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Tuesday 18 May 2021

'Washing dishes the easy way : 6 clean-up tips everyone should know' : No dirty dishes day



It's Tuesday already, don't the days go by quickly. We’re now on the 138th day of the year, and have 227 days left! Goodness! Apparently today (May 18th) is No Dirty Dishes Day. I'm not sure where the ideas for these days originate from, if you know do please share in the comments. 

As it's 'No Dirty Dishes Day' it's all about going 24 hours without washing your dirty dishes. Perhaps it's meant to help conserve water, but could you leave your dirty dishes piled up for 24 hours, I know I couldn't.

With dirty dishes in mind I share some tips about, 'Washing dishes the easy way: 6 clean-up tips everyone should know'. So save water and elbow grease with these tips for every kitchen.

Use a dishwasher as often as you can
If you're running the dishwasher a lot, don't fret. It may seem like handwashing dishes after meals and snacks is easier, faster and more conserving way to go, but you'd be surprised.

Let dirty dishes soak
Gross, but effective. After loading the dishwasher, you can let your hand wash items soak rather than spend minutes (and gallons of water) washing them over and over under the running faucet. You can soak them one at a time, or fill the sink a little and let them marinate. You don't need a full sink to soak dishes effectively.

The best way to do this is to lather all your dishes at once. Then, plug the sink and run some hot water over all of them. Turn the faucet back on only when you're ready to rinse everything. Your dishes do need clean water to be sanitary, but soaking them all together in a few centimetres of dishwater isn't a health risk as long as you soap and rinse well at the end.

Organize your sink
If you are going to soak dishes, there should be a method to your madness. It might sound odd, but stacking and nesting dishes inside one another is one way to save water. You'll soak everything without filling each bowl up with its own water.

While you won't want a stack of dishes to sit in your sink for days on end, nesting them is a good way to make the work go faster -- and use less water, too.

For example, the hot soap and water surrounding the forks and small dishes sitting inside a larger bowl will begin dissolving bits of stuck-on food, which will make it that much easier to clean.

Ditch the disposal
In-sink garbage disposals are an easy way to get rid of gunk, but they also require running water in order to operate safely. Try this instead: scrape your food into the trash or a compost receptacle rather than the garbage disposal.

It's faster, and you avoid forgetting which food items should never be put down a disposal, like bones and fruit pits. Scraping food into the trash will keep you from unintentionally harming your sink's disposal system or clogging your drain.

Swap your sponge for a pot scraper
If you hate soaking and scrubbing dishes, you're not alone. A pot scraper could help. It's a reasonably priced, handy piece of plastic that can tackle stuck-on food.  The pot scraper's hard (often silicone) edge and angled surfaces give you more leverage when it comes to taking crud off those pans.

You can also use it as a generalized scraper after meals. Just scrape food off each plate before you put it under the faucet. Do this before the food has a chance to dry onto the plate. The more work you get done before you need to lather and rinse, the better.

Soap and shake
It might not be as fun as it sounds, but this method of washing your dishes could save you some serious cleaning time. Simply add soap and hot water to any containers you're washing, snap on the lids and shake them periodically. Think of it as a handmade dishwasher.

You'll only put water in the containers once, and agitating the soap every so often will get every inch clean -- or at least cleaner than you otherwise would. After getting out most of the peanut butter or oil, stick it in the real dishwasher as you normally would. This only works with items that have a lid, so don't go spinning suds around your kitchen from an empty bowl."
These words and more from article here


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All the best Jan

40 comments:

Haddock said...

Let dirty dishes soak - this is something that I believe in, but wifey won't agree. She wants to wash it then and there and be done with it.

Miss Val's Creations said...

Fun tips! I love the idea of shaking the covered containers. Soaking is a technique we practice. We use an old covered coffee container for our food scraps. Then they go into a compost once the container is full.

William Kendall said...

Good ideas. I let my few dishes soak in hot water for awhile before doing them.

Tom said...

...with just the two of us it take a long time to fill our dishwasher.

Conniecrafter said...

I do a lot of these things, another is I clean all my dishes and at the end I clean all the stuff that goes into the recycle bin so that I am not wasting water. I have two sinks that I have one with the soapy water and the other has clean water for rinsing.

Holly said...

I still hand wash , unless the dishes pile up and need a mass washing all at once.

J.P. Alexander said...

Gracias por el consejo odio lavar platos. Te mando un beso

Elephant's Child said...

We are soakers here too. Mind you I am unable to convince himself that soaking is NOT a miracle cure for when he burns food to a pan. It helps but 'elbow grease' is also required.

peppylady (Dora) said...

