Do You Rinse Your Dishes?

So, is the main argument against rinsing that it takes too long?  Really? 

I don't think there is an argument against, it's just more  case of what people do, what they are used to.
I can't really say why I don't rinse, I just don't because thats the way it was at my parents. It's not a big deal to me.
But if you want a reason - it would probably be because it's using more water. In the UK I think we've had it drummed into us about preserving water. For example, I turn the tap off whilst brushing my teeth, DW leaves it running. So in a similar way I don't see it as being a good idea to leave a tap running whilst washing the dishes.

But if you want a reason - it would probably be because it's using more water. In the UK I think we've had it drummed into us about preserving water. For example, I turn the tap off whilst brushing my teeth, DW leaves it running. So in a similar way I don't see it as being a good idea to leave a tap running whilst washing the dishes.

And also, double sinks aren't typically a standard over here - the alternative to leaving the tap running (which is wasteful), to run clean water in one of two sinks & use that for a dip-rinse (which I'm sure would still be unacceptable for some).

I don't think there was ever an argument to get people to stop rinsing?  I think the deal is that British people (in general and with exceptions) have tended not to rinse their dishes probably because it's what they've always done, and some Americans (and some Brits) are more bothered by that fact than others.

This.  It's just one of those things that enough people have been doing, I have accepted doing, etc.  No ill effects.  First it moved into the 'just let it go' category.  Still no ill effects.  Moved into the 'just not important' category.  But everyone should do what makes them happy, by all means! 

I didn't mean 'argument against' as if people were actually arguing. Just trying to understand the reasons why people don't, particularly those who spent a long time doing it (like 20+ years) and then have stopped.

I don't have a double sink, and I don't keep the water running when I do dishes. I don't do the whole 'fill sink with hot water and soap' method. I wet a sponge, put soap on it, scrub the dishes, then rinse them with hot water. I also don't leave the water running when I brush my teeth.

But that's how I do it, and clearly there are lots of ways to wash dishes. So I think the answer to the question of 'why don't Brits rinse' is just because that's just how many people do it.

Personally, I've never been a woman of overwhelming dishwashing convictions.  I really just wanted them to go away.  When DH does them, they do go away - magic!  It's great.  And I've learned to become flexible & adaptable as well. 

Personally, I've never been a woman of overwhelming dishwashing convictions.  I really just wanted them to go away.  When DH does them, they do go away - magic!  It's great.  And I've learned to become flexible & adaptable as well. 

LOL! 

We have a small single sink.  I use a washing up bowl which I place on the counter.  I wash the dishes and place the soapy ones in the sink until I have enough of them, rinse them all under hot, running water, and air dry them.  I clean and disinfect my washing up bowl and sink regularly.  I find nothing disgusting about how I do the dishes and neither does my biochemist husband.  His family rinses the dishes they do by hand, although his father and brother do a crap job of washing them.  I think before Mr A told them to rinse because of soap related issues, they didn't.  They use their dishwasher for most things though.

I grew up using a sink full of soapy water and running rinse water.  For a while I did the soap up with a soapy sponge under running water method, but I really felt like I was wasting water and the gas or electric to heat it.  When I washed dishes in a restaurant by hand, we used soapy water, some sort of disinfectant water, then a sink full of hot rinse water.  I can't go so far as to use rinse water in a sink or washing up bowl, but I bet my washing up bowl is cleaner than many people's counters or their sponges.   

I just spit shine our dishes to remove any soap or food debris. Works every time! 

Personally, I've never been a woman of overwhelming dishwashing convictions.  I really just wanted them to go away.  When DH does them, they do go away - magic!  It's great.  And I've learned to become flexible & adaptable as well. 

I'm the same, I never understood why this was such an emotive subject. I would use plastic plates and chunk them after every meal if the environmental factor didn't come into play.
Then again I'm not a very good housekeeper, before DB moved in I'd regularly get down to eating cereal out of my measuring jug before I did the washing up.

I'm the same, I never understood why this was such an emotive subject. I would use plastic plates and chunk them after every meal if the environmental factor didn't come into play.
Then again I'm not a very good housekeeper, before DB moved in I'd regularly get down to eating cereal out of my measuring jug before I did the washing up.

I knew I was dating a good guy when my now-husband admitted that he was eating yogurt with a knife because "all of the spoons that fit in the yogurt container are dirty."  That's how we roll at our house.  And we're both american.     Luckily, all apartments we've lived in together have had dishwashers.  Although then there's the issue of how to load the dishwasher...

