Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Our Blog on May 29, 2020
You’re washing your dishes wrong. This startling revelation comes from a name we have trusted for decades. According to Procter & Gamble, the makers of Dawn dish soap, todays dishes need something stronger for the way we wash dishes. They are making a new Dawn. In this post-COVID world, people are “eating” up the opportunity for new sanitizing methods. No pun intended. Well, maybe just a little…
Talk about a shock to the system: we now have the king of washing dishes saying we need something better. After understanding their thinking on this, I have to agree. Let’s look at what P&G has to say, what their suggestion is, proper dish-washing procedures, and see if this new detergent is really what we need.
Since 1972, America has relied on Dawn dish soap to help us get our dirty dishes clean and cut through greasy messes. Not much has changed in the almost 50 years except a new fragrance or bottle. This year, however, the makers of Dawn dish soap are shaking things up. Not only are they saying this product is better but also suited for our lives now. Call me cynical but how is changing a dish soap going to make my life better. Let’s get to the bottom of this.
Procter & Gamble stated: “More consumers are washing one or two dishes during ‘cooking downtime’ instead of letting them pile up and doing one big wash once they’re all done … the company says the old Dawn wasn’t intended to be used that way. Traditional dish soap is designed to combine with water and create suds to help get dishes clean, not to directly apply to dirty dishes or sponges.” (source)
A show of hands: how many of us wash their dishes like this? I have to admit I am guilty of this when I am cooking. There are times I still wait for the dishes to pile up (my wife seems to think I wait for EVERY dish to pile up) and then wash them, but I have what I call spot-washed before. Now they tell us this is not a good way to do dishes.
Procter & Gamble’s research team has also stated that almost 61% of Americans wash their dishes as they go. Time is a precious commodity these days so I can see the reasoning behind this number. What they are trying to get at though is that this is not the correct way to wash our dishes.
So what is the correct way to wash our dishes? While there is a lot of information when it comes to restaurant washing which includes multiple sinks; most of us don’t have three sinks in our kitchens. Would it surprise you to learn there is a section of learning dedicated to washing dishes?
The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) is the end-all when it comes to dish washing. Here are the steps they recommend to get the cleanest dishes possible:
Prep. Scrape dishes clean of any leftover food. If food is really stubborn, soak the dish first before moving on to the the next step.
Fill. Fill your sink with clean, hot water. Adding dish soap during this process will create suds. As the water fills, add a few dishes slowly, giving them time to soak.
Wash. Wash dishes in order of how dirty they are. The less soiled dishes can be washed first saving the dirtier ones for last.
Pro Tip: Be careful with sharp knives in the dishwater. Take it from someone with personal experience on this one; DO NOT stick your hand in water you cannot see.
Rinse. Rinse each dish with clean hot water. Use a rinsing sink if you have the space but the important thing to remember here is clean water.
Dry. Air drying is the best way instead of using a towel. Towels can carry bacteria and can be transferred to your clean dishes – even a new towel after taking it out of the dryer.
This new product from Procter & Gamble, called Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray, was designed over years to help those that prefer spot washing. By spraying the dishes, Dawn Powerwash creates suds without using water. I may not know the science behind this but it sounds pretty amazing.
Due to the amount of people eating out these days, P&G decided to do something about their declining profits by creating a dish soap made for people on the go.
If this is something you want to check into, Dawn Powerwash should be in stores at the time of this writing. The price is a bit higher than regular Dawn dish soap but the time it could save could be worth it. Powerwash comes in fresh, apple, and citrus scents.
If you do decide to try this product, give us a shout and let us know what you think. I may try to talk the wife into letting me give it a go myself.
P&G knows that asking the general public to switch their comfy dish soap for something new is difficult but they stand behind their claims of this being revolutionary and designed to help in this fast-paced life.
If you’re still old-fashioned like I am, transitioning to a new way of washing dishes may take a while, if you try it at all. The point here is to understand companies like Procter & Gamble are trying to equip us with tools that can better our lives. Accepting these changes is up to us.
If any of the above information concerning dish washing has caused you to take a closer look at how you wash at home then good. It did for me. I have always used a towel to dry my dishes instead of listening to my grandmother who let hers air dry. As we continue to stay informed when it comes to food safety, anything we can do to up the odds in our favor is a good idea. This very evening we purchased a dish drainer so I can start air drying the dishes. This may take a bit of getting used to but in the end it will help my family stay safer when foodborne illnesses are everywhere. That’s the goal here after all.
As always … stay safe.
By: Dwight Spencer