View Full Version : hand washing dishes
It takes our family a couple of days to fill up our dishwasher. I've been pondering if all the rinsing I do before loading the dishwasher in combination with actually running the dishwasher, is less economical than doing dishes by hand. And I'm also wondering what is the most economical method of washing dishes by hand?
Do you use the dishwasher or hand wash?
What is your hand washing method?
IshbelRobertson
11-28-11, 8:01am
I always handwash crystal and fine china and silver cutlery (for that reason alone I dread Christmas day!)
I use fairy liquid and fairly hot water and rinse in a bowl of clean water immediately and then dry/polish immediately.
I've never had a dishwasher, so I've been hand washing forever. I wash the glasses first, then the rest. I try to let things soak a little before washing them. I wash a bunch, set them in the second sink, and then rinse them. I can't fit everything in the drainer, so I put the glasses on a dishtowel to dry. I usually never hand dry.
I try to use rubber gloves to wash, since the detergent can really dry out your hands, especially in winter. Also, wearing gloves let me use extra hot water.
Hi Acorn! :)
I own an automatic dishwasher, but I always hand-wash/dry. I LOVE handwashing/drying dishes!!! As for your question, I think handwashing/drying wins over. For starters, there's no continued electricity being used (other than to reheat water in the tank), and that's only if one uses a lot of hot water when handwashing.
Now, when it comes to rinsing, I like to run all washed dishes under the tap after I'm done (rather than filling a basin with rinse water). There's two benefits to this system, first one being, way less water needed/used to tap rinse (compared to basin rinsing), second one being, more thorough rinsing when using short spurts of fresh running water (rather than recycled soapy water).
That's my system! After I'm done drying, damp/wet tea towels are hung from the door handle of my stove. Benefits of handwashing/drying dishes, thorough cleaning, economical, practical, quicker than running an automatic dishwasher, less detergent used, less electricity required, quiet, relaxing.
Miss Cellane
11-28-11, 8:58am
I think it's really hard to judge the overall environmental impact of machine vs. handwashing dishes--you're juggling water use and energy use, plus old machines vs. newer, more energy/water efficient machines vs. people who can wash dishes in a gallon of water vs. those who let the hot water run freely the entire time they are washing the dishes. I've read studies that say a full dishwasher run once a day beats hand washing the same number of dishes in three hand washing sessions a day, and I've read studies that basically say the opposite.
I use the machine for just about everything that can go in a dishwasher. I dislike hand washing, so I only hand wash things that absolutely can't go in the dishwasher. I'm single, I live alone, I run the dishwasher about once every three days. Every evening, I spend about two minutes hand washing the wood cutting board and the good knives.
I don't rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I do remove food scraps and I'll scrape any leftover sauces off the plates. Then I just stick them in the washer and let it do its job. Things come out perfectly clean. The only thing I do have to deal with before putting bowls in the dishwasher is oatmeal. Soaking is the only thing I've found that will get dried oatmeal off a bowl.
goldensmom
11-28-11, 9:05am
I almost always hand wash dishes for 2 reasons, one is that it is a hassle to load and unload the dishwasher and the other is that I forget I have a dishwasher. And a third reason, I like the feel of the warm, soapy dishwater on my hands and I like to look out the kitchen window and think as I work. My method is simple, wash, rinse and air dry most of the time because a county sanitarian once told me it was more sanitary to air dry, don't know if it is true or not but that's what I do.
Awesome points, Miss Cellane! Definitely very important things to figure in.
Goldensmom. I love to look out the kitchen window when I wash/dry, too! I wonder if that's why they say, the view out of the kitchen window is one of the most important things related to the sale of a home. Seems trivial to me, but maybe there's some truth to it...
As only one person it would take too much time to fill up the dishwasher (yes there's one in the house) and I'd run out of dishes. If I just have a cup and plate I just dab a little soap on my dishcloth and wash each piece, rinse and set aside to air dry. With several pieces, including pans and prep bowls I'll fill the sink about half, wash, rinse and air dry. Now when I'm feeling fancy I'll take the time to dry each piece by hand and put everything away.
I'm not one to bother with drying dishes, using a dishcloth to put glasses on and a rack for the dishes has worked well enough for me when I hand wash. And if I happen to hand wash many items I've been known to use the dishwasher as a drying rack.
