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Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook: The Essential Guide for Caring for Everything in Your Home

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House

Yes, there is a right way.

Stuck without a dishwasher? Washing the dishes by hand might seem like a mindless chore, but there are a few things you can do to speed up the drudgery and use less water in the process. Clean up your act by learning:

The tools and materials you need to make handwashing quick and easy
Guidelines on how to conserve water and keep your dishes germ-free
Details on how to wash special items, including china, crystal, and silver

The Basics of Handwashing Dishes

Knowing the best way to handwash your dishes, pots, and pans will reduce the time you spend cleaning in the kitchen and will also conserve water. To wash dishes effectively, you need only a few tools and supplies.

Dishwashing Tools

Rubber gloves: Rubber gloves protect your hands from the rigors of washing and also allow you to use hotter water than you could if you were washing barehanded. In general, when washing dishes, the hotter the water, the better.
Sponges or dish cloths: Used for regular washing tasks. Sponges are inexpensive and easily replaceable, and dish cloths are reusable.
Scouring pads: A scouring pad provides more scrubbing power than a sponge or dish cloth for removing baked- or dried-on food from dirty dishes, pots, or pans. Scouring pads are often color-coded based on their abrasiveness. Look for white nylon pads, which won’t scratch or mar surfaces.
Dish brush (pot scrubber): A long-handled, stiff-bristled brush used to scrub away stuck-on particles. Though a dish brush is good for heavy cleaning, it may be too abrasive for some materials.
Drying rack: A plastic or metal rack where you can place your dishes to dry. If your kitchen has two sink basins, you can keep the rack in one of those basins. Otherwise, you’ll have to keep the rack on your counter. Though most people put a dish towel or plastic mat beneath a rack kept on the counter, it’s better to use a metal sheet with raised edges (such as a baking sheet). The raised edges stop water from spilling over your counter, and metal is less vulnerable to mildew.
Dish towels: Clean, dry towels for drying washed dishes. Lint-free towels are best.

Dishwashing Liquid

Dishwashing liquid is a liquid detergent used to clean dishes. There are a wide variety of dishwashing liquid brands, such as Dawn® and Ivory®, on the market. When choosing a dishwashing liquid, keep the following in mind:

Avoid phosphates: A few dishwashing liquids contain phosphates, chemicals that are environmentally hazardous and don’t make the liquid more effective.
Avoid dishwasher detergent: Don’t use detergents meant for a dishwasher as handwashing detergents—these heavy-duty detergents can harm your skin.
Think twice about antibacterial detergent: Though many dishwashing liquids trumpet their prowess as antibacterial agents, there is growing evidence that antibacterial detergents are no more effective at cleaning or preventing illness in the home and actually contain more environmentally unfriendly chemicals than standard detergents. These antibacterial detergents may even contribute to the development of hardier breeds of bacteria.

How to Make Your Own Dishwashing Hand Soap

Homemade dishwashing hand soap is often less expensive and more environmentally friendly than store-bought varieties. It’s also easy to make:

Use a cheese grater to grate a 1/2 pound of flakes from a white bar soap into 1/2 gallon of water.
Stir until the flakes dissolve, then boil for 10 minutes while continuing to stir.
Allow to cool uncovered, then store covered. The cooled solution will be gel-like.
To use, fill a squirt bottle about 1/4 of the way with the gel, add hot water, and shake.

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