If you're old enough you remember washing dishes by hand. Long before the dish-washer became a household appliance parents relied on child-labor to get those dishes sparkly clean, women suffered from "dish-pan hands" and cleaning up after the evening meal was usually all the evening's entertainment you were going to get.
I'm having some hot organic cinnamon tea. What are you sipping?
There are times when you have to rely on hand washing dishes; your mother's china, a stubborn pot or pan, crystal glassware... all these items benefit from a good hand-washing.
Here's how you can be sure you're doing the job efficiently and effectively. Otherwise, it's just a waste of time - and who has time to waste these days?
1 - Line your sink with a rubber or plastic mat. This will save your sink from dents and scratches, but will save your plates and glassware from breaks and chips.
2 - Use a dish drainer! Your dishes will dry quickly and spot free in little time. If you don't want to purchase the matching drainer, use a towel-lined cookie sheet. It will contain all the water more efficiently than a mat and you can store it easily with your other bakeware.
3 - Wash with hot water! Hot water kills germs and will dry your dishes virtually spot free.
4 - Soak starchy items with cool water. Warm water makes starchy foods gummy - causing them to stick. Items like dried on eggs can be easily removed by filling the pan with warm water and putting the pan back on the burner. Move forward as if you were deglazing a pan. All the eggs will scrape right off.
5 - Hand dry silverware and glasses. Even if these items have been left to air dry in the dish drainer giving them a quick "dry" with a clean, dry, lint-free cloth will give them a little extra polish and shine!
6 - Use a good quality dish washing detergent. My favorite is Shaklee Dish Wash Concentrate or Mrs. Meyer's. Both all natural, both really good for your skin!
Next time you're bored or the kids need a good lesson in house-keeping, let them wash dishes the old fashioned way. It's a good life-lesson for them and you'll have more time to check FaceBook , I mean balance your check book!
Only By His Grace,
Billie