When I watch British television programmes, I notice that commonly dishes are washed in a plastic bowl in the kitchen sink. I've always wondered exactly what the objective is of using a bowl in the sink, rather than just filling the sink itself. Is the practice really a common one? Is it intended to save water? Can anyone tell me the reasons for the practice?
VP
I think it started as a way of saving on water and energy as most sinks use a lot more water than a washing up bowl.
In message , Vintage Purls writes
I have a dishwasher, I only use a plastic bowl for washing my precious crystal. That is so I do not damage it by accidentally hitting the bottom of the sink. Any other things that are too big for the dishwasher go straight in the sink. Some use a bowl to save scratching the surface of the sink to keep it in pristine condition. Enamel sinks chip and stainless steel scratch.
Shirley
In my youth we used a dishpan (a similar plastic container, oblong with curved corners rather than round.)
Alison
While I am not from the UK, perhaps the practice is a carry-over from the days before running water was available in all house holds. In the days when water was carried from a pump outside and heated on the kitchen stove, it would have been more practical to use a small pan for washing up. The sinks in old farm kitchens were very large, usually made of cast iron which didn't hold heat that well. DA
I remember once when we had a water shortage, and I used a dishpan for washing dishes. I then dumped the water onto my veggie garden. That year, I had the best garden ever - no bugs, and beautiful veggies.
Higs, Katherine
Thank you all for your answers.
I can appreciate the water saving benefits of a washing bowl but here most sinks (of the last decade or so) have a small sink and a large sink side by side. Most of us have dishwashers and the items that need to be washed separately are invariably done in the small sink - I can't remember the last time I filled the large one. But then I don't do dishes very often that's DH's domain. I just make the mess. :)
VP
Vintage Purls spun a FINE 'yarn':
>& the veggies must have been very clean. ;)
LOL
Higs, Katherine
YarnWright spun a FINE 'yarn':
>In fact that was the way, my family in Holland did it and my late mother and late step father ALWAYS washed their dishes in this way ,,,
mirjam
I have two side by side sinks. I always fill the right-hand one with dirty dishes and hot soapy water for washing, and the left-hand one with hot clear water for rinsing (to save from running (and wasting) the water. Then to the left of the left-hand sink is my drain rack where I stack the clean and rinsed dishes. After the glasses and utensils are washed, dried and in the drain rack, I put the dishes in the soapy water to soak while I dry and put away what is in the drain rack.... then I wash, rinse and stack the dishes. While they drain, I put pots and pans in the soapy water to soak. Then I dry and put away the dishes. I sometimes leave the pots and pans to soak a bit longer, depending on if food is stuck on them or not. But then, with Fibromyalgia and other problems, I take breaks between all the steps of washing and drying anyway because I can't stand in one spot for long periods of time and need to sit, or even (at times) lay down for a few minutes to rest my back.
*hugs* Gemini
I'm just exhausted reading that! I'll stick to my find combination of DH and dishwasher I think - far less effort. :-)
VP
I can totally relate to what you're saying. The fibro time constrants make even the simplest task time consuming. I wish I had two sinks. I use a basin in the sink for washing and then rinse in the room left by the basin; then to dishrack on left side of sink. Like you, I basically wash one "round" of dishes (whatever) and then take a break. I don't dry dishes. I leave them to air-dry. Saves energy and learned in a college course (decades ago) that if you don't have a dishwasher it's the most hygenic method. So only use dishtowels when I need the item right away.
The two things I really long for are side-by-side sinks and my own washer and dryer so I don't have to deal with the laundry products most people use. (I have MCS as well and am very sensitive to fragrance, odors and chemicals. And as there are shared laundry facilities in my apt. building I have had to rewash my laundry many times because of strong products others have used, or even use at the same time I am washing.)
Murielle
I sometimes leave the dishes to air-dry too. I just don't like leaving glasses to air-dry because they seem to get this cloudy thing going on if I do that.
I wish I had a working washer and dryer too. I thought we might be able to get our dryer fixed after moving in here, but I tried it one day and there is absolutely no sound whatsoever coming from it... and the fix-it man I spoke to said the motor is likely blown. As far as our washer goes... it
*was* working (but the hot water wouldn't run through it for some reason, which I was blaming on the pipes at the old house) before we moved here and we had to lug hot water to it from the kitchen sink, but when I tried it afer moving in here the pipes in the crawl-space under the laundryroom leaked like crazy, flooding the rec-room floor. Boy were we ticked off that we hadn't been told about that when we were looking at the house. Bad enough they were supposed to have the roof fixed (they had her cousin put new shingles on the main roof, and *supposedly* re-tar the two flat sections of roof over the foyer and the back part of the house... consisting of laundryroom, kitchen and bathroom) but here we are 3 1/2 years later, having re-tarred both flat sections ourselves TWICE and it STILL leaks... actually even worse now! :o/Whoa... got off-topic there. Back to the washer and dryer... yes, I would love to have both here too. Then I wouldn't have to have my son load up the van to take it all to the laundromat which the cost of that all adds up after a few loads. I like drying clothes on the line in the fresh air, but I prefer to dry the towels in the dryer to make them soft and fluffy. Ah well... someday I will have a washer and dryer.
*hugs* GeminiMirjam Bruck-Cohen spun a FINE 'yarn':
>
I'm not disputing for a second that one of the reasons this method was adopted was to help protect delicate items. I just said that I can appreciate the water saving benefits. Personally I can't really appreciate protecting the sink 'cos I've never used anything but stainless steel and I don't have a plethora of fine china and crystal to protect. I had no idea why this method of washing up was adopted - that's why I asked. I'm certainly not trying to imply that your reasons for the adoption of the method are wrong. I simply
*appreciate* the water saving reason most.VP
I grew up in England many long years ago, and back then the price of fuel of all kinds (coal, gas, electricity) was appalling. The dishpan system was primarily used to save on hot water.
Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.
Noreen To tell you the truth, I think they did it it because they remebered it from their parents home ,,,, while those did it bec ause heating up water was costly ,,,, in the years before WW2 , hot streaming water was not Usual in European houses, One boiled a big pot , poured it into the Bowl and used it for washing the dishes , or washing the children etc,,,, And when we came to Israel we had to do the same , we had to Boil a big pot to have jot water for Anything , Home boilers were rather late in coming to Israeli houses , esp in Agricultural places , we had a public Shower house ,,, mirjam
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