The 10 mistakes you make when washing dishes by hand

 Avoid mixing utensils with different types of dirt, remove the grease they contain before scrubbing them and use very hot water to disinfect

He had Agatha Christie that his best fictional crimes had occurred to him washing dishes because that task "turns anyone into a homicidal maniac category". Is it so horrible to face a pile full of soap and pots? There are studies that indicate that it is one of the most hated domestic jobs (because it does not generate compliments) and the least shared, has to be assumed by women.

But there is also the occasional successful male who likes washing dishes. Bill Gates said it was one of his hobbies and Jeff Bezos, an Amazon mogul, told CBS that it was one of the sexiest activities he did. Surely, either their dishes are greasy, or they know a foolproof scrubbing method that allows them to leave everything sparkling while they relax and happily ramble with soapy hands.

We asked experts for the secrets of this everyday task, to be able to eliminate bacteria in an efficient and systematic way, without overwhelming us rubbing. At what temperature should the water be? Should we start with the glasses or the pans? Do we use a bucket to clarify? Is it a good idea to put down the sponge and use the dishwasher? Does the dishwasher use more water than hand washing? These are the 10 mistakes you make when washing dishes and that, perhaps, are what makes you feel like Agatha Christie at the sink.

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1. Use cold water

That the water with which you wash the dishes is very hot is the most important thing to achieve complete bacterial disinfection of the dishes for the teacher at the Barcelona ESHOB school of hotel management, Cristina Cusí. Coldwater does not remove dirt from the same level. According to the expert in the Food & Beverage area,  a temperature of around 80 degrees is the ideal one to completely eliminate bacteria from food waste. "This is what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did, and they were always used to being right," he points out and affirms that the dishwasher is ideal in this regard because it uses very hot water and it prevents us from burning our hands when we do it in the sink. If we have to wash them by hand with hot water, we must use gloves.

2. Be reluctant to use the dishwasher

Thinking that buying a dishwasher is a useless expense is a misconception, according to Cristina Cusí. As we have seen from the first point, the appliance is very effective in eliminating bacteria, but not only that. Surprisingly, the expert argues that it is also more environmentally friendly and economical than hand scrubbing. “ The water consumption of a dishwasher is controlled, it is always the same. On the other hand, when we wash by hand we open the tap and the water jet flows constantly, that is, we use much more water almost to realize it ”, he explains.

If we believe that it is very expensive for our budget, "we have to think that in the market we can find them of all types and sizes ", and also that they have eco wash programs. Now, if we have very few dishes and little stained, "logic indicates that it will be better to wash them by hand." And yes, close the tap when you are rubbing.

3. Mix the types of dirt in the sink

The mediatic Argentine chef Paco Almeida (with more than 70,000 followers on Instagram) launched a tweet thread in April 2018 with his technique for washing dishes that immediately went viral. At the top of the list was the importance of " knowing how to differentiate types of dirt on the dishes (grease, organic residues, and superficial dirt) and not mixing them. If you throw in the sink a tray where you have cooked meat in the oven with the cutlery and glasses, everything will be greased. He says that, as in the recycling of garbage, "you have to separate at the source."

Cristina Cusí agrees and points out the importance of washing small and less dirty objects first and progressively ascending from smallest to largest "because you don't change either the cloth or the sink." The most delicate go ahead. "It is advisable to start with the glasses, wash them in hot water, dry them, and then clean them with special glass cloth." And the wooden objects, better not to put them in the dishwasher.

4. Do not remove fat from dishes before washing them

After 15 years of working in kitchens around the world, Paco Almeida observed that washing dishes "is a global problem where a lot of water is wasted and liters of contaminants are unnecessarily dumped into the sewers." The first step in preventing grease from seeping into pipes is to remove food debris from trays, plates, and kitchen utensils before scrubbing. The chef recommends absorbing it with paper napkins (better if they are used so as not to waste) or with newspaper or any other paper. In this way, we also facilitate washing, avoid contaminating the rest of the dishes and spend less detergent.

5.Prewash before putting in the dishwasher

The advice of the previous point is equally valid in the case of the dishwasher. "Removing the remains of food makes the work of the appliance easier, " says Cusí, but warns us that we should not do it with water. "Running the dishes through the stream before putting them in the dishwasher makes us use up water twice." The teacher has a method to remove difficult fat in all cases: using pastry tongues. "They are rubber spatulas that carry the dirt away immediately." It is also preferable to always wash at the moment because the grease and dirt will harden. If this is not possible, soak the dishes with a splash of detergent.

6. Not controlling the type and amount of detergent we use. 

If wasting water is harmful to the environment, so is abusing detergent. Chef Almeida assures in his method that, for dishes that are not particularly dirty,  diluting a bottle of detergent in three of water is just as efficient and protects your hands in case, like him, you don't like to use gloves. In any case, follow the manufacturer's recommendation that is printed on the bottle.

Cristina Cusí warns us about the use of bleach, a pure disinfectant that is not necessary to use in our day to day, "much less mix with soap or use with hot water because its effect is canceled." For the teacher, the use of a few drops of bleach in cold water (one drop per liter) is recommended in cases where we have many guests and that generates large piles of washing utensils that require optimal disinfection, although the water is very hot with detergent is just as effective. "In everyday life, bleach is not necessary," he points out. You also have to put the dishwasher tablets in the correct box.

7. Do not renew the sponges with which we wash

What type of material is the best for scrubbing? It depends on the utensil you are dealing with. In principle, the brushes are used to remove food debris, the sponge removes basic dirt and the stronger scouring pads are useful with very greasy utensils or with remains of burning. It is important to renew the scourer or sponge often because they accumulate many bacteria. Sponge folds are a good refuge for germs.

For Cristina Cusí it is important to use logic: "Having the metallic sponge that you use for very dirty pots and the fine cloth that is great for a pan with which you make tortillas." The expert adds that we should not soak the cloths for a long time, if not that, once clean, they must be drained and put to dry to obtain better disinfection.

8. Should we use a bucket to clarify?

If we wash the dishes by hand it is likely that, after lathering them, we will rinse the dishes in a container full of water. In this way, we spend less water because we avoid having the tap open continuously, but for Cusí, that is a mistake if we speak in terms of cleaning, "because it is not very hygienic for all the filth to be trapped in a tub". You spend less water in exchange for worse disinfection. Everything will depend on the number of dishes and how dirty they are. Chef Almeida recommends grouping different utensils by type before rinsing them.

9. Not taking care of the hygiene of the sink and the filling of the dishwasher

According to the British National Health Service, the kitchen sink contains 100,000 times more germs than the bathroom or toilet. For this reason, it is essential to keep it clean with a good degreaser and disinfect it daily. Likewise, we must keep the dishwasher in good condition. It is important to clean the filter with soap and water, and the rotating arms.

10. Do not dry the dishes when storing them.

Once we have clean dishes, we dry them on a best over the sink dish rack or with a delicate and absorbent fiber cloth that does not leave lint. It is very important that when we store the dishes or other utensils “we do not have any residual water because harmful bacteria can be generated. Accumulated water is always a danger, ”says Cusí.

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