# Brits don't rinse soapy dishes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 21, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411 "2012-09-21T17:22:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bilbo1967](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Bilbo1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilbo1967)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/61 "2012-09-24T14:42:17Z")
[Fairy Liquid](http://www.fairy-dish.co.uk/uk/fairy/) is a brand name (probably the most well known one) for what we in Britain would generically call, ‘washing-up liquid’. The word ‘soap’ in Britain is pretty much reserved for the bars or liquid soaps that a person would use on themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/62 "2012-09-24T14:43:56Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > So what’s the difference between fairy liquid and, say, Dawn or Palmolive? “Fairy” is the brand name used by Procter and Gamble in Britain for dishwashing liquid, so I would guess that it’s the exact same thing as Dawn. ---
**Author:** ![put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/put_down_the_sabre)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/63 "2012-09-24T14:45:16Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “Fairy” is the brand name used by Procter and Gamble in Britain for dishwashing liquid, so I would guess that it’s the exact same thing as Dawn. Right - it’s the same basic stuff. Fairy Liquid is so common in the UK that it’s come to mean washing up liquid (‘liquid dish soap/detergent’ for the Americans) in general. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/64 "2012-09-24T14:55:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Fairly liquid is made so that it does not need to be rinsed off: it drips off with the water. There is really no residue. Not rinsed off, but ‘really’ no residue? And your proof is: you ‘really’ don’t taste it? Got any actual evidence, for this little bit of magic? And what’s your answer to why your machine bothers to rinse the dishes but you don’t? The clothes washer? When you wash your car? All rinsed, but not the dishes you eat from. (Yuck, that’s just nasty, is all) Perhaps they just don’t know about the magical, ‘no rinse, no residue’, soap yet? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/65 "2012-09-24T14:57:20Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Got any actual evidence, for this little bit of magic? Personally, I don’t want evidence. What I want is dishes that have been rinsed. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/66 "2012-09-24T15:07:51Z")
I think I’ve commented in a similar thread, but my wife and her mother don’t rinse dishes after washing them. In fact I don’t think my mum does either. I always do but most UK homes only have a single or a single-plus-half sink in the kitchen, which means if you’re rinsing with cold water you’re just cooling the hot water in the sink (and rinsing with hot water is an extravagance too far). Plus most people have dishwashers these days so it’s less of an issue. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/67 "2012-09-24T15:10:37Z")
Wow, how expensive is hot water in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/68 "2012-09-24T15:22:17Z")
Not enough sinks/room has to be code for, ‘can’t be arsed’, or, ‘habit’. I mean, think about campers, with no sinks, they manage to rinse. As do persons with cabins in the woods, cottages, trailers, etc. Yes, there was a time when every home in North America did not have two sinks or a dishwasher. And you know what, they still washed the soap off the damn dishes! Mostly because they didn’t like the taste, didn’t want to risk giving friends the trots, and because they don’t believe in some magical fairy soap that leaves ‘no residue’. Not to mention it ought to be self evident, in a world where dishwashers, laundry machines, and car washes all provide rinse cycles! With good reason! Sorry, not buying it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/69 "2012-09-24T16:05:36Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Wow, how expensive is hot water in the UK? Expensive, compared to the USA, I expect, as energy costs are higher, but that’s not really the issue - it’s that many UK kitchens don’t have double sinks, so washing and rinsing by hand is twice the work. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/70 "2012-09-24T16:10:05Z")
Actually, it’s probably more than twice the work, due to the logistics of stacking, then un stacking and rinsing and restocking. It probably entails breaking the job into several smaller batches. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/71 "2012-09-24T16:10:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Expensive, compared to the USA, I expect, as energy costs are higher, but that’s not really the issue - it’s that many UK kitchens don’t have double sinks, so washing and rinsing by hand is twice the work. Huh. Like I said, I have had single sinks all of my adult life, and it would never occur to me not to rinse the dishes. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/72 "2012-09-24T16:13:53Z")
1. Turn on hot water 2. Squeeze some dish soap onto a sponge 3. Sponge off a dish 4. Rinse off the same dish 5. Put dish in drainer 6. Go back to step 3 7. Profit! I don’t get all of this stacking and unstacking business. Rinsing a dish is really the easiest part of the job. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/73 "2012-09-24T16:29:08Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > “Fairy liquid” _is_ soap. It isn’t actually a magical solution made by the Cottingley fairies. Actually, it may not be soap. It’s a blend of detergents and surfactants. Soaps are surfactants, but not all surfactants are soaps. (understood that ‘dish soap’ is the colloquial term in some places, but that’s not a definition) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/74 "2012-09-24T16:30:23Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > 1. Turn on hot water > 2. Squeeze some dish soap onto a sponge > 3. Sponge off a dish > 4. Rinse off the same dish > 5. Put dish in drainer > 6. Go back to step 3 > 7. Profit! > > I don’t get all of this stacking and unstacking business. Rinsing a dish is really the easiest part of the job. Is this performed under a continuous stream of water? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/75 "2012-09-24T16:34:54Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Is this performed under a continuous stream of water? Yes, though I suppose I could turn it off while not rinsing. I also don’t stop the drain, so soap is applied directly to the dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/76 "2012-09-24T16:35:30Z")
Are you sure it’s not just the mushy peas and black pudding giving you the trots? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/77 "2012-09-24T16:40:08Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Not rinsed off, but ‘really’ no residue? And your proof is: you ‘really’ don’t taste it? > > Got any actual evidence, for this little bit of magic? > > And what’s your answer to why your machine bothers to rinse the dishes but you don’t? > The clothes washer? When you wash your car? All rinsed, but not the dishes you eat from. (Yuck, that’s just nasty, is all) > > Perhaps they just don’t know about the magical, ‘no rinse, no residue’, soap yet? The reason a dishwasher rinses is because it uses much more cleaning agent (not soap, if you’re using soap you’re doing it wrong) to compensate for not scrubbing the dishes. Washing up liquid doesn’t leave residue, that’s the point. The reason your washing machine rinses your clothes is that, unlike your dishes, your clothes absorb water, and with it detergent. If your dishes are absorbing water, you need new picnic plates. ETA I usually do rinse, but that’s because I usually end up using too much detergent. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/78 "2012-09-24T17:10:00Z")
The big question though is: Do you do this with your shoes on, or off? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/79 "2012-09-24T17:44:11Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The big question though is: > > Do you do this with your shoes on, or off? Wearing slippers. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411/80 "2012-09-24T17:55:41Z")
I always wondered how people with single basins do dishes. The problem with double basins are really big pans, the kind that always end up with baked on gunk, can only fit about half way into the water. So you have to soak them for an hour, scrub, flip them around and do the other end. (repeat as often as necessary) > [@kambuckta](#): > > Meh…I’m an Aussie of British heritage, and we never rinse the dishes after washing. Mind you, I wash in VERY hot water, and rarely dry the dishes with a towel, just leave them to air-dry. > > _Never_ had a soapy taste,\* no\* family or friends have ever suffered a gastro-intestinal upset from eating from our plates, and the dishes are squeaky clean afterwards. > > Obviously, some of you have Kilometreage that Might Vary, but it’s worked for me for all of my life and I ain’t about to change now. > > 🙂 Why make it so hard for yourself? You live in Australia. Everyone **knows** all you have to do is tie-up your dishes outside and let the sand storms scour them clean. That must be the biggest advantage to living in Australia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brits-dont-rinse-soapy-dishes/635411.md?page=5)