I have hang up letting dishes setting in a sink of water of night.
Coffee is on and stay safe

Himawan Sant said...

Have a nice activity on Tuesday, Jan.
I am happy to get a guide on how to wash dishes that are effective and clean.
Thank you for the tips.

All the best.

Lori Miller said...

One reason I miss working from home: I stayed on top of the dirty dishes for the first time in my life.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I never heard of this holiday! We have an electric dishwasher and my husband is a fanatic about packing it with all our dishes so that we never have to wash many by hand. It usually takes almost a week before we run it so I think it does save water use.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

This is the first home I've ever owned that didn't have a dishwasher. I wash everything by hand and immediately soak my dishes in large pots that I then use to water my plants. Nothing, not even "gray" water goes to waste at my place. I like the tip on the bowls with lids. Clever idea.

Fun60 said...

Dishwasher saves so much water and yes leaving them to soak has my vote.

Lorrie said...

I dislike having dirty dishes sit around. Pots and pans soak after dishing up the food, so after a meal they are easy to scrub out. I have a small wooden dish scraper that works very well!

Practical Parsimony said...

I have been soaking dishes since I started washing them at seven-years-old! So, for 65 years, I have perfected washing techniques. I do and have done all these things. I still don't like washing dishes, especially now as standing and leaning a bit hurts my injured back.

Iris Flavia said...

I always do it like that - since forever I´m the dishwasher. Still not a millionaire, though, must be doing something wrong ;-)

aussie aNNie said...

Dish washer for me..x

Margaret D said...

Interesting day then.
Our dishes go in the dishwasher, even pots and pans.

Valerie-Jael said...

I let my things soak and then wash them by hand. Valerie

Jo said...

I learnt to let the dishes soak from my mum, she always did. I must admit that I like to get them done quickly and out of the way, though we have a dishwasher, there aren't the huge pile of dishes to hand wash that my mum had.

Sami said...

We usually put our dishes in the dishwasher and wash every second day. Anything that doesn't fit in gets washed by hand after a bit of a soak.

eileeninmd said...

Hello,
I never let the dishes sit, they are washed right after eating.
A few things need to be soaked, hubby will finish them off later.
Take care, have a happy day!

Jenn Jilks said...

I don't do dishes. That's hubby's purview. His arm is bad. I loathe them. I do the outdoors stuff! It's a good deal. I cook, he cleans! He's not allowed to cook, as he likes everything overdone!!!

Sussi said...

good ideas!

Christine said...

Good tips!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It's funny, my husband and I were both talking about dirty dishes last night! lol I don't ever have dishes in my sink or on my counter. When we finish a meal, I rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher and then I do the dishwasher every night. I do soak hand wash items for a bit too, then wash them, dry and put them away. I've never understood the problem of a sink full of dishes....or a dirty sink. Just deal with it as you go and don't let it be a BIG chore! That's my 2 cents! hahaha! Hugs!

Sue said...

I'm a dishwasher and a soaker girl. I have to go to the garage now for my washing machine but it's worth it to have a dishwasher! Take care and have a great week, Sue xx

Martha said...

I could only go 24 hours if all the dirty dishes would fit in the sink to soak.

R's Rue said...

Sounds good.

DVArtist said...

Good tips. Sorry I can't go without washing the dishes. LOL Have a great day.

Snowbird said...

I couldn't leave dishes for 24 hours. Some great tips here.xxx

HappyK said...

I could never go without washing dishes for 24 hours.
Don't have a dishwasher but I like washing dishes, besides I have a nice big window to look out of into the woods while I wash them. :)

CJ Kennedy said...

I have a dishwasher. His name is Himself 😺

Sandra Cox said...

No dirty dishes day. Who'd a thought.

Jeanie said...

My dishwasher broke a year and a half ago and I've been doing them by hand for quite awhile now. A bit sick of it! I already do some of these things and see others that I'll add to the routine!

baili said...

when my eldest son told that his new residence has dishwasher i was so happy :)

yes i use the "soak" method specially when guests are much like Eid days
thank you for the tips dear Jan
you are helping so many friends here :)
hugs and blessings!

My name is Erika. said...

I couldn't go without cleaning up either. But I do have a dishwasher and I can go a couple of days without washing.

Magic Love Crow said...

Excellent post! Thank you Jan! Big Hugs!

Kay said...

Yes! Yes! I do a lot of this. I did have to convince my husband that it would be much better for the environment if we used the dishwasher after filling it as much as we could.