To think a bottle of washing up liquid should last a year

[Kinsters]

This is dredged up from ages ago but I'm wondering AIBU to think my parents are the odd ones? Is it me that's strange?

I moved into a new place and bought a new bottle of washing up liquid (just normal stuff). My parents came to visit me about 4 months after I'd moved in and in that time I had used about 1/3 of the bottle. They stayed for three weeks and by the end of their visit the bottle was almost empty!

Now it's 10 months later and I'm just getting to the end of the second bottle (ie the replacement for the one my parents went through so quickly). Who is the weird one here?! Are we both at opposite extremes of the washing up liquid scale?!

A bottle lasts is 3 months. No dishwasher, family of 4, lots of cooking. A year seems crazy but less crazy than those going through a bottle in a few weeks!

Why not put the liquid directly on the sponge? Is this a reverse?

afaloren yes, I rinse under the tap. It's honestly very clean. I do think the putting water on stuff when it goes in the sink is essential though, otherwise it's not easy to clean. They don't get washed in that water though. Personally I think washing everything in a big bowl of water is a bit rank. Doesn't the water end up all oily and full of bits?

@KiriAndLou

Why not put the liquid directly on the sponge? Is this a reverse?

I'm beginning to wonder, surely everyone puts the washing up liquid on the sponge???

Why don't you cook?

I'm not sure a wheelie bin full would last me a year never mind a bottle! That usually lasts a few weeks. Are you sure you're washing up correctly? Why don't you fill the bowl with water?

Well you are eating prepared food every night which is going to cut down on washing up.
I have a dishwasher but don't use a bowl when washing up by hand so do the same squirt washing up liquid on item and wash under water routine.
But I definitely squirt several times for a pile of items so would use more washing up liquid than you.

We have a dishwasher that we use daily and we still go through a bottle every couple of months.

Your way seems very odd.

KiriAndLou idk, putting it on the dishes seems easier. This is definitely not a reverse. I've been wondering for ages how long other people can make a bottle of washing up liquid last for because, like I said, me and my parents were so different!

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

You don't cook?

Only a MN chicken to go with the now brilliant MN Washing Up Liquid!

This is a weird post on all counts!

putting it on the dishes seems easier.

Genuinely how is putting a squirt onto a plate easier than squirting it onto a sponge?

thanksgivingchi yes, it does cut down massively. But the same was true when my parents were here! We literally just added two plates to the things to wash. Everything else was exactly the same.

Thegreymethod they really are washed properly. I can't stand dirty dishes.

@Kinsters I have a dishwasher so I only wash (for example) a couple of delicate glasses etc by hand. Before I had one I used to do things from least dirty (glasses etc) through to most dirty (pans) changing the water when it got gross.

I can see how if you only have a few things and not anything that gets very dirty like cooking pans, and essentially rinse under the tap and then just wipe with a sponge, a bottle can last a year. Most people do more washing up than that.

How soapy do you get the water? Sounds like you don't use very much at all

LittleMissLockdown maybe I will try it on the sponge tomorrow. I guess I like to see on the dish how much comes out?

Ohhhh weird it may be but it has answered a question which has been bugging me for ages.

What a bizarre notion!

Where do you live that you can get amazing food delivered daily, but are stringing out the life of a bottle of washing up liquid?!

We have a dishwasher and a bottle of washing up liquid still only lasts about a month...

WUL on a sponge? Crazy!

I squirt it in with the water as I’m filling the sink.

It’s funny how there’s different ways of doing such an ordinary task.

I use a brush when washing up by hand so it makes more sense to squirt onto the dirty item, the brush wouldn't hold the liquid.
I also agree that a bowl seems a pretty unclean way of washing up unless you empty it a lot.
It is also harder to rinse with fresh water when using a bowl as it rapidly gets too full.

How big is the bottle?

RedskyAtnight I don't just wipe with the sponge though, there needs to be suds on there else it doesn't clean properly. Sometimes I'll add extra if needed. Idk, the suds just seem to stay on the sponge for ages.

MiaowMix I don't deliberately stinge on washing up liquid. I just use what I feel is the necessary amount but I see that I'm definitely the weird one and not my parents! I live in Asia - food delivery here is really common. It's cheap and home cooked style.

My bottles last about 6 months. I just squirt it on the sponge and wash and rinse under the tap. All squeaky clean I hate filling the sink and having bits floating around

Mine lasts months but I live alone!

I live alone, and am on my second bottle. I've lived here just gone two years

I try and leave it till there's an actual sink full ish of dishes to wash. I'll rinse them under the cold tap first and leave them until I run out of crockery

It seems really wasteful and expensive to fire up my boiler and use washing up liquid every time I dirty one item of crockery. May as well do a bunch in one go and umm, save the environment... really just lazy

I can live with MN calling me a slattern