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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Do you rinse the soap off your dishes etc?

76 replies

maggiethecat · 29/08/2009 23:51

I cannot understand why people think it's ok to wash dishes and barely dip them into a bowl of water then proceed to dry them covered in soapsuds! (Does it add extra sparkle?). I've noticed the reaction of foreigners to this practice and wonder if this is uniquely acceptable to the British?

OP posts:
YanknCock · 30/08/2009 00:33

I'm forever pointing out to DH that there are soap suds on the dishes in the drainer and getting him to re-rinse. I'm American, he's English. Does that go with your theory?

Kally · 30/08/2009 08:52

I think only the Brits wash up like this. I have lived abroad in a few countries and evrywhere else washes dishes under running hot water with soap and then rinses. Not many dishcloth them dry either... (unless item is needed there and then).

But I must admit, since coming back here to live, I have adopted the 'bowl of hot soapy water' to soak and then wash plates/whatever with scour pad pile them up on the side, then rinse them all. To me, that is clean.

I find myself cringing at the 'wash in soapy bowl and stand on side' method.

If I wash up in other people houses, they say 'what are you doing?'... he he he Or my sister in law says when I offer to wash up 'go-on then, I like seeing how you do it, you wash up like a fuss-pot'

littleducks · 30/08/2009 08:55

I dont wash up in abowl of dirty water (shudder) I soak anything that requires it, cover in suds and scrub with scourer then rinse under hot water

well, I used to I do now mostly shove it in the dishwasher

ninedragons · 30/08/2009 09:06

I rinse, but I am foreign. I was secretly quite appalled when I moved to the UK and discovered the 'wash in soapy bowl and stand on side' method. It was like finding out that a friend wears the same pair of knickers four days running.

clop · 30/08/2009 09:09

It's a British thing. Not only that, but they lie if you confront them about it. "No no no, you're wrong, I do rinse", they say. And then I watch them wash up next time, and sure enough, they don't rinse (sigh).

LadyOfTheFlowers · 30/08/2009 09:11

I personally never wash up in dirty water. I sometimes leave it to soak, then water goes cold, so pour that away and draw new, then wash it up, rinse glasses under tap otherwise Pepsi fizzes out and goes flat, but not the rest of it. Put cutlery in a stand up drainer thing HANDLES DOWN this is an OCD thing for me, NEVER want watermarks on the mouth ends.
Never dry with a t-towel. Let it air dry.

My friend leaves to soak, sometimes water is brown and cold, but she doesn't replace it, and proceeds to 'wash up' in it.
Turns my stomach.

AvadaKedavra · 30/08/2009 09:15

Not very green but I soak them first, then wash under running water and rinse.

expatinscotland · 30/08/2009 09:16

I rinse! DH would try not to, until on an episode of Kim and Aggie he saw his fellow Scot Aggie scolding a participant about not rinsing.

Original poster
maggiethecat · 30/08/2009 21:24

Interesting that there's been no comment/justification by those who leave the suds on...

OP posts:
MrsMerryHenry · 30/08/2009 21:29

I'm black British (therefore kind of foreign but mostly not ) and ALWAYS rinse. IMO it's an abomination not to!

DS is white British and is the only member of his family who rinses. Thank God. Otherwise there'd be words in this household.

MrsMerryHenry · 30/08/2009 21:30

And yes, it's a British thing. Dis-gusting.

Meglet · 30/08/2009 21:32

Yes, I rinse. I'm a Brit but I think it's gross not rinsing. I also hate tea-towels, which is why I have a dishwasher .

AitchwonderswhoFruitCrumbleis · 30/08/2009 21:35

it's a male thing, imo, rather than british. revolting, i think.

HumphreyCobbler · 30/08/2009 21:39

If you don't rinse your plates and cultery taste of soap. Or I imagine they do because I know they have not been rinsed.

Either way it is horrid. I am british btw.

potatofactory · 30/08/2009 21:42

bloody hell. I'm scared about admitting anything on here. Disgusting? Really?

Wait for it girls...

I only rinse glass things. And baby bottles.

I use ecover washing-up liquid. Does this help?

go on - slay me!

AitchwonderswhoFruitCrumbleis · 30/08/2009 21:43

by the same token i can't drink tea in cafes etc because i take it very weak without milk and it always tastes of detergent.

lisbey · 30/08/2009 21:48

I didn't realise I had such a terrible upbringing. I didn't know you were supposed to rinse until today. Neither my Mum or Brown Owl taught me to wash up properly

Mousey84 · 30/08/2009 21:55

As well as gunk remaining in the water from the other food, there is residue from the soap, which I once read is carcinogenic (sp?)

I usually use a (clean) jug to pour water over all the things in the drainer once they are washed. The water then goes over plants to deter greenfly (they dont like the soapy residue on the leaves)

expatinscotland · 30/08/2009 22:36

I fell over laughing when Aggie exclaimed, 'Oh, Kim, it is klarty not to rinse your dishes, it is full of bacteria . . . '

Yes, DH, you are so a klart to no' be rinsing your dishes.

Boak.

ChookKeeper · 30/08/2009 23:00

Well I'm as English as they come and I (and so is dh) very particular about washing up:

1.Fresh hot water in bowl with washing up liquid.

  1. Wash glasses first, rinse under running water then put on to draining board
  2. Wash cups then rinse
  3. Wash plates then rinse
  4. Put cutlery into bowl to soak,whilst washing any pots/pans then rinse etc
  5. Wash cutlery last - rinse - then put into drainer (agree - must be handle side down to drain properly).

Always air dry - never use teatowl - urgh!!

Not OCD at all - honest

Mousey84 · 30/08/2009 23:03

Chook - Why plates before cutlery? Surely plates would have more leftover food on them than knives and forks?

morocco · 30/08/2009 23:16

ahhh, a topic after my own heart

well, I

1 start running the water and add washing up liquid

2 wash and rinse as many glasses and cups as I can manage before the bowl is 1/2 to 3/4 full

3 put cutlery in to soak

4 put plates in

5 clean plates then rinse individually under running water. running water goes into washing up bowl to fill it to the top

6 clean cutlery then rinse

7 do pots/pans - this might need new water - then rinse

bellavita · 30/08/2009 23:21

morocco - I do the same as you

morocco · 30/08/2009 23:29

glad to hear it bellavita - it's a well thought out strategy designed to reduce my water footprint and optimise efficiency

ChookKeeper · 30/08/2009 23:30

Mousey84 - no'cos plates are rinsed off when they have been used (before washing up begins iyswim)