# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/101 "2010-10-06T06:53:39Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Hands up all those who would have thought, when this OP was first posted, that it would still be going two days and 95 posts later? I knew this was SDMB gold as soon as I heard it. The only issue was whether to put it in GQ or IMHO. What would really shock me is if this hit Threadspotting. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/102 "2010-10-06T07:02:36Z")
> [@Paragonkid](#): > > Also, whats a sud? Whenever I wash the dishes I never find these “suds”, what are they and what do they look like?? It’s funny how much the varieties of English differ in mundane vocabulary. I still can’t get used to people washing their dishes with “soap”. Yuck. If I used soap to wash dishes then yes, I 'd rinse them pretty thoroughly. To me, soap is what you wash your body with, not dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/103 "2010-10-06T07:38:11Z")
This would be the point to mention that when I was a child we really _did_ use ordinary soap, not detergent, to wash dishes. I believe this was because Dad considered detergent to be Environmentally Evil. We had a little wire soap saver which you swished back and forwards about a hundren times to make the bubbles. Just doing my bit to get this to four pages… ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/104 "2010-10-06T08:31:44Z")
I’ll help too! Up until at least the 1930s, household dishwashing was in fact normally done with soap - i.e. the animal or vegetable fat-based product, related to what you use to wash your body. After the war synthetic surfactant products were introduced, but they didn’t dominate the household dishwashing market until the 1960s. Plus, some dishwashing liquids also contained soap to produce the slippery soapy suds that consumers valued (although they play no role in cleaning the dishes). In time synthetic foaming agents replaced soap here too. Soap leaves a distinct residue, especially in hard water, because it’s not easily soluble, and because it combines with salts. When soap was used to clean dishes rinsing was indeed more necessary. However modern synthetic non-soap detergent surfactants are highly soluble in water (so they drain off much better than soap) and don’t combine with salts. They leave little or no residue unless a strong concentration is used. A preference for rinsing may therefore be a legacy from the days when soap was used to clean dishes. This may be more prevalent in the US where, to judge from this thread, dishwashing liquid is commonly referred to as (and is perhaps even believed by some to be) soap. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/105 "2010-10-06T09:29:57Z")
I have it on good authority that Australians use wallabies to lick clean their suds-laden dishes, before rubbing them dry with a Long Nosed Bandicoot—was I misinformed? ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/106 "2010-10-06T09:51:39Z")
Almost, they are often placed in a roo’s pouch for drying, not everyone can afford bandicoots and most of us have roos loose in the top paddock, something to do with a lifetime of eating soap. The pots are scrubbed with echidnas ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/107 "2010-10-06T13:05:37Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Bloody pooftas washing dishes, give em a quick wipe with me dilly bag and throw another snag on em. Pack of dumb wooftahs using plates at all, I just shoves my sangers in a blanket and be done with it. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/108 "2010-10-06T22:36:42Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > > [@sisu](#): > > > > Bloody pooftas washing dishes, give em a quick wipe with me dilly bag and throw another snag on em. > > Pack of dumb wooftahs using plates at all, I just shoves my sangers in a blanket and be done with it. Bloody soft mate, us your mitts that why god made snags the shape they are! ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/109 "2010-10-06T23:31:26Z")
Sausages? Why don’t you just tear chunks out of living animals with your teeth like Real Men such as myself? ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/110 "2010-10-07T00:12:14Z")
I’m another non-rinser. I noticed in my student days that I couldn’t tell the difference between rinsing and not, so I got into a habit of rarely bothering. I wash with very hot / scalding water and leave the plates on a draining board. I’ve never detected a soapy taste. Having said that, if there is a lot of washing up, or it’s more than a few hours old, then I do rinse. But for taking care of tonight’s dinner…I can’t be arsed. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/111 "2010-10-07T03:24:59Z")
> [@Thylacine](#): > > Almost, they are often placed in a roo’s pouch for drying, not everyone can afford bandicoots and most of us have roos loose in the top paddock, something to do with a lifetime of eating soap. > > The pots are scrubbed with echidnas Do you guys rinse the roos and echidnas first? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/112 "2010-10-07T05:54:05Z")
Rinsing the roos is not necessary, they being loose in the top padock. Echidnas are best rinsed with dingo droppings. ---
**Author:** ![snurp69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@snurp69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snurp69)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/113 "2010-10-07T06:06:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you guys rinse the roos and echidnas first? I normally wash my hands after ‘rinsing the roo’, its just good hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![bluezooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bluezooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluezooky)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/114 "2010-10-07T07:16:48Z")
> [@Tibbytoes](#): > > I have it on good authority that Australians use wallabies to lick clean their suds-laden dishes, before rubbing them dry with a Long Nosed Bandicoot—was I misinformed? Last Christmas I camped in the Snowy Mountains where the local kangaroos DID clean the Ravioli off my dishes which I left to dry in the sun, use a bandicoot,don’t be silly. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/115 "2010-10-07T08:04:14Z")
> [@bluezooky](#): > > Last Christmas I camped in the Snowy Mountains where the local kangaroos DID clean the Ravioli off my dishes which I left to dry in the sun, use a bandicoot,don’t be silly. Why would you want dried ravioli on your dishes? ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/116 "2010-10-07T23:59:22Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Why would you want dried ravioli on your dishes? masks the flavour of the palmolive. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/117 "2010-10-08T00:01:17Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Sausages? Why don’t you just tear chunks out of living animals with your teeth like Real Men such as myself? How can a real man come from a state called **QUEENS** land? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/118 "2010-10-08T01:09:21Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > No, we don’t rinse them after we wash them, and I don’t imagine we’ll take up rinsing dishes in this water-saving age. > > > [@](#): > > > > My wife had a question: after you soap up in the shower, do you immediately towel off and dry? > > What a moronic question. If I apply dish-washing liquid directly to the dish then I rinse it off before drying it, in the same way that I rinse soap off after directly applying it to my body. As **don’t ask** points out, we don’t shower after bathing to wash off soap residue that was in the water. I’m confused by this. In my mind, applying soap to a sponge and then scrubbing a plate is exactly analogous to applying soap to a loofah/washcloth and then scrubbing yourself. How do you not apply soap directly to a dish? Do you just fill up your sink with soapy water, let the plates soak, then move them straight to a dishrack? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/119 "2010-10-08T01:40:31Z")
> [@Gestalt](#): > > > [@Cazzle](#): > > > > No, we don’t rinse them after we wash them, and I don’t imagine we’ll take up rinsing dishes in this water-saving age. > > > > What a moronic question. If I apply dish-washing liquid directly to the dish then I rinse it off before drying it, in the same way that I rinse soap off after directly applying it to my body. As **don’t ask** points out, we don’t shower after bathing to wash off soap residue that was in the water. > > I’m confused by this. In my mind, applying soap to a sponge and then scrubbing a plate is exactly analogous to applying soap to a loofah/washcloth and then scrubbing yourself. How do you not apply soap directly to a dish? Do you just fill up your sink with soapy water, let the plates soak, then move them straight to a dishrack? In summary, Australians apparently use the 1 sink system, which is popular in Asia. You fill the sink with water, add some dishwashing soap, then rub the plate in the mixture. After this, the plate is then placed in the drying rack or dried with a cloth. Apparently, they only use this system exclusively for dishes and nothing else, which makes the “what a moronic question” line especially ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Gestalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90ced4/32.png) [@Gestalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gestalt)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963/120 "2010-10-08T01:58:07Z")
Don’t the gunked on food bits accumulate in your “rinsing” water then? How do the dishes get clean? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-australians-wash-dishes/555963.md?page=7)