Rinsing Dishes Before they go into DW (NY Times test)

[NJCher]

Link to NY Times article. No paywall.

Interesting findings on why some of us just have to rinse those dishes.

[uppityperson]

1. If debris if fresh, don't rinse. If it's going to take a couple days to get a full load, rinse

That's our routine

[TheBlackAdder]

2. Low-Flow Toilets, Shower Heads & Garbage Disposals are main cause of Sewer Line Blockages & Failures

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We live in a neighborhood where most homes have garbage disposals. I have one too, that I never use. I've lived in homes with private septic systems and county sewer hookups. With the migration to low-flow shower heads, faucets and toilets, there is emerging a new problem--clogged main lines.


With private systems we never flush grease or food into the system, and that is a practice that should be followed with county or DPW tie-ins too. My neighborhood is going through a lot of issues with clogged main lines now. This is causing the repeated rooting of the lines, which creates another problem--you can only root a main line so many times before you are on the hook for thousands in repair costs. This is especially true if you have older Mercer pipes. Always wipe your dishes before placing them in the dishwasher or cleaning them in the sink. Absolutely NO grease. While the water might be hot at the sink, it quickly cools as it runs down the line and the grease gels. Dishwashers average just over 4 gallons of water per cycle. Not enough to flush grease down the line properly. While solids will be trapped by the screen, I would want my dishwasher to have the cleanest water possible, especially for the rinse cycle.


Another solution is to periodically pour a gallon or two of caustic Main Line Cleaner (brand easily found at Wal*Mart for around $10 a gallon). If you also have tree root intrusion, RootX can be used after the application of Main Line Cleaner. Like with arteries in a body, don't wait for the vein to completely clog before addressing a blockage. If there is a main line blockage, backups will occur and rooting will be required. I have older toilets and double flush them to clear the feces from the line. Once a month or so, I will partially fill a tub and sink and let it drain while flushing a toilet a few times to clear the line out. While this wastes water, my Main Line is under a concrete driveway, cement slab garage and cement foyer hallway. Replacing the mainline will be well over $10K. Two of my neighbors recently had their main lines replaced at $7-8K each and theirs were just under dirt without any obstructions.

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[CaptainTruth]

5. I second your recommendation of Main Line Cleaner & RootX.

I recommend them to my customers & use them when I snake lines. I've also had good results with Roebic, which is similar to RootX (you flush it & it foams in the line).

[moniss]

9. Back in the day

my Grandma made her own lye soap and she had two sinks in her kitchen. One real deep and one regular for dishes. The deep one was for when she was scalding chickens, washing off big bunches of vegetables before canning etc. Both sinks were on one drain line and I can remember her cleaning the deep one with the lye soap and then rinsing it really good. Never plugged a line.

[CaptainTruth]

10. Im dating myself, but my mom made lye soap too.

I remember porcelan pans of it in the basement, next to the ringer washer.

[moniss]

11. Yes I remember

Grandma had the round porcelain Maytag that had the ringer head that you could swing over the rinse tubs to feed the clothes through and take the water in one side and the garment you just ran through the wringer in the other side. The motor was on the bottom and was open and visible. Little wheels on the legs so you could wheel the washer and the tubs out of the way.

[Srkdqltr]

3. I've been doing dishes in a dishwasher for 50 years or more. I do what I do.

Rinse if you want, don't if you want. Don't tell others what to do.

[CaptainTruth]

4. We don't rinse per se, but we leave dishes in the sink for a day or two...

...so they get rinsed by water we're using for other things. It works for us & doesn't use any extra water.

[Polly Hennessey]

6. I rinse. Always have, always will. When I take out filter to

clean——I don’t have to. It is never dirty. I never use my disposal, I have filters for the sink. Food goes in them and I dump in trash. I have had my Bosch since 2012. Still works like a charm.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. I rinse my dishes. What I don't like about new dishwashers and new

detergents are 2 things. I've has Kitchenaid dishwashers since 1970. The one I have now is a 2022 model. Yes, it uses less water, but takes 3 hours to complete wash and dry. I have noticed these new detergent pods are causing my glasses to get cloudy, the wood handles on my utensils to lose their finish, and they dull the bakelite knows on my pans.

[moniss]

8. At my house

I let the dishes dry for a week and then bang on them with a hammer to bust off the dried food. Any remnants that don't come off that way I chip off with an old paint scraper I found at the dump. Then I rinse them in the sink and wipe with an old towel. If the towel seems to "catch" or "drag" then I might use hot water for the second round. I eat alone.

[intrepidity]

12. All my dishes get as clean as coldwater can get 'em

:yells to dog: "Coldwater! Here!"