Doing Dishes

[casechopper]

Of course, the ultimate time and water saver is just to eat the beans right out of the can.

Finally something I can agree with you on LizzieMaine! For some reason my family insists on using plates/cups/utensils. I'd be happy with a sandwich standing close to the sink so I can drink direct from the tap whenever I get thirsty.

 

[Feraud]

...I'm guilty as charged on that one.

 

[Stray Cat]

That sounds very energy-saving.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Or you could eat over the sink or toilet like Bart & Homer do.

 

[Auld Edwardian]

We have a built in dishwasher, but never use it. I prefer to wash them by hand, also both sets of our dishes are old and hence would not fair well in the high heat the unit uses. Besides that to me the dishes are not do until the are dried and put away. As I teach and tell my Son, Neat & Tidy, Tidy & Neat.

 

[dhermann1]

And of course there are a lot of older dishes, vintage dishes that are NOT dishwasher proof. Dishwasher detergent has little abrasive thingies in it, and also has chemicals that can destroy the glaze on older dishes. That can be a heartbreak when you see your genuine SS France salad plate with half the image gone after just one or two washings. (I'll never do THAT again!)

 

[LizzieMaine]

I want to endorse a product here -- not something I often do, but in this case it's justified. For many years I washed my dishes with Octagon bar soap -- a fine, humble product of the Era -- but in their infinite desire to offer only the most upscale and overpriced goods, the folks at Colgate-Palmolive discontinued that soap last year. I used up my last remaining bar last month, and had to look around for a replacement -- which I have found.

I strongly recommend "Zote" brand all purpose bar soap. This is a Mexican product, which you will find in your neighborhood Mexican grocery store, if you have a Mexican neighborhood nearby, or you might stumble upon it at a Big Lots or dollar-store type of place. It's a *big* bar of soap -- each bar weighs nearly a pound, and is almost as big and as thick and as hard as a brick -- and it produces lots and lots of suds for dishwashing. Just drop it in the dishpan, run some hot water on it, swish it around, and you're all set to go. And it doesn't have an overpowering cloying perfume smell -- there's sort of a lemony-limey scent, which disperses quickly.

Zote is sold as an all-purpose soap, so you can also chip it into your washing machine or washtub, or you can use it with a pail and a scrub brush to wash your floor or your walls or your dog or your car or your kids. It's also very very cheap and each block of soap will last a very long time. If you use one block of this soap in a month, you're running a lunchroom instead of a kitchen. That's Zote -- Z O T E. It's good and it's cheap, and that's all you need in a soap. It comes in pink and in white -- I use the white because I don't see any point in pink soap -- but if you're worried about clashing decor, the pink should work fine. And if you need a good weapon for driving off thugs, goons, or toughs, a bar of Zote in an old stocking would do just fine.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

I just take my down to the river and beat them against the rocks with a stick.

 

[Gregg Axley]

Hand wash, I don't have a modern dishwasher.
Paper plates from chinet, help cut down on the nightly duties.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Notice that the Soap Saver is filled with leftover slivers of bar soap from the bathroom. Very Golden Era thrifty.

The other method of using up the last bit of soap, was to press the sliver into the new bar when it was wet and soft.

Some used soap flakes which could also do laundry.

Tip: when using soap, rinse out glasses used for milk with plain cold water. They will wash easier. Hot water sets milk. Not a problem when you use detergent.

I'm glad to know I am not the last person in the western hemisphere to not have a dishwasher.

 

[Stanley Doble]

I just take my down to the river and beat them against the rocks with a stick.

Must be hard on the fine china.

 

[scottyrocks]

I don't mind washing dishes by hand. I'll go with whomever said it is therapeutic. I also like to iron my clothing.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

There is a bar soap but I can't remember the name, it goes something like "Nels Palmtha" I know this is wrong because it doesn't show up in Google but I have seen this soap in a house on the kitchen sink that was preserved from the 30s in Richmond, VA.

 

[F. J.]

You mean Fels-Naptha?

There is a bar soap but I can't remember the name, it goes something like "Nels Palmtha" I know this is wrong because it doesn't show up in Google but I have seen this soap in a house on the kitchen sink that was preserved from the 30s in Richmond, VA.

Well, it might help if you search for "Fels-Naptha" instead.

 

[John Galt]

It's also a good treatment for poison oak - passed on from generations of loggers in my family.

 

[dh66]

I always washed dishes by hand, until I got married. My wife absolutely had to have one a.s.a.p.
I still usually do a lot of them by hand, but I do agree with Casechopper, with a whole bunch of kids, especially little ones, handwashing can be a bit daunting.
The extra hot water in the d.w. is also a good thing after a kid lets the dog lick food off the plate.

Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

 

[Fading Fast]

We live in a rental apartment that came with a dishwasher (and based on the enthusiasm the rental agent expressed toward it, one would assume it is something most tenants really, really want), but we have never turned it on and store items in it instead.

We don't use it because we believe we can easily wash our dishes faster and easier without it - and have done so even when we have had guests over (where it seems plates and glasses are used with reckless abandon). When everyone leaves, we just roll up our sleeves and get to it and (as LizzieMaine posted earlier) can do a pretty large amount in a reasonably short time versus (if memory serves) having to somewhat clean the plates before putting them in the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, then unloading it later.

This is one appliance I don't understand. We are not opposed to convenience and regularly use a washer and dryer, toaster and most other normal household appliance because they make the task at hand meaningfully easier and faster to do, but the dishwasher seems like a big, noise-making thing that doesn't make life better or easier.

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

Well, it might help if you search for "Fels-Naptha" instead.

Thanks FJ! I can NEVER remember that name. I had made a note of it on my ipad (I always carry my ipad with me when I am on vacation to make note of such things), so I have the name of it on my ipad but obviously not in my head!

 

[CaramelSmoothie]

I have never used a dish washer because I have never owned one. I just wash dishes after every use. I use Palmolive so I don't mess up my hands but this thread has me thinking of using old school soaps like the "Fels Naptha" instead.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Fels Naptha is the best soap for washing clothes -- chip about a half a cup's worth into the washing machine with a cheese grater, add maybe a quarter cup of washing soda or borax, and that's all you need to do. But it's a bit rough on hands -- you can use it for dishes, but you'd better have a bottle of hand lotion right close by.

Fels Naptha is also excellent for stopping up small leaks in your gas tank. Just moisten a little piece and work it into the leaky spot and when it dries it'll form a solid patch that will last long enough for you to do something more permanent.