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

With water outages becoming commonplace, doing the dishes has turned into a real quest. Running the dishwasher is no longer an option. Many questions puzzle 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 everyday 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, if you prepare a place for washing and for stacking the dishes, the process will take a matter of 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 basin for washing (we'll talk about this in point #2).
• Check to see if there is enough space on the dryer or shelf for the wash. If not, free it up.
• Put on oven 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 reduce your dishwashing time by using a regular basin or bowl. Pick a container that fits the size of your sink, fill it with hot water, dilute the soap in it, and put as many dishes in it as you can.

This way, you'll use less detergent because you won't have to keep adding it to the sponge. You will also soak items with dried food residue in this way. And everything you rinse 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 blender cleaning

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

Clean 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 small items. Is the water boiling? Wash a couple of plates or knives. Preheating the oven? Get rid of the dirt on the bowl you used to knead the dough. This will speed up two processes at once: dishwashing and cooking.

Use cold water for dairy and starch dishes

It is believed that it is better to wash dishes with as hot water as possible as it allegedly removes dirt better. In general, this is true. 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 when heated. It is better to rinse them off under a cold stream. You can rinse in hot water.

Soak pots and pans

The remains of the dish will have time to dry and stick to the walls of the pot or pan even during a quick dinner. 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 fill them with warm water or even with a drop of detergent. It is not necessary to put soaked large dishes in the sink. They can wait for their turn on the stove or countertop. And then you can easily and quickly handle them.

Take a look in the pantry

When you set up your workspace for washing dishes, you probably do not think that you could take something else from the pantry that would be very useful. Meanwhile, baking soda can help you clean stubborn grease stains or dried residue as it's moderately abrasive, degreasing, and absorbs excess dirt. Vinegar will help get rid of water stains on glass and limescale deposits that prevent glossy plates from shining. All you need to do is 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 pan. The dirt should come off very easily.

Wash dishes in the right order

You'll get the dishes done faster if you work from cleaner to dirtier ones. 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 essentially a quick rinse. Finally, go for pots and pans.

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