Should you soak or wash your dishes?

Many people believe that soaking dishes in water before washing helps remove stubborn stains, but tests show the opposite.

In fact, each family has different dishwashing habits. Some people will wash dishes right after a meal, but most tend to soak them in water for a few hours or wait until the end of the day to increase cleaning ability. However, according to experts, delaying the dishwashing process has the potential to affect human health.

To prove this, experts tested a pot containing tomato sauce and cake batter with stubborn stains.

Accordingly, they will put the pot in the oven at a temperature of more than 170 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes. After taking it out, the utensils will be soaked in a dishwashing liquid mixture for periods of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 24 hours to test the effectiveness.

At the end of each cycle, the experts tried rubbing their hands on the stain to check the burn's removal. The results showed that whether soaked for a few hours or a day, the stain was still there and the level of reduction was very small.

Another test on a ceramic bowl containing tomato sauce, soaking for a long time can make the situation worse.

Having spent many years studying kitchen behaviors, Associate Professor Barbara Mullan of Curtin University (Australia) believes that soaking dishes in the sink for too long can make them dirtier. The reason is that soaking for too long can easily create conditions for bacteria to grow.

Not to mention, soaking dirty dishes in the sink also increases the possibility of spreading around, sticking to hosts (humans, animals). "They can survive up to 4 days on clean surfaces. In polluted environments, they will live for a longer time," said the Associate Professor.

For the above reasons, experts advise users to wash dishes immediately after use, to limit harmful bacteria to human health.

Steps to wash dishes properly:

Remove all leftover food on bowls and plates to avoid polluting the water source and clogging the drain. For sticky items, you should only soak them for a maximum of 15-30 minutes, depending on the level of dirt.

Then rinse them once with warm water to clean them and avoid oil and grease.

Wash lightly soiled items such as cups, glasses, and small bowls. Then wash the main food containers and finally pots, pans, and cooking utensils.

Dishes can be dried in many ways, such as using a towel to wipe them; drying them in a well-ventilated area; or putting them in a dish dryer.

Finally, clean the sink and wait for the utensils to dry before storing them in the cupboard.