 

I'm the same, I never understood why this was such an emotive subject. I would use plastic plates and chunk them after every meal if the environmental factor didn't come into play.
Then again I'm not a very good housekeeper, before DB moved in I'd regularly get down to eating cereal out of my measuring jug before I did the washing up.

I knew I was dating a good guy when my now-husband admitted that he was eating yogurt with a knife because "all of the spoons that fit in the yogurt container are dirty."  That's how we roll at our house.  And we're both american.     Luckily, all apartments we've lived in together have had dishwashers.  Although then there's the issue of how to load the dishwasher...

 

Most people would probably run screaming from my house and never look back...

 know I've said it before but I'll say it again "I know what I'm good at and I know what I am bad at. And cleaning I am very bad at"

I'm not very good at housework, either, and my old manager (the mean one) used to brag about how much cleaning she got done on  her day off--it made me feel very inadequate!

edited to change "adequate" to "inadequate"!

I just spit shine our dishes to remove any soap or food debris. Works every time! 

I'm the same, I never understood why this was such an emotive subject. I would use plastic plates and chunk them after every meal if the environmental factor didn't come into play.
Then again I'm not a very good housekeeper, before DB moved in I'd regularly get down to eating cereal out of my measuring jug before I did the washing up.

I knew I was dating a good guy when my now-husband admitted that he was eating yogurt with a knife because "all of the spoons that fit in the yogurt container are dirty."  That's how we roll at our house.  And we're both american.     Luckily, all apartments we've lived in together have had dishwashers.  Although then there's the issue of how to load the dishwasher...

 

Most people would probably run screaming from my house and never look back...

 know I've said it before but I'll say it again "I know what I'm good at and I know what I am bad at. And cleaning I am very bad at"

Where were all of you when I was living with roommates who went faint with horror and disgust if left a cereal bowl in the sink for three hours whilst I was in class?  The amount of dishwashing-related drama in my college apartment was beyond ridiculous, so much so that I think I may have developed a complex.  If the washing-up doesn't get done regularly, I get twitchy and unconsciously brace myself against the fear of self-righteously judgmental roommate eyes surveying the mess.  This doesn't stop the mess from accumulating, mind, it just makes me anxious all the time .  What I would have given back then for some lovely, slovenly roomies! 

I just spit shine our dishes to remove any soap or food debris. Works every time! 

We just let the cat lick them clean

Where were all of you when I was living with roommates who went faint with horror and disgust if left a cereal bowl in the sink for three hours whilst I was in class?  The amount of dishwashing-related drama in my college apartment was beyond ridiculous, so much so that I think I may have developed a complex.  If the washing-up doesn't get done regularly, I get twitchy and unconsciously brace myself against the fear of self-righteously judgmental roommate eyes surveying the mess.  This doesn't stop the mess from accumulating, mind, it just makes me anxious all the time .  What I would have given back then for some lovely, slovenly roomies! 

Oh, I don't always wash right away (last night's dinner dishes are still in the sink 24h later), but I do rinse once I get around to it!

I just spit shine our dishes to remove any soap or food debris. Works every time!  

We just let the cat lick them clean

Since I am likely not to eat off your plates, even if it were true, it wouldn't phase me.  I am not saying one habit is disgusting or not, more defending the practice of using washing-up bowls.  Because of the perception that they are dirty compared to using a rag, soap, and running water, it's hard to find bowls in shops as demand goes down, and people are wasting resources.

As far as rinsing, I've tasted soapy drinks and I like to avoid that note in my drinks and food.  Soap might also cause diarrhoea.  How?  The soap kills the good gut flora, encouraging yeast growth.  Sort of like what happens if you leave soap in a moist bit on your skin without rinsing.  It might not happen to you, but I hardly call rinsing dishes being paranoid and being overly clean.  Again, I don't really care if you or anyone else rinses their dishes as long as I am not eating off them.  I don't find it disgusting in particular; it's just not what I do.

Personally, I think there is a bit of tendency to be snobby about cleaning in general, especially among intellectual people.  It is seen as such a trivial thing to focus their energy on.  With women, it's sometimes a feminist stance, a reaction to the expectation in days of yore that women could show their worth with a clean house, both back when they weren't working outside the home and the years since it became the norm to have a two income household with the woman "balancing it all".  While I used to hate it and find it degrading, I've sort of found it to be a fact of life.  I've also found it to be the very much something that encourages clear thought both in the centring nature of cleaning, and the way a clean and orderly house encourages a better thought process.

TL/DR: Damn right I am house proud.  It doesn't make me a dullard though, and I could care less what you do in your own home.