Comments on: The Cultural Divide on Washing Dishes: Brits vs. Americans

By: Chel

Chel — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:16:00 +0000

If I hand wash I just take every dish one by one, whether it’s a pan, fork, plate, etc., I wash it under running water, rinse it, then put in the dish rack to air dry. This article said how Americans wash dishes then immediately dry them and put them a way. That’s like an old school thing to do, I think. I have done it, of course, but it’s not the norm. And if I dry the dishes with a dish towel it has to be a clean one, can’t use one that’s been used to dry peoples hands. Ick! :p Also I’ve never known anyone to lay dishes to dry on a towel. Everyone I know has a dish rack. Just thought I’d share this tidbit of info lol

By: Laura A.

Laura A. — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 01:46:00 +0000

I wash the dishes like the English. Apparently I do a lot of things like I was one.

By: MegO

MegO — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:53:00 +0000

I can’t believe we’re discussing this, either. Too funny! Actually, I’m American and live alone and use my dishwasher as a drain tray. I do actually use it to wash dishes sometimes, too, but usually there are just a few things…..and I, too, start with the less dirty and go to the most dirty….as my mother taught me. In the “old days,” we rinsed in a pan of hot water, then put the dishes into a drain tray on the side–WITH a drain mat under it. We didn’t have a fancy sink. Now, I do, I confess, use the hot water faucet. (Sorry!)

By: Joshua

Joshua — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:07:00 +0000

The way you portrayed our dish-washing procedures sounded a bit unlikely to me. haha Let’s be realistic, we don’t use half a bottle of dish soap and let the water run carelessly. Growing up washing dishes our whole lives, come on, you’d think
we’d come up with ways to clean conveniently and effectively, saving loads of water (and dish detergent)
right? FYI: It’s possible. lol I’m American and when I wash, what I do is:

1) Put the dirty dishes in one side of the sink.
2) Quickly run the water over them to get them wet, then turn the water off.
3) With a soapy sponge, scrub each dish separately and thoroughly (yes, thoroughly) then set them in the other side of the sink.
4) When all dishes have been scrubbed, I turn the hot water on LOW (to save water ) and rinse each dish separately and thoroughly (yes again, thoroughly because MY dishes have to be and look clean at that moment! I just can’t leave anything left on them, they have to be spotless right away! Sorry, it’s just the way I raised).
5) Set them on the rack nearby to dry, or I even dry them soon after.

But any who, at the end of the day, either way’s good I suppose.

By: dw

dw — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:25:00 +0000

I always thought the soapy water thing was disgusting, even when I lived in the UK. Kind of like every member of a family sharing the same bathwater (which, my parents assured me, they were forced to do in the era of UK post-WWII austerity).

By: Julia Hanoman

Julia Hanoman — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 23:41:00 +0000

Target has them though they are a bit bigger than normal.

By: NYLolaMari

NYLolaMari — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 01:11:00 +0000

I’m an American and this is exactly how my Mother taught us to wash-up as children. Perhaps, it’s because I grew up in New York City, but most people I knew washed-up like this – family & friends. As an adult, I don’t use the plastic bowl because I have double sinks, the side sprayer and a dishwasher. Can’t mess up my manicure.

By: lexdanielle

lexdanielle — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 22:12:00 +0000

I never really thought about how many different ways there are to wash dishes. I’m from Texas and learned how to wash the dishes from my mother. This is the process that we use:

1) Always rinse a dish/glass/etc. after it’s been used so you can get most of the residue off and it won’t cake on. Leave dirty dishes in the right sink (we have two sinks).

2) When it’s time to wash the dishes, fill the right sink with hot, soapy water. Wash glasses and the least dirty dishes first so you don’t have to deal with dirty water until the end.

3) When you’ve washed a dish, place it in the left sink. Once all the dishes have been washed and placed in the left sink, turn on the faucet and rinse those dishes. After a dish has been rinsed, place it in the dishwasher (which has two racks) to dry. All of the dishes end up in the dishwasher to dry and you put them up in the cupboards later!

4) Drain the water in the right sink and rinse to get rid of soap bubbles. Take your washcloth and clean the sink area, stove, and kitchen counters. Voila, a clean kitchen!

By: Paula Binder

Paula Binder — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:46:00 +0000

I’m American, and we aren’t all the same as the writer seems to imagine. I’m perfectly happy using a single squirt of dish liquid to do an entire sink of washing. As per many generations of trial and error, I always save the glassware for last on the side, so as to give it the least chance to break. I remember my mothers’ old kitchen sink, which indeed had a built in drainboard… wish I had the same. I always rinse, as my dish soap is very sudsy, and will leave an awful taste. (don’t ask why I know!) So, single sink, plastic drainboard, one squirt, wash, rinse, and air dry. (yes I’m lazy too)

By: Hybrid-where am I from?

Hybrid-where am I from? — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Hold on. There is this utensil in the UK called ‘a washing up bowl’ (plastic) which sits in the sink and leaves a small amount of space to rinse to the side. I don’t think I’ve seen one here in 30 years, so I guess it is a British invention. Could buy one on the next trip, but I’d have to give up ‘camping’…