Wash Dishes

Thoroughly cleaning dishes and cutlery is essential for both aesthetic, and hygiene reasons. In this how-to: you'll learn how to wash dishes until they look like a star!

Steps

Wash by Hand

  1. Prepare. Wearing rubber gloves (although is optional) is highly recommended when washing dishes. They may be especially helpful if you have dry hands or another skin condition. If you're wearing long sleeves, roll them up or put them under the gloves. Aprons too, are optional.
    • Wearing rubber gloves will protect your hands from germs. Also, it will prevent your skin from drying out due to the constant scrubbing and exposure to water.
  2. Scrape the food from the dishes. Dump all the large pieces of food into the compost bin or disposal. This will prevent your brush/sponge and drain from becoming clogged.
  3. Fill the sink with hot water. Set the temperature as high as you can tolerate it without burning yourself. The hotter the water, the better its sanitizing and grease-cutting properties will be. If the water is scalding, use rubber gloves to protect your hands. Once the sink is filled, add dish liquid.
    • Soak the bigger items - such as plates, mugs, and items caked with food - in hot water at the bottom of the sink. Later on, you will be able to clean them with ease.
  4. Start with the silverware. Since it goes into the mouth, it needs the cleanest, hottest water possible.
    • Plunge the dirty item underneath the hot water while vigorously scrubbing it.
    • Remove it from the water before examining it. If muck still remains, scrub it with a sponge until it is clean.
    • If the muck is very difficult to get out, fill the item with water. Then, use your fingers (not your nails) to rub the muck off.
    • If this doesn't work, use the iron wool. Do not use the back of a sponge because that will cause morsels of food to stick to it.
  5. Wash other items that come in contact with mouths, such as cups and glasses. They will be able to benefit from the hot, clean water.
  6. Regularly change your water. This will clear away any germs and maintain a hygienic environment for washing dishes. Be sure to add more dish liquid every time you refill the sink.
  7. Save the pots and pans for last. Since they are larger and may generally contain more residue, let them soak first. If anything was burnt or cooked in pots or casserole dishes, add a little extra soap and water into it before allowing it to soak.
  8. Dry your dishes. Lay them out on a rack to drain before drying them with a clean, dry towel.
  9. Check your dishes to make sure they are clean. When clean, there should be no visible matter or feel of grease. Run a hand over the dish to ensure that it offers some resistance. If your fingers slide over the item too fluidly and without squeaking, there may be some grease remaining. You might consider rewashing the item.
  10. Rinse out your brush, sponge or rag. Allow to dry. It is recommended that you sterilize your equipment every so often by using boiling water or bleach. Likewise, throw it into the laundry or automatic dishwasher. When a sponge or brush starts to smell unpleasant and the smell cannot be removed by rinsing, throw it away.
  11. Turn your gloves inside out to dry. Peel them off so they are mostly inside out. Grab by the glove wrist. Blow into "neck" and choke it off like a balloon. Give it a squish till the fingers "pop" inside out. When the insides are dried, reverse it. The outsides can dry till they are ready to go for the next wash.

Use the Dishwasher

  1. Load up your dishwasher. Although washing dishes in the sink by hand may be faster for some, you may want to keep your hands clean and soft.
  2. Fill your dishwasher logically. All dishwashers are different, and every person has a different method of loading theirs. Establish a routine, and stick with it for most loads. Here are some things to consider:
    • How does your dishwasher operate? Some have one set of arms blasting water up from the bottom, while others have an arm for the lower shelf blasting up, and an arm on the upper shelf blasting down.
    • Many dishwashers have a variety of spacing to accommodate large bowls, small bowls, utensils, dishes, and plates of varying sizes on the bottom shelf. The top shelf is given to shorter items such as glasses, mugs, jars, and long utensils such as spatulas and stirring spoons.
  3. Don't crowd the dishes. Fill your dishwasher till it's full but not crammed. You'll maximize the cleaning capacity of your dishwasher and minimize excessive water usage.
  4. Add detergent. Fill the detergent dispenser with your preferred cleanser—liquid, powder, or capsule—and close it up.
    • You can add extra cleanser in a secondary cup should your dishes be excessively filthy.
    • Add a rinsing agent to prevent spotting, if necessary.
  5. Turn it on. Set the timer as necessary—a shorter time for lightly-soiled dishes, or a longer time for heavily-soiled pots, pans, and dishes.
  6. Dry the dishes. You can use a heated dry (but be careful of plastic dishes or containers), or use air drying. Dishes will still dry relatively quickly, as dishwasher water is usually heated to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.

