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've used a water bottle when camping. Pour over the plate into the washing up bowl. I don't care if it is creek water if we have to bring our own drinking water to site and want to save that.

@Maggiethecat I was going to say bath, but some people refuse to have baths as they see them as skanky, or they have a shower after the bath!

@Kalevala with the state of our rivers and what is pumped into them not sure I would be wanting to wash plates using that water

Sorry, this was in the watagan mountains, not uk. I'll avoid creek water here then!

In countries where we are advised not to drink the water, not have ice in your drinks and don't eat food that would have been rinsed with tap water, would it be better to have a plate with a possible soap film on it rather than using plates and cutlery that have been rinsed 'clean'with the tap water.

Good point. But then someone a minute ago was talking about rinsing with river water, so I think we’re officially leaving common sense behind 🤷‍♀️

But is that wipe not the equivalent of a rinse i.e. removing the cleaning residue along with stains/dirt?

If the surface is grungy you probably wouldn’t spray and just leave?

What water are you washing up in? Just use that water. If you don't run them a bath first then you can use that water to rinse instead. You can also wash with sand and avoid the soap.

@Kalevala I'm just thinking of restaurants in those countries, where we are so careful to not drink the water or eat anything rinsed by this water, but will put a fork in our mouths that have been rinsed in this water

Yes, I understand. But where you got the water to wash up in, you could use that to rinse. If there wasn't that small amount of water and I needed to conserve water to drink and cook with, so I was literally unable to remove soap then I would avoid using it in the first place.

Metal is naturally antibacterial iirc the COVID stuff - viruses and bacteria on metal will die fairly swiftly. Also using hot water for washing up eliminates much of the risk.

I do the same as your DH as in I start with the cleanest items such as glasses, but I always rinse things in running water after they’ve had a good scrub in the washing up bowl.

Otherwise you end up with washing up liquid residue on the “clean” item, right? 🤢

That would depend on the country I guess. I grew up somewhere where tap water wasn’t drinkable without boiling it first but it was still fine to have a shower and we would use the hot water tap for washing dishes. The amount of the bad stuff left after drying (dishes/clothes/surfaces) wouldn’t be large enough to make you ill. Probably you could even drink a glass without getting an upset stomach but drinking several every day would definitely give you stomach troubles.

Not sure how it would be in a country where you’re not even advised to brush your teeth with tap water or have a shower. I suspect boiled water would be used also for rinsing. If anything, you would want to be extra careful in such a place and clean your dishes properly.

Would you jump in a bath of hot soapy water after falling into a mud pit then try and clean yourself? Rince dishes first in the middle sink bit then wash in hot CLEAN soapy water? You wouldn't wash yourself in dirty water so why wash dishes in dirty water?

Did you dip your pots and other washing up into mud? Why?

Interesting the advice for dishwashers is not to rinse before putting them in the dishwasher as detergents work better with stuff to latch on to

@AJLCroft not everyone has that middle sink

Anyone that’s on your DH side is as gross as he is. Wash with clean water not nasty gross cloudy water. Ignore the gross people, tell him do it properly 🙈

I'm surprised no one so far has mentioned the environmental impact of washing dishes under a running tap. So wasteful!
I'm with your husband on this. His way is how I do it and I grew up with. It's fine. Nobody died.
Please listen to the episode of sliced bread or marketing bs on this - broadcast a few weeks ago. Very interesting!

@Toptops people have raised the environmental impact

@crumblingschools no, I understand that and neither did I- I rinsed in the sink then placed in a washing up bowl and washed in clean water? In my defence I have a weird "bit" fobia - I couldn't put my hands in a bowl full of floating'bits'. I'm also a rinser before going in the dishwasher - I just don't trust that thing

@cardibach ..... it's an analogy ??

But a crap one. Thought my point was obvious. Mud is actually dirty. Food is edible.

Not if the plug is in. No difference if you run the water first or as you go.

@Kalevala I think you have got it down to a fine art as you have experienced limited water supply. I bet other posters washing under a running tap are not so mindful