For those of you who do not have a double sink (I don't), do you fill the sink with sudsy water and then put all the dishes to be washed in there and scrub them? Then I assume you would have to put the cleaned dishes on the side in order to free the sink for rinsing? I'm not a fan of rinsing in one sink of water because I feel like the water gets soapy so I rinse under a trickle of running water. However, I also wash under a trickle of running water and I am thinking it would be smarter to fill the sink or a plastic tub with soapy water and wash in that rather than the trickle of water method.
Gingerella72
11-28-11, 10:53am
We don't have a dishwasher so don't have any choice but to wash by hand.
But even if we did have a dishwasher, I'd still have to wash at least my pots and pans and spatulas by hand because I use them for every meal. With it being just my husband and I, we too would take a few days to fill up a dishwasher with enough for a full load, and I wouldn't be able to wait for days for my pots and pans to be washed.
I fill one side with hot soapy water and then rinse under the tap (turned off between rinses) in the other basin. We just let them air dry in the rack, we don't dry with a towel and put away (unless there is so many we run out of room in the rack). Per load I think hand washing uses less water than a dishwasher, but since we wash 2-3 loads a day, it makes it a moot point. But, the added benefit of hand washing is that all the dishes get done at once, no having to wait for days for something to get clean.
This thread is making me want a dishwasher again...Oh man, I've loved having one when I had one. We're in an apartment with a biggish kitchen, but most of the space is devoted to the eating area. The end of the kitchen with the appliances is tiny and there's NO counter space, so handwashing is a big PITA. There's just barely room for the drying rack to the right of my single-basin sink, and because it's in front of one of my cabinets, I can't open it if the drying rack is full. I found a big marble slab that I set on two burners of the stove, so I can chop veggies.
I hate washing dishes by hand, but it could just be our entire set up that's getting me down - old-style cabinets that are huge and high and deep, so I can't reach anything, but there's no place to store a stool. And the drawers are narrow and flimsy and have been painted over by the landlord so many times, they get stuck a lot. I fantasize about a nice kitchen endlessly...
Anyway, I used to love being able to sterilize my dishes and glasses especially. Since I haven't been able to do that, everything looks cloudy to me. And I think I'm not doing such a hot job, because I've been sick a lot since we moved here. It could be a number of things - but I think it might have something to do with the fact that I'm not getting our dishes as clean as they could be. And it's making me sick - I've had a lot of weird stomach bug type things recently. Never used to get sick.
The other thing - I miss the way the dishwasher sounds. I suppose it reminds me of childhood. The sound of the dishwasher has always been a comforting source of white noise for me. Emotionally it meant mom was busy keeping everything shipshape, and I was being taken care of. It still has those associations for me :)
Jania. I occasionally do the same Re: washing a single cup/saucer, couple forks/spoons.
Acorn. Double sink basins here, however, if I had to wash in a single basin, I'd fill the basin with less water/soap, wash and stack soapy (clean dishes) in a Rubbermaid bin/tub, then drain sink basin and rinse dishes.
Gingerella72. I'm much the same as you, and prefer getting things done (now). Washing, drying, putting away, cleaning up, it's all completed and done right away.
Kitten. You're right about the sounds of childhood and how they soothe and comfort. P.S. Hope you get feeling better soon.
As it is only DH and myself now, we only wash dishes by hand in the evening after all the meals. I wash, DH dries. Usually it takes us 10 minutes to do all the dishes of the day. We have a double sink, so I fill both basins with hot water and add a small amount of suds to one of them. There is the accumulation of dirty dishes in the sink , but we live in a cabin and things like that don't bother me one bit. I also hang heavy clothing from a wooden rod above the wood stove to dry. I leave the hangers on the rod all the time. Visitors are usually taken aback by this. But I value convenience above looks.
Heidi. Gosh, I'm so different when it comes to homey practices, i.e. leaving hangers on the rod (all the time) above the wood stove. To me, seeing natural/frugal methods in peoples homes makes me feel even more welcome and comfortable. True living, IMO, is the ability to not allow outside influences to alter or control ones sense of pride or dedication in what one believes in, hence your method of drying clothing and things above your wood stove. Embrace it and enjoy it for all it's worth.
