Do you rinse the soap off your dishes etc?

[maggiethecat]

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?

and it does make sense to do it that way surely - very methodical me thinks

I agree wholeheartedly

Not just a lazy bloke thing - I know LOADS of women who wash up this way, including my SILs and MIL. Foul, I tell you, foul foul - even with Ecover .

I can't be bothered with the Girl Guide Rules of Orderly Washing Up (I kid you not - I learned this in the Guides) but I just make sure glasses go in first and really dirty stuff goes in last. And definitely air-dry.

Also I'm baffled by people who forbid you to dry your hands on their tea towels - surely if you've just washed your hands they're at their cleanest? And what on earth do they hold the tea towels with when they're drying their soapy, manky dishes, if not...hands??

Make a big bowl of hot soapy water.
Put as much washing up in as possible.
Wash plates, cutlery and glasses with a cloth.
Wash pans with scourer.
Rinse items awkwardly under hot tap while trying not to drop items back in the washing up bowl, but would really like a double sink with a whole rinsing section!
Dry a few things with tea towel until I get fed up, then leave the rest to drain!

I blame my mum for teaching me to wash in suds then dry with a tea-towel without rinsing. Blech. I taught myself to do it much as morocco does. And I'm a bloke, if anyone wishes to jump to gender-specific conclusions

I have never rinsed. I only found out this year that other people do. I was staying in New York, and my friend found me doing her washing up and not rinsing. She said that they had to be rinsed because washing up liquid is much stronger in the US. This was probably just her being kind though! I doubt it is stronger.

Titter at 'stronger' washing-up liquid! Surely, Milly, you could have worked out for yourself years ago that eating suds is just not nice??!

lol at your very polite american friend, milly.

I always rinse in hot water - then leave them to airdry - the hot rinse helps them dry quicker and withouth smudging. As I wash, I put things in the half-bowl sink, and then rinse them all at the end, to save wasting hot water.

I wouldn't want to be ingesting any soapsuds and particlarly not any antibacterial formulations.

thumbwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!!!

Been looking for ya! Just heard you finally emigrated Down Under! I'm off to bed soon but just wanted to say 'hi, missed you!'.

Will post link to my 'stalking thumbwitch' thread so you can fill me in on everything

here you go

do you think it's generational? My nan never used to rinse, nor my Mum; probably a result of watching those blasted Fairy and Palmolive ads where the soft-focus woman leaves her plates on the drainer covered in suds, for effect no doubt.

I'm mighty well and ever so slightly up the duff.

How's Oz?

have posted on your "stalking" thread - chat there?

cool - but got to dash soon so only brief chat tonight, I'm afraid

I remember a Chinese friend once asking me if you could eat washing up liquid in this country. I couldn't understand why she was asking such a ridiculous question, but it turned out she meant was it safe not to rinse things as in China you have get rid of the soap apparently. I suspect now she was just horrified that people don't rinse in this country. I do. DH doesn't and so I find myself doing all the dishes as I cringe at the thought of his dishwashing.

I always rinse as I go, in hot water. My hot water tap is practically running the whole time. My only problem is how hot the water gets. I do wear rubber gloves, but even they don't shield my hands from the hot water. I only have a hot and a cold tap, seperately, so you can imagine just how hot this water gets. It literally melts my hands sometimes.

I can't wash up any other way though.

Anyone found rubber gloves which do protect from the heat??

yes but you don't need to

KleineMaus's Chinese friend is right - in ye goode olde days and in some developing countries where you wash up using actual soap, or use soda, the dishes have a residue left on that you need to rinse off to avoid tainting the food

modern detergent-based washing up liquids don't do this

I do it the morroco/bellavita way

I always rinse. DH doesn't. Thank God we have a dishwasher!

A (British) friend here was moaning about her au pair washing the dishes and then rinsing them under hot water as she was using all the hot water. I pointed out that I do that as I think it is much more hygienic.

I use t-towels to dry my hands but that is all they get used for and I put out a clean on every day.

Yes if I wash up (rather than use the dishwasher) I rinse off the soap suds - otherwise you have a drink from a tumbler and it tastes soapy!

oh and [ick] at using teatowels to dry your hands

use a separate hand towel

Quite so Mrs Badger, and replace the hand towel and teatowel frequently (rather than leave them to hang limply and damply for about a week)

I use t-towels to dry hands as that is all they get used for. Dishes are washed in dishwasher and if not are air dryed. Clean t-towel every day. If I do need to dry something other than hands I use a clean t-towel.