Method Three: Wash Cast-Iron Pots and Pans

  1. Washing cast-iron pots and pans requires a different method. You want to develop what's called a patina, or a coat of oil, on the surface of the pan. Washing the pan with detergent and water will prevent a patina from developing.
  2. Fill the pan with enough water to almost fill the pot.
  3. Place the pan on a burner, turn the heat to med-high, and cover.
  4. Wait until the water in the pan is boiling. With an iron spatula, scrape the food from the bottom and sides of the pan.
  5. Dump the bilge-water out and put the pan back on the burner, turned down to low.
  6. Quickly wipe off any remaining water on the bottom of the pan with a paper towel, being careful not to burn yourself. Turn off burner.
  7. Coat bottom and sides of cast-iron pan with a thin coat of oil, preferably an oil-spray, and wipe off excess oil with a paper towel.



Tips

  • Wash every part of the items. Just because you don't think anything happened to the handle of the fork or the bottom of the plate doesn't mean they're actually clean.
  • If you're placing newly washed dishes in the rinse side of the sink, it's a good idea to have a solution of rinse water and vinegar. This will further help disinfect the newly cleaned dish and give it good shine and sparkle.
  • Choose your tools wisely, and use them in combination, if you need to. Different washing utensils have their advantages and problems.
    • Consider using a brush on a longish stick for washing things with quite thick or viscous muck to remove, as these are good at quickly pushing a lot of stuff off. They also tend to have a scraper above the brush, so you can turn them over and use this to remove some stubborn dirt.
    • Cloths and sponges are good for getting grease off, and for tougher, thinner layers of dirt that need elbow grease to remove.
    • Scourers, and the scourer side of some sponges, can be highly effective on baked-on stuff, but care should be taken in the choice of scourer, and the object being cleaned, since some surfaces can be damaged by most scourers.
  • If you need to use the dishes immediately after washing, use a clean linen towel to dry them. Linen leaves no fabric fuzz or residue.
  • After you think an item is clean, run your hands over the safe areas (not the edges of knives!) one more time. Very often there may still be food on it that you can't see, but you can feel that its there.
  • If you use a dish to serve something which is likely to be tough to clean, fill the item with water or let it soak in the sink after use. This prevents food from hardening up and making it difficult to clean. It's best to rinse dishes after you use them to remove food residue and prevent it from becoming sticky and hard to remove.
  • Care should be taken with wood. It should not be soaked if at all possible, and should be dried thoroughly before being put away. This will probably involve drying both with a tea towel, and air-drying in a rack. It is often worth turning wooden objects every so often as they dry, since they may be in contact with puddles of water.

Warnings

  • Don't put knives in the water until you are going to clean them, and then only put the knife you are cleaning in the water. If you drop knives into a bowl of soapy (possibly dirty) water with other objects, it can be hard to keep track of them and you stand a good chance of cutting yourself.
  • Never swirl your hand around the bottom of the sink, as you could be injured by sharp utensils.
  • Replace all washing utensils regularly every few months. If you notice they smell unpleasant, and the smell is not removed by rinsing, throw them away.
  • Alternatively, place the cloth or sponge in boiling water for 10 minutes, or soak in one part bleach to nine parts water (1:9, 10%)and rinse thoroughly afterwards. Bleaching will quickly destroy any latex based products.
  • Sponges, clothes and brushes will quickly grow bacteria. You can reduce bacterial growth by rinsing, squeezing/shaking dry after use, and placing in a dry place. For a thorough cleaning, microwave sponges while wet for 2 minutes or wash them in the dishwasher. If microwaving, take great care that the sponge or cloth is wet and doesn't dry out. Take care when you open the microwave; the sponge or cloth will be very hot and might emit scalding steam.

Things You'll Need

  • Dishes to be washed
  • A sink or washing up bowl.
  • Very hot water, and cooler water to manage the temperature.
  • Washing up liquid.
  • Washing brush
  • Sponge or cloth
  • Washing up bowl to go in sink (optional)
  • Scourer (optional)
  • Caustic, heavy duty, cleaning chemical (optional)
  • Bleach (optional)
  • Rubber Gloves (If using caustic and bleach, or just don't like getting hands wet.)
  • Apron (optional)

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