At present I don't have a dishwasher, but when I did, the kind of half-stoop I had to do to get the dishes out of it really cranked my back. I think if I move to a place big enough to have a dishwasher I still wouldn't get one.
snowbirdpat
11-29-11, 7:38am
We live in an apartment that has a dishwasher, but I never use it. I always handwash and put dishes on two tea towels to dry. I absolutely hate loading and unloading the dishwasher. Plus, I turn on the radio and listen to music while I wash dishes.
I've never had a dishwasher. I think I would hate loading and unloading it. I also think that dishwashers have a weird smell and make the dishes feel weird.
Such great feedback. I think I'm going to give hand washing a go. I need to get a basin and will employ Mrs. M's suggestion of using it to hold the clean, but not rinsed, dishes.
I don't like unloading the dishwasher - it's so noisy! - so hand washing might make for a nice change.
You're going to love handwashing, Acorn! So old-fashioned and satisfying. When I get real serious about kitchen time, I can be found donning a 50's style apron with a tea towel worn over my shoulder! :)
I like unloading the dishwasher and putting things away, but I don't like loading it.
I do use the dishwasher more than hand washing -- the dishes are out sight, out of mind. But there are always things that have to be hand washed, and I often take things out of the dishwasher (still dirty) and wash them all. Ah well ... :-D
I don't like to mop or sweep because it involves moving the chairs and kitchen table, or trying to sweep or mop around them. A big nuisance. And I seem to always miss some crumbs. Yep, I love clean floors too! But I don't want to clean them myself.
I have a dishwasher but seldom use it. I don't mind handwashing at all. I like to wash 'em, dry 'em, & get 'em put away. Wipe down the countertops and the kitchen is nice and clean.
I have a dishwasher and use it, but some things are too large or never get clean. I have done a LOT of hand washing over the years. So I have an entire method and if you go to HubPages and look up 'water saving dishwashing' you will find my article (not trying to plug as much as not re-write the entire thing).
So for the poster who said something about thinking dishes are not clean enough and you are getting sick. This is what my grandmother did. In her very hot rinse water (she used a tub filled with hot water and rinsed the dishes rather than having running water, probably a holdover from before running water) she put a bit of bleach. It wasn't much but enough to sterilize the dishes. I think that running a farm and doing everything from killing your own chickens to processing all your own vegies, plus going back and forth for animal care she had to be concerned at times about the germ levels.
Hope that helps!
Originally posted by Serendipity.
I don't like to mop or sweep because it involves moving the chairs and kitchen table, or trying to sweep or mop around them.Oh, but the feeling afterwards of being able to settle in, knowing all is clean around ones feet! That's my favourite! :D
Thanks Zoe Girl! Your grandmother was an amazing woman! And Mrs-M (I do feel better) - kitten
I have a dishwasher and use it, but some things are too large or never get clean. I have done a LOT of hand washing over the years. So I have an entire method and if you go to HubPages and look up 'water saving dishwashing' you will find my article (not trying to plug as much as not re-write the entire thing).
So for the poster who said something about thinking dishes are not clean enough and you are getting sick. This is what my grandmother did. In her very hot rinse water (she used a tub filled with hot water and rinsed the dishes rather than having running water, probably a holdover from before running water) she put a bit of bleach. It wasn't much but enough to sterilize the dishes. I think that running a farm and doing everything from killing your own chickens to processing all your own vegies, plus going back and forth for animal care she had to be concerned at times about the germ levels.
Hope that helps!
I may be late to the party, but here's my thoughts:
I have a dishwasher and love it. I am convinced that for my family, it saves us water and electricity over hand washing. I love that the dishes are all stored out of sight, whether dirty waiting to wash or clean and not yet unloaded. I dislike having dishes accumulate on the side of the sink while waiting to dry. I like the feeling of ultra-clean dishes. I like knowing that all the nooks and crannies are blasted with hot water and "harsh" soap to keep them clean. I don't often use the sanitize cycle, but if I had small children I would. When the kids were younger, all their small plastic toys would get gathered up and run through a cycle in the dishwasher.
We just returned from a two week stay at our vacation home. There is no dishwasher. My hands took a beating with the frequent dishwashing. Getting back to the sight of dishes - I felt compelled to wash even just one or two items to get them cleaned and put away, so I seemed to always have my hands in the water. After just a week of using our coffee mugs, there was a slight staining and I had to soak them in a bleach bath to remove the discoloration. Plastic doesn't seem to lose that "'greasy"' feeling when hand washing.
