Now Your Soaking...

Dishes... - Dishes...
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
November 17, 2008 6:30am CST
I’m terrible about this. I fill the sink with hot soapy water, put the dishes in to soak and then forget about them. By the time I remember the water is ice cold and I have to start over. I just get busy doing other things and forget about it. What’s funny is I have a dishwasher but hate to use it so I don’t. Am I the only one to do this or do others do it too? Any tricks for remembering to do them? What’s the longest you’ve let them sit before you do them? [b]~~IN SEARCH OF PEACE WITHIN~~ **AGAINST THE STORMS, I WILL STAND STRONG** [/b]
13 people like this
41 responses
@littleowl (7157)
17 Nov 08
The washing up is done when I start, there is no way I could leave it in the sink so I do it straight away...if anything needs soaking then I put it in the water and then put it on the side to soak...then after I clean the kitchen....hugs littleowl
2 people like this
@littleowl (7157)
18 Nov 08
Hi there Opal, we think alike eh? hugs littleowl
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
18 Nov 08
Hey littleowl!~ opal here! I was beginning to think I was the only one that washed the dishes right away! The only thing I leave in the sink is stuff that is hard to clean and has to soak for awhile!
@dfollin (24146)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I have done that many times.And the water gets cold.YUK! I love using the dishwasher.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
17 Nov 08
I have never had a dishwasher, and I always soak my dishes before I wash them, I like it better that way.
2 people like this
@walijo2008 (4644)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I usually remember to wash my dishes, I don't like letting them soak, and then the water gets cold, I hate sticking my hands in it..lol. Now my husband will do that, he'll put the dishes in the sink with hot water, and sometimes he won't tell me, and I'll go look later, and theres dishes in the sink with cold water, I don't like that either..
2 people like this
@Humbug25 (12540)
17 Nov 08
Hello twoey68 I do this a lot actually and regularly remember the next morning when I go to make breakfast for my kids and see the breakfast bowls soaking in a sink of cold water!!
@camomom (7535)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I have a dishwasher too and use it daily but there are some things I don't wash in it. I do sometimes soak those dishes in the sink and almost always forget about them. I have no idea what to do to remember them.
2 people like this
@moondancer (7433)
• United States
17 Nov 08
You sound like me, at least now I know I'm not the only one that does not use the blasted dish washer. lol My husband says you have a new updated dish washer and use it as a dish drainer. I say, I already have two hands to wash dishes with and I know they are clean when I get done with them. It only takes a few minutes to hand wash them and the machine take at least an hour. I will put them in the washer every 2 months or so that way they get disinfected from the hot water. Although I use only hot water to wash them by hand. I guess I just feel better hand washing them and knowing they are clean and I can put them away sooner.
1 person likes this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I'm the same way. I grew up washing dishes so it's really not a big deal to do them and I know their clean. I just tend to forget about them off and on. [b]~~IN SEARCH OF PEACE WITHIN~~ **AGAINST THE STORMS, I WILL STAND STRONG** [/b]
1 person likes this
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I hate to leave dishes in the sink. I,too, have a dishwasher but with just me and my husband, I don't use it. When my kids lived at home they would put stuff in the sink and not even wash them! I do soak some things in water and Dawn so that it will be easier to wash. But I don't put dishes in water in the sink. I am a little nutty I guess cause if I am cooking a big meal, I wash as I go. I also have to wash as soon as a meal is over. Guess it is just me or maybe the way I was raised.
1 person likes this
@nanajanet (4436)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I prefer to use the dishwasher as it is more energy efficient than washing dishes by hand, believe it or not. I am big on energy conservation so, before I used to do just as you because I am also a "clean as you go" person. It is actually more efficient to put all the scraped dishes in the dishwasher and put them on the rinse cycle to sit and wait for a full load, than to wash or rinse by hand.
@BarBaraPrz (45226)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
17 Nov 08
I've left dishes sitting neatly stacked on the counter for about a month before washing them, but I don't leave them soaking. I hate that... that... mud that builds up on them when they're sitting in water.
1 person likes this
@olivemai (4738)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I think it depends on how long they are soaking! lol
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Nov 08
Set a timer for 15-25 minutes after you fill the sink up with water. I use to have the same problem all the time, filling the sink up with soapy water to let the dishes soak then getting busy and forgetting about them then come back an hour later and the water is ice cold..LOL.. It's a bad habit because it waste heat and water so I had to break myself from that and the timer method help me a lot. I usually use the timer option on my microwave. Hope this helps.
1 person likes this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
17 Nov 08
Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought of that although I did have to start doing that with cooking also b/c I was forgetting about the food. [b]~~IN SEARCH OF PEACE WITHIN~~ **AGAINST THE STORMS, I WILL STAND STRONG** [/b]
1 person likes this
@olivemai (4738)
• United States
18 Nov 08
Soaking is good, and then you can rinse them and know that they are clean! Stuck on foods need soaking.
