Washing up - is DH filthy or am I overreacting?

[Washingupfury]

I have name changed for this. Dh and I have a disagreement about washing up water. He feels that you fill the sink, start with cleanest stuff eg glasses work your way through to the dirty stuff and no need to change the water unless the bubbles disappear, even if the water looks dirty.

I fill the sink, wash, rinse under running water, and if the water gets cloudy I change it.

I just caught him washing a cereal bowl in this:

I think it's disgusting. He thinks it is fine 'as it was the last thing to be washed'. We have agreed to abide by the MN poll for future washing up.

So, YABU DH is sensible and timesaving, of course the last few things will be washed in cloudy water.

YANBU DH is filthy and clean water and rinsing are the way to go.

That’s interesting. I’m not from the UK but my DH is English so I have visited a fair few homes, Airbnbs etc. My objection to washing up bowls is that most of the ones I have seen take up practically the entire sink, so there’s no space for rinsing without diluting the washing up water. Also a lot of places I’ve stayed in only had one sink whereas in Australia all the places I’ve lived have had a double sink (second one is a lot smaller than the main sink).

I use the dishwasher but MN would have a meltdown over my SIL who despite owning a functioning dishwasher retains some kind of fundamental objection to them that I’ve never been able to get to the bottom of. As a result she leaves a sink about a quarter full of tepid water all day and everything is ‘washed’ on the go. Yuk.

No
But not rinsing after washing to me is like getting out the shower with soap suds all over me
I lather myself up then rinse it off, same for dishes and any other form of cleaning

Should say I use soap on the sponge though rather than in the water

I'm a low water user anyway so rinsing is neither here nor there in the amount I use
Because as I rinse it's going into the sink with a plug for either more washing up or I use the hot water to then wipe down surfaces, rinse sponge etc

I rinse and use no more water than if I was to fill a sink and not rinse. You don't need to bath dishes, only a bit of water to soak the worst.

I'm with you OP. We have a dishwasher, but hardly use it as just the two of us. I always rinse everything off plates, bowls etc, before it goes in the water, wash in bowl (with washing up liquid), then rinse off under running tap.

DH is like yours, puts dirty stuff straight into water, so it gets mucky really quickly. He rinses off after, but I can't see the logic off putting dirty dishes into clean water, without rinsing off the food first!

I wonder how many times OP and her family suffer sickness? From all the germs?

It was a genuine question, thank you for your reply. I use my dishwasher so thankfully not something I need to think too much about in every day life.

@Remaker

My objection to washing up bowls is that most of the ones I have seen take up practically the entire sink, so there’s no space for rinsing without diluting the washing up water.

I don’t get this. Surely if you didn’t have a washing-up bowl in there you’d just be diluting your sinkful of water instead when you rinse? At least with a bowl there’s a chance of rinsing down the side? Neither would be an issue if you had a second sink of course.

But, honestly, these competitive cleanliness threads are just so pathetic. It’s all very ‘princess and the pea’. I do rinse my dishes out of preference but I can also see that if you don’t, it’s fine. Just as I do happen to shower every day but would defend any one’s right not to. Because that’s also fine.

There are plenty of things in life that are genuinely disgusting - dog poo on the pavements for example. But affecting to get all queasy over a bit of your own food debris in your own home? Please.

I have a dishwasher but if not I wash with tap running, never fill the sick as it feels grim

Just washed up a sink full, with rinsing, and the final depth of the water was half a sponge length. If people bathing their dishes then not rinsing are using less, then the difference has got to be negligible. Shower length, flushing wees, and doing excessive laundry would make much more difference.

@Kalevala so was that all the water you used in the whole process?

Yes, plug in. Including water from when I turned on the tap to water bead test my pan.

I bet most people use more than that when using a running tap. What does water bead test your pan mean?

No plug no bowl. Running hot water. You cannot clean an item in dirty water. Same with bathing your just sitting in your own dirt.

How do you ensure an item is covered in washing up liquid under a running tap?

Unless you are washing dishes under a running tap you are marinating them in the remnants of the other items ..

I wouldn't have a problem with washing things in that water, as the point of that stage is to loosen the dirt and remove the bulk of it, leaving only loose particles that can easily be rinsed away. It's the lack of rinsing that's the problem.

You can’t. The amount of washing up liquid this gets through must be phenomenal, you’re literally washing it down the drain.

Drop a bead of water with my finger onto the stainless steel pan, if it evaporates it isn't hot enough, if it is hot it will form a bead in the pan. Hot so the egg won't stick.

I don't wash under a running tap, I rinse after washing with a soapy sponge, it doesn't need much water for the washing part. I tip the remnants of the kettle into the pan after cooking, but that ends up in the sink too. Even if people use more water, a minute less in the shower is an easier saving.

This.

What cleans is soap, i.e. washing up liquid here, and friction from a sponge, cloth or brush. The water then removes food particles and soap. Oh and the heat of the water kills bacteria.

If I were you I would invest in a dishwasher=no more disagreement

I don’t accept there is enough soap in dirty water to clean properly. Possibly the drying of the dishes kills extra bacteria as bacteria need food, warmth and moisture, but I still think it’s less disgusting to change the water or to rinse.

@Matrons they have a dishwasher

If people think you can’t wash things in a bowl of water do you wash your clothes under a running tap?

@crumblingschools - but you do rinse the soap/dirt out of your clothes, no?