Even those of us with dishwashers still occasionally need to wash dishes by hand, and soaking dishes before washing them is a common strategy to make the chore easier. It’s also a common strategy to delay a distasteful chore (at least for some… certainly not for me!)
Soaking dishes can be a valid strategy to make dishwashing easier. Burnt-on messes, starchy foods, sticky caramelization, and gluey batters are often easier to remove after a soak in warm water, but soaking dishes isn’t without risk!
In this post, you’ll learn what those risks are and what you can do to avoid them.
The Risks Of Soaking Dishes
The problem with soaking dishes is that a sink full of warm water is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. It’s not the bits of food stuck to the dishes you need to worry about — kitchen sinks and drains are hot spots for germs, and adding warm water to the equation is like giving them a spa day!
How To Soak Dishes The Right Way
The good news is that you can minimize the risk of soaking dishes by taking a few simple precautions. One option is to soak them in a (clean) dishpan instead of your kitchen sink, and another is to use antibacterial dish soap.
After soaking dishes, discard the water and refill the dishpan or tub with fresh water and more dish soap. Use a clean sponge* or dishcloth (or a pair of silicone scrubbing gloves) to wash them, then rinse the dishes thoroughly and dry them with a clean microfiber towel.
*Follow the three simple rules of sponges to keep your kitchen sponges clean and sanitary!
4 Dishes You Should Never Soak
Not every type of dish can be safely soaked, including the following:
- Delicate items (i.e. fine china) — Even lukewarm water can weaken fine china, so it’s much safer to wash it by hand, ideally soon after using it. (If you’d rather, Martin & Harris Appliances has a useful article on determining whether it’s safe to clean your fine china in a dishwasher.)
- Wood cutting boards and utensils — Wood is porous, and too much water can weaken the wood, lift the grain, and become an ideal home for bacteria. Wash wooden kitchen utensils by hand and use homemade spoon butter to condition the wood and keep it from splitting.
- Cast iron cookware — Soaking cast iron in water can erode its seasoning. Instead, wash cast iron items with warm water and mild soap. If you need to scrub it, use salt or a chainmail scrubber.
- Very greasy dishes — If there’s a lot of grease or fat left in your pan after cooking, pour it into an empty can (or another container you can throw away), let it cool, and discard it in the trash. Keep as much grease and fat out of your sink as possible to avoid clogging your plumbing.
A Safer Alternative To Soaking Dishes
Dish sprays like Dawn Powerwash are a great alternative to soaking because you can enjoy the benefits of a soak without the risks. When applied to grimy dishes, a dish spray will soften and lift stubborn food residue to make it easier to wash away.
For an effective dish spray that won’t break the bank, try my homemade dish spray! Made with simple cleaning agents like vinegar, alcohol, dish soap, and lemon oil, it works like a charm and makes cleaning up after a meal quick and easy.
Conclusion
While it can be tempting to leave dirty dishes to soak in the sink until you’re ready to tackle them, soaking dishes can lead to unwanted consequences. If you can’t wash them right away, spray them with a dish spray or take the precautions described above to soak them safely.
Did you know soaking dishes could be risky before reading this post?
My husband has been soaking cooking pans and utensils (which have been rinsed prior to soaking) in the sink for over 30 years. Sometimes he leaves then there overnight or even over 2 nights. He uses Dawn dish soap, and after an overnight soak, the water in the sink looks disgusting, as the Dawn turns to whitish ribbons in the water. HOWEVER, we have never gotten sick from from this practice. Just out of curiosity, do you know of anyone who has?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.First you say, “The problem with soaking dishes is that a sink full of warm water is an ideal breeding ground for bacteria. It’s not the bits of food stuck to the dishes you need to worry about — kitchen sinks and drains are hot spots for germs, and adding warm water to the equation is like giving them a spa day!”
Then you say, “After soaking dishes, discard the water and refill the dishpan or tub with fresh water and more dish soap. Use a clean sponge* or dishcloth (or a pair of silicone scrubbing gloves) to wash them, then rinse the dishes thoroughly and dry them with a clean microfiber towel.”
You are still putting the germs down the drain, no matter how you clean the dishes or soak them. Even if you don’t do any dishes by hand, the water in the sink and dishwasher all go down the same drain, so you can’t avoid germs.
“Discard the water” Where? Of course–down the drain. You can’t avoid this, no matter what you do to your dishes.
Bottom line: Germs are a part of life and there’s really no way to remove them, because not all of them are harmful. We need germs in order for our immune system to build up, and as to them going down the sink, where else are they supposed to go?
If we eliminate germs, then every time a virus comes around, our immune system won’t be able to handle it; the end result is we would be sick all the time.
You can’t dump the dirty dish water outside, because then you’d be polluting the ground, causing another concern.
Where else should it go? Down the drain; the small amount of germs down through the pipes is really not that much of a concern.
This sounds to me like “alarmist” thinking when it’s not necessary to be so drastic in what we do with the dish water.
Let it go down the drain and walk away.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Right on!
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