- This article or section should be merged with Dish sanitizing
The term dishwashing is used for cleaning, eating and cooking utensils, not just dishes.
If one does not use a dishwashing machine to wash dishes, then one will usually wash dishes by hand.
The right way to wash dishes by hand is typically a tradition passed directly from parent to child; the procedures used, like many cultural practices, are traditions that vary from country to country and, within country, from family to family.
Preparation
When dishwashing, a common kitchen sponge and nylon greenback scourer works well, but this a really matter of personal taste, as is the choice of dishwashing detergent (aka "washing up liquid"). In some countries (such as the Netherlands), dishwashing is usually done with a brush instead of a sponge. Collect all your cutlery into a pile. Remove food scraps and stack the plates and bowls neatly. Find all the coffee mugs, wine glasses and what-have-you and group them next to the sink. Arrange your dishes so that they are all in easy reach when you are standing over the sink. Empty all glasses or other containers before filling the sink.
In some European countries the dishes are always washed in a separate tub placed inside the sink. This was a matter hygiene, as the kitchen sink was the only sink available for all the household water. The clothes were washed in the sink; the water used to wash the floor went down the sink. It obviously made sense to separate the dishwater from the sink. There were two other possible reasons. Kitchen sinks tended to be very large in a time when heating water was considered to be a major household expense; a tub used less water. Also kithchen sinks were usually made of hard ceramic; any contact between the sink and plates was liable to cause chips where a tub could be made of more forgiving material.
Washing up gloves may be worn when washing dishes. Also, modern devices which consist of a sponge mounted on a hollow handle may also be used. The handle is filled with soap, which impregnates the sponge and is gradually released as the dishes are washed. This precludes the necessity of filling a sink or tub with soapy water, which eventually gets dirty.
Execution
There are two basic guiding principles. Principle 1 is "Clean Before Dirty" (CBD), and Principle 2 is "Small Before Large" (SBL).
- CBD means you wash the cleanest - i.e. the least dirty dishes - before the most dirty ones. For example: always do the glassware first while the water is clean. That way you won't get greasy smears on the glasses. Then move on to the plasticware, cups, bowls and plates, and finally the pots and pans.
- SBL, is aimed at making stacking easier. Place all the small items underneath and the large items stacked on top. Place everything upside down to aid draining.
Use water that is as hot as you can stand; it makes cleaning easier and draining quicker.
Dishes with baked-on stains should be pre-soaked if possible.
Restaurants
Washing dishes is considered the traditional punishment for being unable to pay a bill at a restaurant. However, evidence that this is actually practiced is anecdotal.
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