# How do Australians wash dishes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963 "2010-10-04T01:33:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/41 "2010-10-04T05:55:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > No wonder Australians have a reputation for bad-tasting food. We do? Since when? I’m not the nationalistic sort that thinks the sun shines out of our collective arse and I can think of things for which, rightly or wrongly, we have a poor reputation. However, I have just never heard this particular complaint. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/42 "2010-10-04T06:11:23Z")
I just assumed it involved something venomous. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/43 "2010-10-04T06:13:40Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > It’s not just Australians it’s most non Americans. But they don’t get immediately dried with a towel they are put in a rack and drained. It’s certainly not the way it’s done in Spain, Costa Rica, France or Italy - or at least, by the Spaniards, Ticos, Frenchpeople and Italians I’ve seen wash dishes by hand. The only person I’ve known to do that was British. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/44 "2010-10-04T06:24:03Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > points out, we don’t shower after bathing to wash off soap residue that was in the water. In the rare instance that I draw a bath, I rinse off with a shower. > [@Cazzle](#): > > If the water is too dirty, you change it. It’s dirty the second you stick a dish in it. rinsing involves holding it under running water, preferably, scolding hot. > [@Cazzle](#): > > Americans who believe that unrinsed dishes cause diarrhea, a note for you: Don’t ever laugh at South Koreans and their fear of fan death. Noted, not sure what it means, but noted. If our cousins down under do not succumb to the ravages of a few soap molecules then maybe they’re drinking enough Foster’s to dilute the little buggers. Sounds like a plan anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/45 "2010-10-04T06:26:44Z")
I found the same in at least one household I stayed in the Netherlands, just placing the soapy dishes in a rack to drip dry. If you leave dishes in this manner, no one can convince me that you are not ingesting soap suds at some later date. BTW, so what are the contents of dishwashing soap/washing up liquid? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/46 "2010-10-04T07:09:00Z")
The business end of washing-up liquid is one or more surfactants – compounds which lower the surface tension of the water, enabling it to mix more easily with the grease, etc, on your crockery and cutlery, so making it easier to lift the grease from the surface to which it would otherwise cling. Surfactants also enable the water to mix more readily with the air; hence the foam. Surfactants are also found in shampoos, toothpaste, laxatives, spermicide and many other household preparations, some intended for internal use. There is nothing inherently dangerous in ingesting surfactants as such. Admittedly you get them in heavier concentrations in washing up-liquid than in preparations intended for internal use; on the other hand, the washing-up liquid is heavily diluted in the washing-up water. In so far as unrinsed plates dry by draining or by absorption (i.e. towelling) rather than by evaporation, the surfactant – which of course is well-mixed with the water – drains or is absorbed too. I struggle to imagine that the quantities of surfactant that you would ingest by not rinsing your washed plates in fresh water and leaving them to dry by evaporation could possibly threaten you any harm; you will taste the stuff in much lower quantities than would harm you. If you can’t taste the stuff then, barring a rare allergy or something of the kind, you don’t have a problem. If you can taste soapiness on food eaten from your dried but unrinsed crockery, you can either start rinsing, or start reducing the concentration of washing-up liquid you are using. If your dried-by-evaporation but unrinsed crockery looks “streaky”, and this bothers you, you have the same two options. Considerations of time, convenience, economy and care for the environment suggest that you should try using less washing-up liquid first. ---
**Author:** ![J.D.G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@J.D.G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J.D.G)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/47 "2010-10-04T08:16:39Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > No wonder Australians have a reputation for bad-tasting food. > > We do? Since when? I’m not the nationalistic sort that thinks the sun shines out of our collective arse and I can think of things for which, rightly or wrongly, we have a poor reputation. However, I have just never heard this particular complaint. To Right! There’s plenty I can feel ashamed about or know that we, as Australians, are infamous for. But our cooking and culinary skills are not one of them. We need to get together for a “snag” my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/48 "2010-10-04T08:19:35Z")
I’m just surprised that filling the entire sink with water seems to be the default dishwashing method everywhere in the world (except here). ---
