How to wash dishes faster: simple ways to save time and water

With water cuts becoming a common occurrence, doing the dishes has become a real quest. Running the dishwasher is no longer an option. Other questions plague us. Will there be hot water? Will there be water at all? How do we manage to wash everything before the power goes out again and the pumps stop?

Public Goods has collected seven life hacks that will help you cope with this task faster. They will also come in handy in civilian life. You will literally become a champion in manual dishwashing speed.

Prepare a place for washing dishes

If you have all the necessary tools and equipment, and if you prepare a place to wash and collect the dishes, the process will take only minutes.

Here's a checklist for preparing for dishwashing. Use it a few times, and then it will become an automatic habit for you.

• Make sure you have detergent, sponges, brushes and scrapers at hand.
• Prepare a washing basin (we'll talk about this in step 2).
• Check if there is enough space on the dryer or shelf for the wash. If not, free it up.
• Put on household gloves to protect your skin.
• Collect all the dirty dishes. It is recommended to sort them into three groups: cutlery; bowls, plates and cups; and large pots and pans.

Use a basin

If you're used to soaping up an item and then rinsing it with clean water, you might be surprised how much you can cut down on washing up time by using a simple basin or bowl. Choose a container that fits the size of your sink, fill it with hot water, dilute the soap in it and put as many dishes as you can fit in it.

This way, you use less detergent, as you don't have to keep adding it to the sponge. You can also soak items with dried food residues in this way. And everything you wash off will settle at the bottom of the basin, so you can easily collect it to throw it in the trash and avoid clogging the sink drain. Three benefits at once. Wash the dishes in batches, and then you just need to rinse them quickly.

Instant cleaning of the blender

The blender can clean itself. Just fill it with water, add a drop of detergent, close it tightly and switch it on for 10-15 seconds. Voila, all you have to do is rinse everything and wipe or dry it.

Clean up while you cook

The giant pyramid of dishes that remains after each cooking session will scare anyone. But it can be significantly reduced if you use pauses in the cooking process to wash something small. Is the water boiling? Wash a couple of plates or knives. Is the oven preheating? Get rid of the dirt on the bowl where you kneaded the dough. This will speed up two processes at once - washing up and cooking.

Use cold water for dairy and starchy dishes

It is believed that it is better to wash dishes with as hot water as possible. This is supposed to remove dirt better. In general, this is the purest truth. But this does not apply to milk proteins and starch. Milk curdles and sticks due to high temperature, and the same happens with glucose, which is released from starch granules during heating. It is better to rinse them off under a cold stream. And you can rinse in hot water.

Soak pots and pans

Even during a quick dinner, the remains of the dish will have time to dry out and stick to the walls of the pot or pan. If your cookware has a non-stick coating, it can be a challenge to clean these residues without damaging it. Therefore, it is better to immediately pour warm water over them, or even better, with a drop of detergent. It is not necessary to put soaked large dishes in the sink. It will calmly wait for its turn on the stove or countertop. And then you can easily and quickly handle it.

Take a look in the pantry

When you set up your workstation for washing up, you probably didn't think that you could take something else from the pantry that would be very useful. Meanwhile, baking soda will help you clean stubborn grease stains or dried residues - it is moderately abrasive, has a degreasing effect and absorbs excess dirt. And vinegar will help you get rid of water stains on glass and limescale deposits that prevent glossy plates from shining. It is enough to wipe the items with a sponge soaked in vinegar, rinse and dry. And finally, salt. If you have pans with burnt food that are difficult to clean because of the protective coating, soak them overnight by filling them with water and a few tablespoons of salt. In the morning, boil this water directly in the dish - the dirt should come off very easily.

Bonus: wash the dishes in the correct order

You'll wash the dishes faster if you work from the cleanest to the dirtiest. Wash the glasses first to avoid staining them with grease from pots and pans. After the glassware, move on to the cutlery and plates, which are actually quite quick to rinse. And leave the hard work with pots and pans for last.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL told why you need two sponges for washing dishes.

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