yet I choose to do it

"If people choose to do so, then it's up to them (assuming they can afford it) - but it flies in the face of green/environmentally friendly living, imo!"

It really doesn't need to use that much more water - you can wash the dishes in quite a small amount of water as long as you rinse properly afterwards.

And you can save on laundering soggy suddy tea towels.

No, I don't think environmental groups are trying to encourage people not to rinse their dishes. These days they tend to be very concerned about human exposure to chemicals and I can't see them going for that. They would encourage ways of washing that use less water but frankly in other countries the idea of not rinsing off soap is just a non-starter.

GreenGoldSilver I suppose it doesn't matter over-much if the bowl is manky underneath. I just couldn't see the value of it, so to me it was like having manky goop in your sink for no benefit. The delicates thing makes sense, though don't think that is a key selling point in my house! :)

Poppy -- exactly! The non-rinsers are still rinsing, just doing it before they wash.

I think that the non-rinsing tradition has very little to do with the environment and all to do with the cost of water and gas to heat it. I am also not sure about the properties of liquid detergent argument. If this tradition goes back to grandmothers as many here noted, surely it arose before the days when the magic slide-off-and-take-all-grime-with-you detergent was invented.

But there are ways of using little water and still rinsing.

Saying this, what people do with their dishes is their business and not mine. But it's still fascinating.

The washing up bowl needn't get manky if you empty it after a washing session, wipe it (and the sink) with your soapy sponge, then RINSE the lot I also leave the washing up bowl upside down to dry when not in use.

you can wash the dishes in quite a small amount of water as long as you rinse properly afterwards.

But where do you put these washed (but not rinsed) dishes, until you rinse them?

I use the two-sink wash/rinse method in commercial kitchens - wash the food particles and grease off in detergent, then rinse in a second sink of clean, hot water - the rinse water is held at over 80C to act as a level of sterilisation, but most domestic kitchens don't have that facility, so the only way of rinsing dishes I have washed in detergent is to use a running tap down the side of the (half-full) bowl of soapy water, which uses copious amounts of water.

When If I ever have my kitchen refitted it will have a double sink and dishwasher, but until I win the lottery can afford that, I make do, and if that includes disgusting other people with my slovenly habits, then so be it

Can I just check that everybody sterilises their disk drainer each night?

I thank you.

I don't rinse, with the exception of glasses.

Am I "supposed" to?

disk drainer?

I meant dish drainer obviously.

I don't expect you to wash or rinse your DVDs!!

I rinse, but I wash under the running tap as opposed to filling up the sink.

I don't think people who do it differently to me are 'disgusting' though...

My dishes sit nicely congealing on the side for several hours until someone deigns to put them in the dishwasher.

But where do you put these washed (but not rinsed) dishes, until you rinse them?

I stack them creatively either in the sink or on the counter by the sink, depending on the situation.

One of my friends used to put everything in the drainer, then poured freshly boiled water over them. That used to dry the dishes quickly, as well.

But where do you put these washed (but not rinsed) dishes, until you rinse them?

Just rinse as you go along. So dirty plate -> wash it -> rinse it -> put it on draining board -> done. Not hard.

My Mum pours boiling water over hers which really helps them dry quickly and they are sparkling clean

Just rinse as you go along. So dirty plate -> wash it -> rinse it -> put it on draining board -> done. Not hard.

But where do you put the rinsing bowl? Or do you rinse under a running tap?