Is there a sanitary way to reduce our daily dishwashing?
Is there a way we can wash dishes straight after using them that is sanitary without having to fill the sink up with boiling hot water and suds every time? Yes. Get a washingup bowl. Fil it with water and soap and put your dishes in it. Let them soak until you want to wash them – all day, overnight, whatever. You can put a drop (literally a drop) of bleach into the bowl if the idea of resting your dishes in standing water freaks you out. Put soap on a sponge, scrub them (you can put the washing up bowl on the counter and transfer the scrubbed dishes to the sink if you like) and then rinse them one by one under hot (ish) running water. Dry or drain and stack away. Were this method unsanity, 56 million British people would be dead.
Use less dishes, stack neatly in sink throughout day rinsing off anything that could dry and become difficult to remove, wash the lot at night – nothing bad is going to come from those dishes sitting there unwashed for a few hrs – the exact same process as waiting for the dishwasher to fill up before turning it on.
Seconding David Fleming. We use one glass per day, sometimes two days, although we mostly drink water which may help. I also wipe the rim of mine occasionally with a napkin to keep lip balm from building up there, but I’d probably do that even if I only used a glass per hour. I’ll also use a plate for crackers, or a dryish sandwich, then keep it in “plate purgatory” (a spot on the counter) until I need a plate again. But, if you’re not eating very greasy food (we’re vegan, so that happens a lot), you can just rinse the plate. This is quicker than washing and will save lots of water. This method is made possible because we’re lucky enough not to have ever had bugs in the kitchen at this place. If I were living in some of my college accommodations, I’d probably keep my plate in the refrigerator. I’ll also put a big serving of something in a bowl, eat part of it, put the bowl in the refrigerator with a cover on it, then have the rest for a later dinner. I’ll re-use plastic containers for
A small wash basin would reduce the amount of water you need to get sufficient depth to hand wash dishes. I’ve always used one because I find reaching down into the sink to wash dishes cramps up my shoulders.
