Washing-up... Hot water??

20somethinghousewife

Just a quick question...

Is is okay to use cold/lukewarm water for washing-up?

Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of a dishwasher

I have been trying to cut our bills down and have succeeded in getting the gas bill down to less than £10 a month this summer :j. We use gas for hot water, heating and cooking.
I try to do the washing-up after a shower so I use the last of the hot water but sometimes just use unheated water. When anyone else does the washing-up they complain about the lack of hot water.

What I already know (I think):
The temperature water needs to be to kill germs is much higher than people use for washing-up and hotter than our bare hands can stand for more than a few seconds.
It's the washing-up liquid that cuts through the grease so water temperature is irrelevant.
The main advantage of using hot water is that it will evapourate off the dishes quickly which means you can put them away sooner without needing a towel, avoiding any germs they might collect being left out.

So basically I'm wondering if I'm missing something here? Does everyone else use only hot water? Just wanted to get your thoughts....

HappyMJ

Tell them to boil a kettle. That's enough for a sink of hot water and much cheaper than heating 120 litres of hot water just to only use 5 litres of hot water.

GlynD

Nope it won't do. You have to have the water as hot as possible. The hotter the water, the better its sanitizing and grease-cutting properties. http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Dishes

caitybabes

I use washing up gloves so that I can get the water as hot as possible. I also boil a kettle if there isn't enough hot water in the taps.

Mrs_Chip

You should do a first rinse with cold to get rid of food particles. You can use detergent and cold water to remove grease - hot water would help melt the grease, but really it is the detergent that emulsifys the fat with the water to get rid of it. This can be rinsed off with cold water. Then a final rinse through very hot water (from a kettle) will get rid of anything else. A bit more faffy than most people do, but a more hygenic than the usual one bowl of washing up water, and minimal hot water required.

bluebag

My mum frequently has little washing up, so she only does all her dishes once a day. As gas is a cheaper fuel than electric she doesn't boil the kettle but puts a large pan of water on a low flame on the gas stove while she eats her dinner. It's hot enough to wash up by the time she has eaten and tidied up. Her gas bill is very low.

savingmummy

I rinse my plates etc with plain water to `clean` them prior to washing, then boil the kettle and do the wash up with washing up liquid in one go.

MessyMare

I boil two kettlefuls-once for dishes, glasses, cutlery, plates etc (this is topped up with cold water, but not a full sink) and another for anything greasy, as I can't see to get it really clean with cool water.

GlynD

ColleenPamela wrote: »

I boil two kettlefuls-once for dishes, glasses, cutlery, plates etc (this is topped up with cold water, but not a full sink) and another for anything greasy, as I can't see to get it really clean with cool water.

You wouldn't. Grease won't come off in cold water, despite soap suds. You need clean hot water.

I've been well trained in these matters by the memsahib

SailorSam

After i've washed in hot water before leaving them to drain i'll rinse with cold water. I think they seem to dry cleaner instead of sometimes having soapy smears.

adelight

Agree on boiling the kettle. I always boil a full kettle but put only half the water in, the other half can be for fresh washing up water or a pot of tea.
Wear gloves so you can stand hotter temperatures and use a washing up bowl so less water is needed to a create the few inches of depth you really need and you can rinse (if you want) without getting cold water in your hot water. There is no need to have water up to your elbows, I find it only takes a liter of boiling water to do perfectly good washing up.