Thursday, May 8, 2008

Washing dishes

There was a study not long ago that claimed that it took less water to wash dishes in a dishwasher than by hand. I protest. Here's how to do it by hand and use much, much less than in the study (they estimated 12 gallons by hand!)

How to Save Water Washing Dishes By Hand

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

12 gallons!? That's crazy! I don't even think I use more than 4 gallons to wash AND rinse all of my dishes & cookware.

Pat said...

Yep, me too... but a lot (especially younger people) don't know how to wash dishes by hand, having grown up with dishwashers.

Anonymous said...

Just curious about the clutter in your home. I have been browsing your tips all morning and really enjoy some of them. I was wondering though if you follow through on every tip. Seems like things would get awfully cluttered saving every extra thread and soap scrap.

Pat said...

Well, how many times do you rip out a seam or hem, anyway? Not that often, and if you actually use the thread, it doesn't take any storage space. I wouldn't stockpile used thread, though! If I have a few yards of a couple or three colors, I wouldn't bother saving more.

As to the soap, it gets used, not stored.

There's no sense in keeping things you're not going to use, but if you can find a use for them, why throw them out? So you can go and buy more? :)

Unknown said...

I agree with the article of how to hand wash dishes EXCEPT squirting or pouring about..... I measure my liquid soap. I use Dawn as it seems to be most concentrated for my money. I also measure 1/2 tsp. of the soap for a pan of dishes. This works fine for me. I started with 1 tsp, and next time used 1/8 tsp less, then next time, 1/8 more less until I reached 3/8 tsp in my dishwasher. That amount just didn't seems enough. So I went back to the next highest (4/8 or 1/2 teaspoon) amount. Unless I have extremely greasy dishes, 1/2 teaspoon works for me. I live in the country and my water is soft. Other folks may have harder water and need more soap. Just experiment until you reach the amount of soap YOU need.

I have a 1 qt spray bottle of water with 1/4 teaspoon of dish soap detergent to wash a single coffee cup. 1 spray of water/soap mix, swish with dishcloth, and rinse. If you use the same cup, you aren't passing germs.

Regards, Peg

PS, if I get an accumulation of used threads (yes, I recycle them, too) I use them along with polyester stuffing to fill soft toys.

Pat said...

Good idea of using the used thread as stuffing! I'll have to try that.

I keep well diluted dish soap in a pump bottle (like a liquid soap bottle) on the sink for washing single items or veggies. It saves on soap as well as water.