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.

i never fill sink with water, i wash under running water, putting dishes in filthy water is just vile

I do, but then I feel it sticks more in clothes. When washing up I wipe off excess suds etc then wipe dry with a tea towel (the horror, the germs!). I will rinse out water bottles etc and then stick them upside down to drain but don’t routinely rinse everything

But (famous last words!) we don’t get sick from our washing up routine. We do also have a dishwasher so only wash up a few things.

We also have a dog so don’t live in a sterilised environment that many people on MN seem to live in

@hangingonfordearlife1 how do you put soap on your dishes etc?

The washing up liquid goes directly on the sponge you scrub the dishes with.

When you take a shower do you just dose yourself in shower gel? Of course not! (At least I hope you don’t)

So you dose up the sponge for every item? How often do you clean the sponge?

I'm with your DH.

I've never used a dish washer, and we didn't have one growing up either. Everything gets put in the sink altogether, and is washed in whatever order my hand falls on it.
Very, VERY occasionally, a particularly dirty or greasy pan might get a wash of it's own, but that's really rare.
Not dead yet.

If it bothers you that much, do it yourself, but don’t then moan he’s not doing his share.

I do feel some of you people are here just like to find something to complain about.

When you take a shower do you just dose yourself in shower gel?

Yes. I pour some in my hand and rub it over my body. Never, ever use a sponge for anything - bacteria love them.

You don’t “dose up” the sponge. It’s a sponge! Just a couple of drops will make it all foamy! If it gets grimy or the foam is gone you quickly rinse it and add a couple more drops of liquid. When you’re done you rinse it again and put it to dry, and at the end of the day you microwave it for disinfection or put it in the wash if it’s more of a reusable cloth type one (e-cloth for example).
For reference, I bought a 1L detergent bottle at the beginning of Feb that’s still going strong. I do have a dishwasher that we use for most things but we wash cutting knives/boards, pots and pans, kids plates and some fancier mugs by hand.

But you are using the same thing that has touched one dirty plate to clean another dirty item, how can that be clean, for all the have to wash under running water posters on here.

@BIossomtoes I was going to say that’s how I shower but assumed that would start a whole other argument!

😂At this point you’re either trolling or really don’t know how a running tap works. I’ll give you A for effort

I think the washing up in cold/ barely warm water, mixing all the dirty stuff together and not rinsing is a uniquely British thing that I first became aware of when I went to university. It's the reason I tend not to eat at other people's houses. I think it's disgusting and unhygienic. But it is also fairly common in this country as you can see from the vote.

It's really not.

Except that’s not how the majority of us do it. We use water as hot as our hands can stand and start with the least soiled, processing through to the most soiled. The dishwasher, on the other hand, does mix all the dirty stuff together and washes it in the same water. The difference is the heat of the water and the rinse. It’s not other people’s houses you should worry about - never pay for a meal if you’re bothered.

It is. Must be a UK thing to not think it is grim.

@notmybear but it doesn’t make people ill so it can’t be the grim/bacteria practice people make it out to be. Things must be clean

It's hot water with soap, and a bit of food that you were previously happy to eat at the bottom.

Besides which, if you wash clean to dirty and scrape off food bits before washing into the bin the water is never "filthy".

I always find it funny when people go on about it being "grim" and that they use a dishwasher, when a dishwasher is basically just respraying the same water at the dishes over and over again during the main wash cycle. Oh no, how disgusting etc.

Indeed she can’t work out how you clean the sponge. 😂😂

no more buddies so I “wash” the sponge and add more bubbles. Magic. Much cleaner than dirty grey water with bits in.

I am shocked at the way the voting's gone - this is a site where loads of people think you're disgusting if you don't have a shower at least once a day!
but am reminded that the majority of posters live in the UK, the only place in the world where people have this weird idea that washing up doesn't need to include rinsing! How skanky. I really hope none of you work in catering, as I wouldn't want to eat off a plate that hadn't been rinsed (ideally in hot water).
I've lived in places without running tap water, and still managed to rinse dishes effectively, using a small amont of water. So it needn't be the 'huge waste' of water/ money that some of you claim.

These are things people have prepared food in and eaten from. They're not cleaning things which have been in a midden.

Out of interest, can you please describe how you rinse multiple plates using only a small amount of water if you've no running water?

People do as they please in their own homes and as others have said no one has died from this washing up practice.

I’m genuinely curious to know when/how it developed here in the UK and if any other country overwhelmingly practises the wash bowl/no rinse.

Im also trying to think of any other cleaning operation involving no rinse, we don’t do it with our bodies, clothes, pets, cars?

Cant work out why different for the things we eat off/with.

sorry, forgot about baths - was thinking about showering

Im also trying to think of any other cleaning operation involving no rinse, we don’t do it with our bodies, clothes, pets, cars?

Kitchen worktops - spray and wipe.

I'm not bothered by germs, I just want the soap off. The way I wash up, which I became quite methodical about when I was on tank water, means everything is definitely soapy. My cats often share my crockery!

I do that with vinegar though.