My dad told me I was washing dishes wrong and he was totally right

Growing up I always filled the sink with hot soapy water and scrubbed everything under the water. My dad visited last month while I was doing dishes after Thanksgiving dinner and said you're just moving grease around, you gotta rinse first then soap each thing individually. I was skeptical but tried it with my cast iron pan and now I do all my dishes that way. Anyone else get a simple criticism from a parent that totally flipped how you do a basic chore?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason8471mo ago

Hard disagree honestly. Hot soapy water is how you kill bacteria, rinsing first just wastes water and doesn't do anything for germs. How is moving the sponge around on a dry plate supposed to clean it better?

spencer_hayes711mo ago

You said "moving the sponge around on a dry plate" like that's what I'm doing. That's not it at all. I scrape off the big chunks first, then give it a quick rinse. Gets the loose grease and sauce off so the soap can actually work on the stuck-on stuff. Otherwise you're just pushing dirty water around with your sponge. And hot soapy water kills bacteria but only if the soap can actually reach the surface. A layer of pizza grease or egg residue blocks it. So rinsing first isn't wasting water in my book.

abby_robinson581mo ago

Isn't it funny how sometimes it takes someone outside your daily grind to point out the most obvious stuff? I've noticed a pattern where we all get stuck in these little routines we picked up somewhere and never question them. Like the way I used to fold laundry or load the dishwasher - someone finally showed me a better way and I felt dumb for not thinking of it myself. It's like we're all just winging it with the knowledge we got from our first apartment or our college roommates, and nobody ever stops to ask if there's a smarter method. Your dad's dishwashing tip is just one of those little upgrades that makes life easier once you see it. We probably all have a dozen little things we do wrong every day that somebody could fix with one sentence.