Do all Brits not rinse there dishes?

My English flatmate doesn't rinse the soap off either and, while I'm normally a very tolerant and live-and-let-live type of fellow, I've got to say that it absolutely disgusts me. I've now taken to rinsing supposedly clean and dry cutlery and plates when I take them out of the cupboard/shelf, because I never know if I'm going to be getting some unwanted Fairy liquid mixed in with my spaghetti carbonara.

I asked her about this one day and she said that it's just a habit. Apparently in the UK up to about the 70s, the washing-up liquid was very thin. You didn't need to rinse it off. Now that the stuff has got thicker and you need to rinse it, people's habits haven't changed in tandem. They still leave the plates to dry dripping bubbles and all.

I implored her to try rinsing after washing, but she looked at me as if I were from the moon. So compulsively rinsing must I soldier on...

i've never heard of this!  i just asked my fiance about it and he was perplexed--he says he's never encountered a british person who doesn't rinse off the soap!

My English flatmate doesn't rinse the soap off either and, while I'm normally a very tolerant and live-and-let-live type of fellow, I've got to say that it absolutely disgusts me. I've now taken to rinsing supposedly clean and dry cutlery and plates when I take them out of the cupboard/shelf, because I never know if I'm going to be getting some unwanted Fairy liquid mixed in with my spaghetti carbonara.

I asked her about this one day and she said that it's just a habit. Apparently in the UK up to about the 70s, the washing-up liquid was very thin. You didn't need to rinse it off. Now that the stuff has got thicker and you need to rinse it, people's habits haven't changed in tandem. They still leave the plates to dry dripping bubbles and all.

I implored her to try rinsing after washing, but she looked at me as if I were from the moon. So compulsively rinsing must I soldier on...

There needs to be a support group for those of us who rinse, living around those who can't kick their Dried-On Fairy Liquid habit and who live in denial, refusing our help.  

There needs to be a support group for those of us who rinse, living around those who can't kick their Dried-On Fairy Liquid habit and who live in denial, refusing our help.  

Agreed... I nag Vincent to rinse all the time. Doesn't actually make him do it...

I converted DH with the help of my Chilean friend who studied Food Science. All he had to do was point out that it's not just soap left on the dishes, it's little bits of food still in the bubbles that are left on, too.

Ick.

DJ is now an avid rinser!

ROFLMAO!  Ha ha guess it's time for this one to come up again!  

My dh doesn't rinse and absolutely won't budge on it. I don't care anymore - if it gets me out of having to wash the dishes I'll put up with a bit of dry soap!  

Same here & my DH does the dishes (pretty much ALL of them).  I've even, dare I say it, converted mostly to non-rinsing myself when I do them - it really just depends on how the mood strikes me...

But I've said it before, and I'll say it again - quite a number of people on this website have been over to our house for a meal, and to my knowledge - NO ONE has yet died of...Soap Poisoning!



(Image from this website:  http://www.flickstongue.com/Movie/movie_screenshots.htm)

ETA:  Our dishes are dried with a clean towel - not left to drip-dry.

I asked her about this one day and she said that it's just a habit. Apparently in the UK up to about the 70s, the washing-up liquid was very thin. You didn't need to rinse it off. Now that the stuff has got thicker and you need to rinse it, people's habits haven't changed in tandem. They still leave the plates to dry dripping bubbles and all.

This is really interesting, and explains a lot!

My DH is the main dishwasher..and isn't a rinser. DD and I will rinse before we put away if we notice soap still on them ..otherwise we just get used to it...although I admit I do rinse glasses before using them now ..shhhh don't tell!

I converted DH with the help of my Chilean friend who studied Food Science. All he had to do was point out that it's not just soap left on the dishes, it's little bits of food still in the bubbles that are left on, too.

Ick.

DJ is now an avid rinser!

This is what bothers me. It's not just soap bubbles, its the thought of bits of leftover food not adequately cleaned off.

True neither of these trace elements left on one's dishes will kill anyone nor even make you ill, really.

But it's simply an unsavory, unpalatable thought, to know that this nice little mix is on dishes that are supposed to be "clean."

To me, it's like this: What's the point in washing the dishes in the first place if it's okay that they still have on them not just food particles but in addition soap, to boot? By that reasoning, might as well just grab a paper towel, wipe 'em off right after eating and stick 'em in the cupboard as is, skipping washing altogether......

If you're going to wash them, why not rinse them and do the job to it's natural conclusion. You don't wash your hands with soap and then just towel them or walk away.

Just my feeling about it. It is true that there are far more gross things in the world, but this one is still gross in it's own small way.

No one has died of soap poisoning, but my bil has crohn's disease and we need to be really careful to remove all soapiness from our dishes.

It might not kill him but it can cause severe distress, which has put him in the hospital. 

I asked her about this one day and she said that it's just a habit. Apparently in the UK up to about the 70s, the washing-up liquid was very thin. You didn't need to rinse it off. Now that the stuff has got thicker and you need to rinse it, people's habits haven't changed in tandem. They still leave the plates to dry dripping bubbles and all.

Can your flatmate actually remember what dishwashing liquid was like in the 70s? Trust me it was pretty soapy! My parents are still complaining about the time my aunty did their dishes in about 1973 and didn't rinse, leaving a soapy residue. (although this may say more about my parents than the dishwashing liquid I know!).

Can your flatmate actually remember what dishwashing liquid was like in the 70s? Trust me it was pretty soapy! My parents are still complaining about the time my aunty did their dishes in about 1973 and didn't rinse, leaving a soapy residue. (although this may say more about my parents than the dishwashing liquid I know!).

That's what she told me! I have no basis to contradict her as (1) I wasn't alive in 1973 and (2) I wasn't anywhere near the UK until 1998. Maybe it's brand-specific, but that was her excuse.

I'm living in a house with 3 brits for the summer. The dishes thing is the one gross thing for me, too. Especially since there are multiple people eating/drinking off these dishes. One of the girls actually grabbed a mug from the drying rack, made tea/drank it, then rinsed it out with water and put it back on the rack! Um... I think you forgot a couple of steps there! I find all sorts of leftovers on the dishes as I call them. It's gross. I don't want to eat after everyone in the house. The water taps here are weird (water temp goes up and down) so it's hard to get a good hot water washing. I have to admit I am looking forward to having my dishwasher again. I miss sanitized dishes.... I usually rinse them here before I use them, too. Ick.

Some threads deserve to be sticky - why no mixer taps? why not rinse dishes?

My dh doesn't rinse and absolutely won't budge on it. I don't care anymore - if it gets me out of having to wash the dishes I'll put up with a bit of dry soap!  

I'm sure I had a bowl in my sink in the US, but it seems so normal now that maybe I'm just remembering wrong.... I'd struggle to soak and wash without it now I think!

This is the best answer of the day!   

If you go to Youtube and search for "vintage fairy adverts", "dish soap adverts UK" or probably even "not rinsing dishes" all without quotes, you will find adverts where the actors didn't rinse when doing dishes.

I've used a dishpan in the US, but I've have massive single sinks (and tiny single sinks also).  Even when I had double sinks, I used to use them as rinsed, but dirty dish storage under the sink.  When I did this, I used the sink to wash in, and would clean the pan often, but it kept my sinks and counters free from cluttery dishes.

ETA: I have been ill from soapy dishes, and I was a bit shocked and stunned when I found out people in the workd don't rinse.