I don't hate handwashing - I just feel that the dishwasher is an evolutionary step up.
And related to Kally's thread on kitchen appliances sounding like chanting monks, my dishwasher makes a comforting sound:
waaaaaasha waaaaaasha waaaaaaasha. Rhythmic bubbly sound. Nice. We run ours about once per week, hand wash all else.
I've found the issue I have with handwashing is the same as Imerullo - I don't like to see the pile of dirty dishes waiting around to be washed. I've been washing them as they appear which has me hand washing throughout the day. Not my idea of fun. :)
Those who hand wash - gloves or no gloves? I'm finding it hard to adjust to wearing gloves because it's hard to tell if the dishes feel clean with gloves on.
My suggestion is to play around with handwashing for a bit, to help establish a common ground as to how you want to approach it. i.e. Frequency, meal by meal, once a day, twice a day, etc. Sooner or later you'll happen upon a system that works best for you and in no time at all you'll find yourself in the realm of a refined method that sees everything always done and complete.
As for rubber gloves, only certain times through the year, like winter, when my hands tend to dry out and crack, otherwise, I go for Au-Naturale! :)
*Remember, transitions (and changes) are sometimes the hardest part of all when it comes to incorporating new practices and ways in ones home. But once a system/method/practice is established and honed to ones satisfaction, you'll forget about the trials and tribulations you went through and begin to concentrate more on the Zen-like benefits (qualities) of good old-fashioned, time-honoured handwashing tradition!*
I would love to handwash dishes, but my house is only fourteen years old and was built with the assumption that one would always use the dishwasher. Hence, the double sink is too small for ordinary frying pans and is barely large enough for a standard sized plate. I can't even find a dish drainer that fits and have been using one I found at Walmart eleven years ago. (Sometimes dishes come out of the dishwasher with water caught here and there, since I don't use the dry cycle.) I'm still trying to figure out a way. The dishwasher takes up quite a bit of space that I would like to use for storage, and in this hard water area, doesn't clean as well as I'd like.
For those of you who may be looking for a hand-washing system, here is what I did when I lived in a one-bedroom apartment with an efficiency kitchen and one standard size sink: Prepare dishpan of hottest possible water from the tap with a squirt of dish soap. Put it to one side of the sink. Slide glasses in as soon as you're done with them and let them soak until it's convenient for you to fill the sink with hot water and a shot of vinegar. Then gently put each glass into the vinegar rinse. When it's convenient, drain the vinegar water and place glasses in the dish drainer. Dump dishpan of dirty water. Repeat for plates and and then repeat again for pots and pans. This system requires minimal scrubbing and time, and no hand-drying at all. If you have the space, you could conceivably have several dishpans going at one time.
Hmmm. Maybe I'll get one of those spray hoses installed and a several dishpans and drainers now that I have lots of counter space.
studentofecology
12-4-11, 2:46am
I have a dishwasher, and it gets run once or twice a day. There are five adults living here, so there are a lot of different dishes used at different times of day, and it's a lot easier to run the dishwasher than to watch some one else "washing dishes" with the faucet on all the way, water running straight to the drain- despite me trying to convince them to do it more efficiently. While I know that I could be more efficient than the machine, I also know that everyone else in the house uses way more water when they wash than the dishwasher does.
When there is something gunky to be cleaned, I'll wipe/scrub at it with a spatula, my fingers or a sponge with just a little water, and then add it to the washer after I've loosened everything. That way I'm not using much extra water, and the dishwasher still does the water intensive work. I also open up the washer after it's done washing so that it air dries better. And use white vinegar instead of that rinse aid stuff, when I feel like it.
We don't have a dishwasher, so it's hand-washing all the way.
I used to just squirt soap onto a sponge and clean/rinse the dishes under running water, but it's pretty wasteful if you've got a whole pile of stuff to wash. Now we just fill a basin with hot soapy water to wash, and... horror of all horrors... we don't rinse. We just put the soapy dishes straight onto the dish rack where the soap slides off. Every so often a glass will dry with bubble marks around the rim, but it works just fine otherwise. Obviously we change the water if need be, and try to wash all the dirtiest things last.
Studentofecology. Love your vinegar idea/tip! I often remind myself of what a wonder plain old white vinegar is.