**Author:** ![J.D.G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@J.D.G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J.D.G)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/49 "2010-10-04T08:24:27Z")
On the shower and bath front I’m appalled at the notion of showering AND bathing (or vice versa). We have very fragile water supplies at best here and in Melbourne residents are encouraged to have 3 MINUTE showers. Something which every Melbournian hates and every foreigner just gives a quizzical, jaw-dropped look to when told that that is the rule. I once had a friend who said that she took a shower, bath, then shower every timed she cleaned herself. Her logic was you needed to get most of the dirt off in the shower, have the bath to deep clean and then have the final shower to get the last of it and the soap off. Needless to say when she said this in a region where the reserves were at 8%, she was publicly lynched soon after. There’s just not a lot of water to go around here (certainly in the south). So you need to utilise as little as possible for the greater good. So that means not rinsing your dishes. Taking only a bath or a shower and making sure the latter is quick. Oh, and always using “half-flush” whenever possible. If you can taste the soap after draining or towelling, you must be using too much. Learn from us for water will become even more scarce in the future for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/50 "2010-10-04T08:25:46Z")
Actually, I suspect that in both Australia and the US (and many other places) the default method is placing the dishes in a dishwasher and turning it on. I think the discussion is really about how Australians and other wash dishes _when they wash them by hand_. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/51 "2010-10-04T08:40:59Z")
Both my mum (who’s English) and my mother-in-law (who’s Welsh) will soak and drain without rinsing. I don’t recall ever noticing the taste of soap. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/52 "2010-10-04T08:51:14Z")
Brit here - my kitchen is too small for a dishwasher, so I compromise - anything that is by design going to be in sustained contact with liquid (cups, glasses, cereal bowls, pans etc.), I rinse. Plates, cutlery, I don’t bother. They’re bone dry by the time I use them. But yeah, he’s talking like dishwashers aren’t commonplace in other western countries. We also have mixer taps, double sinks, electricity, and other modern conveniences ;). ---
**Author:** ![bluezooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bluezooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluezooky)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/53 "2010-10-04T08:58:16Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Actually, I suspect that in both Australia and the US (and many other places) the default method is placing the dishes in a dishwasher and turning it on. I think the discussion is really about how Australians and other wash dishes _when they wash them by hand_. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a dishwasher in any home , I’m sure they exist but I simply wash by hand and leave to drain, I really doubt any detectable amount of detergent is left on a properly drained glass. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/54 "2010-10-04T09:00:02Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Actually, I suspect that in both Australia and the US (and many other places) the default method is placing the dishes in a dishwasher and turning it on. I think the discussion is really about how Australians and other wash dishes _when they wash them by hand_. That goes without saying. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/55 "2010-10-04T09:32:37Z")
If the taste was particularly noticeable you’d expect to notice the difference between dishwasher and hand washed in Australia or NZ. I suspect this would easily be tested using a blind test and people wouldnt be able to do better than chance. One thing I did notice in the US even as kid there was the generally higher obsession with sanitation. Im pretty convinced its mostly advertising driven rather than anything to do with rationality, they got a head start on us 20 years wise with TV saturation advertising and this is one place it shows. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/56 "2010-10-04T09:59:57Z")
We have a dishwasher but when we do wash by hand I would rinse glasses but not bother with plates and pots. I’ve never noticed any soapy taste. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/57 "2010-10-04T10:13:47Z")
superhal, soap molecules are like little strings. On one end they bind to water molecules and the other grabs onto bits of dirt. A lot like static cling. Considering how much water is there compared to how much soap, all the soap is bonded to water, so when the water comes off the plate, it draws the soap with it. Basically soap acts to make water more ‘sticky’. The bond to the water is a lot stronger than the bond on the other side of the soap molecule. I would be more concerned about remaining dirt than I would about residues of soap. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/58 "2010-10-04T10:24:13Z")
Australian, and rinser. Had a few dishwater flavoured coffees, so now I just do it just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/59 "2010-10-04T10:32:19Z")
I have to say that I find the practice of not rinsing :eek: extremely disgusting, but it explains why I’ve heard from both Brits and Germans that you must not use a detergent when washing beer glasses as any residue of it will spoil the beer. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/60 "2010-10-04T10:49:31Z")
I’m British and I always rinse (only have a single sink, so I rinse each item under the hot tap after removing it from the soapy water). However, I suspect I am in a minority, as most of my friends and family don’t rinse - in fact some look at me in exasperation as I carefully rinse the suds off… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963.md?page=4)