Dishwashing
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The term dishwashing is used for cleaning, eating and cooking utensils, not just dishes.
Dishes may be washed with a dishwashing machine or by hand.
The right way to wash dishes by hand is typically a tradition passed directly from parent to child; the procedures used, like many cultural practices, are traditions that vary from country to country and within country, from family to family.
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Preparation
When dishwashing, a common kitchen sponge and nylon greenback scourer works well. This is really a matter of personal taste as is the choice of dishwashing detergent (aka "washing up liquid"). In some countries (such as the Netherlands) dishwashing is usually done with a brush instead of a sponge. Collect all of your cutlery into a pile. Remove food scraps and stack the plates and bowls neatly. Find all the coffee mugs, wine glasses, and what-have-you, and group them next to the sink. Arrange your dishes so that they are all in easy reach for when you are standing over the sink. Empty all glasses or other containers before filling the sink.
In some European countries the dishes are always washed in a separate tub placed inside the sink. This was a matter of hygiene, as the kitchen sink was the only sink available for all the household water. The clothes were washed in the sink; the water used to wash the floor went down the sink, and so it made sense to separate the dishwater from the sink. There were two other possible reasons. Kitchen sinks tended to be very large in a time when heating water was considered to be a major household expense -- a tub used less water. Also kitchen sinks were usually made of hard ceramic; any contact between the sink and plates was liable to cause chips, but a tub could be made of more forgiving material.
Washing up gloves may be worn when washing dishes. Also, modern devices which consist of a sponge mounted on a hollow plastic handle may also be used. The handle is filled with soap, which impregnates the sponge and is gradually released as the dishes are washed. This precludes the necessity of filling a sink or tub with soapy water, which eventually gets dirty.
Execution
There are two basic guiding principles. Principle one is "Clean Before Dirty" (CBD), and Principle two is "Small Before Large" (SBL).
- CBD means you wash the cleanest -- e.g. the least dirty dishes -- before the most dirty ones. For example: always do the glassware first while the water is clean. That way you will not get greasy smears on the glasses. Then move on to the plasticware, cups, bowls and plates, and finally the pots and pans.
- SBL is aimed at making stacking easier. Place all the small items underneath and the large items stacked on top. Place everything upside down to aid draining.
Use water that is as hot as you can stand; it makes cleaning easier and draining quicker.
Dishes with baked-on stains should be pre-soaked if possible.
Sanitizing
In cases where dishes are to be shared among many, such as restaurants, sanitizing may be desirable. These are some steps to sanitize dishes.
- Scrape & rinse to remove visible food particles.
- Soak items briefly in soapy warm water, scrub, sponge.
- Rinse in clean water to remove soap.
- Rinse in dilute bleach solution (50-100 parts per million chlorine; about 2ml of 5% bleach per litre of water, approximately one capful bleach per gallon water).
- Allow to air dry.
Most institutions have a dishwashing machine which sanitizes dishes by a final rinse in either very hot water or a chemical sanitizing solution (e.g. bleach solution). Dishes are placed on large trays and fed onto rollers through the machine.
The use of bleach is critical to sanitation when large groups are involved. While toxic to the environment and not to be used more than necessary, it evaporates completely, is cheap, and kills almost everything. Cabinets, refrigerators, countertops and anything else touched by people in a large group setting should be periodically wiped or sprayed with a dilute bleach solution after being washed with soapy water and rinsed in clean water.
Soap and water gets it clean, bleach solution sanitizes it.
Restaurants
Washing dishes is considered the traditional punishment for being unable to pay a bill at a restaurant. However, evidence that this is actually practiced is anecdotal.