Mira. Don't want to rain on your non-rinse parade, but permanent organ damage can result from even the most minute of detergent ingestion. I highly recommend a final step of rinsing.
early morning
12-4-11, 3:37pm
Well, my opinion hasn't changed since the last time we talked about this - I hate, hate, hate handwashing dishes. I do what won't go in the dishwasher, and that's not much. Just like I won't buy clothes that must be drycleaned - I seldom buy dishes that can't go in the dishwasher. Or, I put them in anyway and the heck with it. Since they all come from thrifts and yard sales, I'm just not that concerned about most of them. I do have a set of lovely hunt-scene Spode plates, and a coffee set that I like well enough to hand wash, but they don't get used much. However, when I do wash by hand, I'm sure I use a lot less water than the dishwasher does. I have a nice-size double sink (trashpicked - can you believe what people throw away!! - oh -sorry...) and start with a small amount of hot water, and wash smaller items and glasses first. I rinse each dish / handful of silver over the wash-water, keeping it hot and making it a little deeper, so that by the time I get to pots and pans there's enough water to wash them in. They dry all alone, unless there's a pressing need for something. That said, I surely hope I don't have to do without a dishwasher until/unless I'm living by myself! Then I will fix all my meals in one pan, eat out of it, and have very little to wash!:~)
Studentofecology. Love your vinegar idea/tip! I often remind myself of what a wonder plain old white vinegar is.
Mira. Don't want to rain on your non-rinse parade, but permanent organ damage can result from even the most minute of detergent ingestion. I highly recommend a final step of rinsing.
Funny you should mention that, as that's what I used to tell my boyfriend when he teased me about washing/rinsing everything under running water. I had only ever seen my British relatives/friends use the 'non-rinse' technique and I thought it was kind of nasty (many also washed in cold water or failed to get grime off dishes; also very nasty!). Never thought I'd be doing it myself, but this conversation is making me have second thoughts...
I found this, which made me giggle: http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,,-185700,00.html
Even though we have a dishwasher, we barely use it. First of all, right now it leaks and DH needs to look into it, but I see hand washing as a way to relax and do something manual for once, at the end of my stressful day. I also hate the smell of the dishwasher and find that it damages glasses.
My take on the matter, Mira, any/all thoughts/practices related to such are the result of outdated, antiquated beliefs. I would make the switch to rinsing, ASAP.
I have to say that I am sooooo glad my dishwasher started working again when I got the garbage disposal replaced. Apparently the broken garbage disposal was causing back up and making the dishwasher leak.
I barely scrape stuff off dishes before adding them to the dishwasher.
Is it 'bad' to put copperbottom cooking pots and pans in a dishwasher? I won't admit to doing that for 20 some years if you tell me it's bad.
leslieann
12-7-11, 12:15pm
Oh, be "bad," FloatOn, what the heck?
We use the dishwasher because of my extreme dislike of dirty dishes on the counter and my DH's extreme dislike of anything being left in the sink. So the dishwasher works for us. We didn't put our pots in because the bottoms became somewhat discoloured perhaps by the detergent. But then DH noticed his sister puts HER pots in the dishwasher, plus I started tossing some white vinegar in to keep the glasses clear and suddenly, we're washing the pots in the dishwasher too. The only problem is when we don't have enough dishes to fill it up, and I need the pots to cook the next meal!
Otherwise we use a handwash method much like early morning's; increasing amounts of water as the rinse trickle enters the (single) sink. Works fine. Dishes air dry on the rack. This is for particular items or when I have just my lunch dishes and the dishwasher is either empty or full. I don't mind hand washing but I do hate the accumulation of dirty dishes.
I did have a neighbor who used her dishwasher to HOLD her dishes: dirty ones, then she'd take them out and handwash, then put them back in the dishwasher to air dry. Seemed kind of cumbersome to me but it worked for her.
Float On. This is the first I've heard of cleaning copper-bottomed pots in the dishwasher as bad.
Leslieann. OMG! Storing dirty dishes in a dishwasher! Ewww! I'm thinking of the plastic interior of the washer, and how plastic absorbs odours. Double ewww!!!
SophieGirl
12-19-11, 4:41pm
As only one person it would take too much time to fill up the dishwasher (yes there's one in the house) and I'd run out of dishes.
Oh yes -- that's one thing that sucks about a dishwasher --- you have to have eight to tons of redundant copies of *everything* just to make sure you have *one* to use when the other four are in the dishwasher!
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