Washing up - what’s the absolute best way to do it?

[Trousertrim]

What’s the best way to wash up?

I have never been any good at this, but I am about to move my family into a rental flat with no dishwasher.

Please tell me everything! EVERYTHING!!!

What draining rack should I buy? What order do you do things? What are the best products?

I do glasses first, cutlery sits at the bottom till the end!
My rack is cream metal.

https://www.frenchsoaps.co.uk/products/marseille-natural-washing-up-liquid-2-ltr

I do least dirty first, quickly and get them out the way. I then let pans soak a bit if required or just wash in the water you have. Then change the water and second wash them. I do glass last in clean fresh water.
I also swear by the washing up liquid above!

Ask the kids whose turn it is to wash up that day. Leave the kids to sort it.....

Half fill bowl with hot water and fairy. Glasses first, rinse under running water. Then pick whatever looks cleanest, and keep going - wash, rinse, stack.

We have a mat next to the rack - so rack drains onto draining board, but on the worktop next to that we have https://amzn.eu/d/0awAmS2W one of these to collect the drips from bigger stuff like pans and bowls.

Use one of those scrubbing utensils where you put the liquid in the hand held part - saves loads of liquid. My dishwasher has broken down and we are moving soon so not replacing it - I’m enjoying washing up - quite therapeutic and in many ways easier. Have a sink or bowl of hot soapy water filled when you are cooking so all utensils, pots pans soak after use - cuts down the scrubbing - my mum used to wash these up before she sat down to eat.

If you have others living with you have some rules - no dumping in the sink etc - one of mine is tasked with putting away everything everytime the rack is full - otherwise it just piles up and those wracks don’t hold loads.

My dishwasher used to annoy me - hard to keep clean, never did a great job and bored always stopping down and the wracks always falling off and hitting my shins. I do think that they are the worst designed kitchen appliance and they do the most work - ovens, washing machines etc are at eye level - why not DW. The Fischer and Pykel have two drawers - which looks loads better

Hot as you can stand water
Washing up liquid and brush/or sponge
Cleaner stuff first
Always rinse in hot clean water

Air dry or clean drying up cloth (washed at high temp so nice and clean)
For really heavily caked roasting tins - I leave overnight to soak with with biological washing powder - everything comes off a dream the next morning.

I do glasses first, then rinse them under hot water and dry with a tea towel straight away (I’m fussy about sparkly glasses).
Then I do cutlery next as they’ve been in mouths and need clean, hot soapy water to sanitise them.
Then whatever’s left on a scale of least dirty to dirtiest. Maybe if the water is looking manky towards the end then I’ll just give the dirtiest items a quick cursory wash, then run a fresh bowl of hot soapy water for them.

Agree with PPs. I would add also to consider how much washing up a meal will produce and how difficult it will be to wash and be prepared to reconsider. A scratchy thing that is gentle is very important, for example this one : https://www.ocado.com/products/spontex-brilliant-scourer-non-scratch-sponge-recommended-by-tefal/23681011?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=21042714229&utm_content=non-brand&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21039389918&gbraid=0AAAAADi6iHlsiEmA6KeC5USbSEvpN5fXG&gclid=Cj0KCQjwz4LWBhCMARIsAFEG5MqhIOPXNcKM7wL9y5sov7DnmRnaUjveDAk8IOI5UMXRtL4T-97aSyoaAnJJEALw_wcB

For burnt on stuff on metal, use Astonish and potentially steel wool https://astonish.co.uk/products/oven-cookware-cleaner?variant=40254092574899

This is so useful. Thank you, everybody!

Are some bowls better than others?

Is Fairy liquid the best?

And what are the greatest washing up gloves available to humanity?

Delegation.

Or a dishwasher.

Ideally, both.

We often save washing up in the day.
Then whilst cooking the evening meal I wash up in parallel.
I leave the water in the wash bowl.
Then after evening meal the water is still semi hot, so I rinse the dirtiest things in that water before emptying it and starting with fresh.

Fairy overrated, full of chemicals, bio d is great good eco brand

In a dishwasher, or failing that, outsourced to your husband/kids

Ahhhhh you beat me to it

I use fairy skip the soak (think it’s called that) on the dirtiest pots and pans whilst washing up the other stuff. It gets the dried food off really well.

Yeah, fairy is one of the brands we've stuck with.
Marigold gloves.

Plastic washing up bowl so you’re not crashing and clanking in a metal sink.

Supermarket washing up liquid.

Sponge/plastic scourer/what you like.

Soak cooked-on things in hot water first.

Wash everything else in hot water with squirt of washing up liquid.

Go back to stuff you put to soak.

If food is very cooked on, soak then scrape eg with spoon then perhaps a metal scourer if things still there.

Rinse everything in clean water.

Stack or pile up or dry or whatever.

Rinse bowl clean.

No need for fancy shit.

Glasses first, then plates. Cutlery last. Baking trays get a good soak and scrub

Fairy liquid stinks and contaminates all. your utensils, crockery etc.

I could never work out why a friend's baking had a weird chemical aftertaste until I bought a bottle of Fairy because it was on offer which was when I found out what was causing the horrible taste and smell (we have a dishwasher so use hardly any washing up liquid and normally get Elbow Grease which is good).

But no chance of a dishwasher? We kept our fridge in the living room for years to make room for one.

But if you do end up washing up, the best thing ever is the Spanish drying cupboard but I don't know if they're available in the UK or work in not hot weather. They take care of drying and putting away in one step

https://claudiacamina.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/my-spanish-favorites-dish-drain-cupboard/

I prewash messy / greasy meals, dunk them all in a sink together with hot soapy water, smoosh em about, replace the grim water with new water and wash. Glasses and plastics first though because they go weird if left til last.

Glasses first, then cups/ mugs, then plates bowls etc, then chopping boards, then cutlery, then pots pans and baking trays last. Change water whenever required. I use super hot water and fairy. Metal rack, wooden scrubber and natural sponge scourer for burnt on bits.

Barkeepers friend for the really hard to shift stuff. And clean sink after with hot water and zoflora and once in a while scrub with bicarb to make it shine.

I'm not in the UK, so we don't use a washing up bowl! Rinse food off all dishes first, the bits go into a plug filter thing that is then emptied, so nothing goes down the drain. Get a sponge with a scourer bit, cover it in dish soap & water as hot as you can handle. Scrub each item individually, leave all items in bottom of sink, if you have two sinks even better! Rinse hot. We put then put in the drying cupboard above the sink or on the drainer when we're in UK.

First rinse plates, cups and bowls as water warms up, fill bowl with bubbly water (fairy liquid or supermarket, dont use lidl's liquid!). Put one item in bowl and wash - i have both a sponge and a brush on a stick. Clean every surface, rinse under hot water and put to dry on rack. Next item. If water becomes discoloured, change it.

It took me a long time to get it right so I follow this method. And teach my kids. My husband is beyond help!

When you've finished, use the water to wipe down sink and sink surfaces. I usually spray the sink off with a bleach kitchen cleaner as well for sterile finish.

We have a double layer drying rack from Argos which is great.