1 person likes this
@Bebs08 (10681)
• United States
17 Nov 08
hahah!! I am just amazed we always have similar experience. Well, mine is that I put all my dirty plates,pans, glasses,etc, in the sink for washing but I want to fill the sink with hot water, so, I will open the faucet, and walk away doing other things, only to find out that the water overflows and it runs through the kitchen floor. I have done it many times, and hubby just let me know that the kitchen is flooding. My goodness.
17 Nov 08
Hi twoey68, Unfortunatly I haven't got a dishwasher, the last one broke down, so I have to use my hands, I soak my pots and pans and then wash my dishes, then my posts and pans so I don't forget them, I never leave them and do other things, I like to get it over and done with them. Tamara
2 people like this
@rocketj1 (6955)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I start with the silverware and they don't require soaking. I do the pots and pans that may need to soak last. Then if they are soaking, and the water gets cold it's ok. By then the water is dirty and will need to be replaced anyway. Sometimes I will fill a dish that needs soaking with water and soap and let that sit in the counter. Later, I will wash it. Then I'm not wasting a whole sink full of water.
1 person likes this
@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
26 Jan 09
I do this too. Although I don't have a dishwasher cause if I did I would use it for sure. Now I will put dishes in to soak do 10 responses on mylot or check 10-20 mail then go do a sink full of them and add more. Then come back to do more and that is how I do things so I am going back and forth with my chores it takes longer to do them but atleast they eventually get done.
@oldboy46 (2129)
• Australia
3 Feb 09
This is a tricky one and also something that I am sure all of us have done from time to time. The thing in our home is that often my partner is the only one home and so there are very few dishes at all. Even when I am home, we do not have too many dishes so we do not wash the dishes every day. It is a waste of time, effort and hot water to do themn daily when we might only have say 2 spoons, 2 forks, 4 kmives, a saucepan and a couple of plates. Of course there will be a couple of coffee mugs as well and maybe a glass or two but we tend to drink water from plastic bottles. The times when we do soak the dishes, we are generally in the kitchen anyway as that is te "hub" of our home. We have a big table in there, so that is where we read the newspaper, check the accounts and write the cheques out for any bills that need to be paid. So when we are going to do the dishes, we soak them but as we are still in the same room it is easy enough to remember that they do need to be done. Even using boiling hot water, it is usually cool enough to put our hands in it after 5-10 minutes. Maybe yoiu could set a timer so that it xxes after 5 or 10 minutes to remind you that the dishes need doing. Certainly would reduce the hot water bill and also the use of detergent if you didn't need to put it in twice.
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I always wash mine as soon as the meal is over with. The only dishes facing me in the morning might be a glass or a bowl and spoon. That is something that I can't stand, is knowing that I have dirty dishes waiting for me. I also have a dishwasher but it might get used on Thanksgiving. hahaha I also like to keep the dishes washed up while cooking.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
18 Nov 08
I need to start doing that too. Maybe if I do them earlier than I won't be too tired when the time comes. [b]~~MY OWN PEACE WITHIN~~ **STAND STRONG AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF**[/b]
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
10 Aug 10
Hi, twoey68. When I fill the sink up with hot water, I will wash the dishes right then and there. My husband soaks the dishes when they are in the sink. He will not wash them right away sometimes. The best way to remember to not forget the dishes in the sink, is to try washing them right then and there.
• United States
17 Nov 08
This tends to happen at my house quite a bit. Hubby wants to help, so he will run the water, put in the soap then put the dishes in. Then he goes to watch something on tv, and forgets the dishes. I have done it, on occasion, but for the most part, I will get up, clear the table and wash the dishes. It takes less than 5 minutes, and then I don't have to worry about getting up and doing them the next morning. I like the idea of a timer that someone else suggested, though. I may have to start doing that.*L* The longest they have ever been left soaking is over night. Dishes on the counter or in the sink make me crazy.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
18 Nov 08
LOL I'm going to have timers going off for everything...cooking, dishes, laundry...I'll be running around trying to remember what I had the timer set for LOL [b]~~MY OWN PEACE WITHIN~~ **STAND STRONG AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF**[/b]
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Nov 08
*LOL* Set the time by whatever it is you want to get back to: cooking, set it by the stove, laundry, set it on the washer or dryer, the dishes, set it by the sink, etc. That should work.
@ank_47 (1959)
• India
3 Feb 09
small small dishes u can clean first with u;r hands.if u wash u;r dishes with hands, first soak big dishes in soapy water and clean the glasses and cups (without soaking) .after u clean them u can start cleaning big dishes . then u;r time can saved and u can;t go to other work and don;t forget also , with the soaking process u are atempting now. or in big vessels or oily dishes ,u can pour water in night only or keep it with water till u clean it.then the soapy soaking process is not needed and dishes will not dry with the messyness of the food and u can;t forget after also like u do now . when u want to clean ,pour the water in sink and clean them with the liquid or soap u have .