Dishwasher’s Tears

I never understood the proper way to wash dishes. As far as I am concerned, a dish is clean once the gunk on it is scrape off, a sponge scrubs on a healthy serving of suds and it is rinsed clean with faucet water, right? Well, in my colourful history of hand washing dishes, I discovered a culturally implanted method that has often brought me to tears.

North American Housewife Method:

This method led to the invention/integration of the double sink in most modern kitchens. A method developed to conserve water, it consists of filling one sink (or bin) with clean soapy water. In the other sink/bin the dishes soak. These pre-soaked dishes are then submerged in the clean soapy water, sponged, rinsed then placed on a dish rack to dry.

I know this is meant to “conserve water”, but this method puts the chore in dish washing. This method only seems to prolong one’s presence in the kitchen.

The Clean-As-You-Go Method:

I was raised with this method in mind and often yelled at by other moms and my Home Ec. teacher for doing so. This method involves rinsing and/or soaking dishes when needed, sponging on a generous lather of dish soap onto the dish, setting it aside then repeat. Once all of the dishes are soaped, rinse out to clean and place on dish rack to dry.

Easy-peasy, less water wasted and energy preservation. If you think about it, the whole shower-bath principle applies. No matter how long you shower for, a bath almost always consumes more water.

And so long as a dish gets clean, why does it matter how one gets it done?