Eco friendly washing up?

[tinkywinkyshandbag]

I normally use those small green sponges to wash up but am aware they are not biodegradable nor are brushes. Can anyone recommend a greener alternative? Thanks

Dish cloths - it's not so easy to find 100% cotton ones in supermarkets, they are usually mixed fibre but they can be washed and reused many, many more times than a plastic sponge. If you are a bit creative you can buy dish cloth cotton and knit or crochet your own.

I cut up old towels and also use old face flannels as wash cloths. They get rinsed, wrung out and then washed with other towels/cloths. They seem to last for ages this way but then do have to be binned at the end so not a perfect solution but much better than plastic sponges (and I think more hygenic as they only get used once between washes so germs don't harbour).

I do then have to have a scrubber for more baked/cooked on stuff but there are various eco friendly options out there, e.g.

ecovibe.co.uk/products/coconut-fibre-scouring-pad?variant=19192080465977&currency=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping-ecovibe-1118-shopping&utm_content=324722453941&utm_term=68788737521

Ecoconut scourers

Look up tawashi... cut old socks into rings. Put 5 clothes pegs along each side of a small square dish. Stretch the sock rings between the vertical pegs. Then between the horizontal pegs weave 5 more sock rings under & over the vertical ones. Remove a peg from one corner, thread this loop through the next loop, keep going till you get to the final corner. Tighten it to secure, and you have a loop to hang it up with.

Buy loofahs easy ti get hold of, and degrade too

use a dishwasher
uses much less water and very little energy on the eco cycle

Splosh washing up liquid - that way you can reuse the same bottle over and over. Google it, they do loads of other products too.

Dish cloths. I get through 1-2 per day and they just get chucked in with the washing.

Add loofah to dishwasher

I know dishwashers are supposed to use less water, but aren't the products they use much worse for the rivers. etc. than normal washing up liquid? Also the dishes have to be rinsed and or scraped free of grease\food BEFORE even going in the DW. Therefore using more energy and water than washing up in a bowl.

Only burnt on stuff, yes scrape stuff off,m bio d make a great powder, and Ecover do tablets .
Energy debatable as to settings, I use mine roughly every 3 days being on my own

Or bio d or Ecover, buy 5 litre bottles

Also the dishes have to be rinsed and or scraped free of grease\food BEFORE even going in the DW.

nope, just scrapes as you would before washing up by hand.
there are very good ecological detergents for the dishwasher.

I've used dish washers and now retired we made the decision NOT to get one. It's much easier after scraping to 'loosen' the really dirty plates or bowls \saucepans by soaking for 5 mins or so in hot water in a bowl or on the side, then washing up in the same one IME. and rinsing in another.

That specific stuff, in a tablet, not the salt, they sell for DWs doesn't seem very ecologically sound to me. It HAS to be strong to work doesn't it?

Hyfuene reasons, without one fir years, they use a small amount of bleach to get rid of coffee stains, the eco ones , I use bio d powder us great, I use an eco option.
Fir roughly every 2 to 3 days it works, fab, lots if asking up liquids are petro chemical based with colours and foaming agents, something I will never buy

I know I don't buy the petroleum based washing up liquids either, we refill (in a organic shop) an old plastic bottle , in fact for light soiling I don't use detergent at all, I just use microfibre cloths (which I wash and reuse ) they aren't ideal but as I reuse all the time they aren't too bad. Not as bad as J cloth types.

I have given up on microfibre cloths because of the microplastics ending up in rivers and seas.

I've always used dishcloths. When they are manky, they become cleaning cloths and, before they die, they're used for one off jobs when decorating or blacking the fireplace.

I've been using the following for a couple of years now and recommend them:
www.amazon.co.uk/MR-SIGA-Bamboo-Cleaning-Cloths/dp/B01302S6D2/ref=pd_aw_sbs_201_9?psc=1&pf_rd_p=43188f0f-a7a0-489c-a425-758ae4ff86e8&_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_wg=PKHDj&pf_rd_r=5YHCJMFMNZDEX3EY0814&pd_rd_i=B01302S6D2&pd_rd_w=IiUaw&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&refRID=5YHCJMFMNZDEX3EY0814&pd_rd_r=b7336606-0c73-4318-a124-d11359cd5b47

www.amazon.co.uk/Kilo-Non-Scratch-Scourer-Environmentally-Friendly/dp/B07KKZRDVR/ref=sr_1_18?s=kitchen&keywords=scourers&th=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1578916361&sr=1-18

Yes i bought some of those Environmentally friendly ones from my organic supermarket.. dh didn't. I put them on the stove to boil wash with bicarb and a little white vinegar. Then throw the water on the garden , better than in the sewers though. We have our own septic tank, So the water doesn't go down the sewers anyway., I'm not sure whether that's better or not ]

This is a bit off topic, but newbie hasn't discovered how to post a new thread yet.

At times the (iron) omelette pan needs scouring, but how to do it without scratching? Non stick scourers invariably come with bits of sponge, which inevitably a)are instant filthy breeding grounds for bacteria b)are not eco friendly.

I use one of these scrubbies

btw if you want to start a new thread scroll to the top of the thread and there should be an option to 'start a new thread' depending on how you accessed the site you might need to click on a 'v' to open up the options first.

you can grow your own loofah. apparently its quite easy.
I use cut up clothes and towels. they are better than any dish cloth I ever paid money for. especially the seems. really good.

also we switched to bar soap rather than dish soap. works great and doesn't get the dishes scummy (like i thought it would) just don't use too much if you try it
also be careful, its more slippery than faith liquid and i dropped the plates in the bowl the first few days

I really like Delphis Eco for washing up liquid because it cuts through the grease better than anything else I've tried. They manufacture in the UK and I find they cut through the grease really well. Sponge wise I tried a few non plastic versions and the ones that work best so far are those from Seep. They are compostable and have a scourer top bit made of loofah.

I try to remove the fat problem from the dishes altogether by using old tissues to wipe the butter and fat from dh's dishes before washing! Then put in the compost heap. I'm vegan so there's no animal fat from me. I use olive oil as a spread because the 'spreads' , even the organic ones are all made of palm oil and or rape seed oil (which I'm allergic to).

I know tissues themselves are not ideal but dh insists on them.