From the Desk of Clearissa Coward’s Command Center
To Rinse Or Not To Rinse/How Do You Do It?
A Cozy Lifestyle with Clearissa Coward
To Rinse Or Not To Rinse/How Do You Do It? After reading an interesting article this week, I opened a conversation within a Facebook group that I am a member of. I asked them a simple question and the answers were interesting. I did not do an official poll. We just discussed the question in the group. Below I will share the question concerning an everyday chore around the house as well as some of the responses. 
Do You Rinse Your Dishes Before Placing Them In The Dishwasher?
My personal response – there are just two of us in the home and believe it or not, I still handwash our dishes. I have a calendar reminder on my calendar to remind me once a month, to run the dishwasher in an effort to keep the lines/pipes clear.
I do use the dishwasher if we have guests for dinner and when I do, Yessss, I do rinse our dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Don’t judge me. 🙂 There are an estimated 46 of subscribers in the private group and 31 of them said they do rinse their dishes prior to putting them in the dishwasher.
I believe the answer to How do you do it in this situation, is somewhat generational. I rinse my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher because my mom washed her dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. Yes, I said she washed them, then rinsed them, then placed them in the dishwasher. So I rinse mine, really well I might add before placing them in the dishwasher.
One member of the group said she rinsed so she wouldn’t stop up the drain. Another said she rinsed because she did not want a messy, smelly dishwasher. And yet another said that it is nasty to not rinse the dishes. Finally, another subscriber said, those of us who rinse are wasting water and electricity. Another said she did not buy a dishwasher so that she could wash dishes.
On the other side of the fence, one member said she would not dare to put her dishes in the dishwasher without rinsing them. And another said she had always done and would continue to do it. and yet another chimed in and said rinsing is the only way to prevent stopping up the drain.
With all of the back and forth, I decided to consult a professional. According to Everyday online magazine, Ashley Iredale, a whitegoods expert at consumer advocacy group CHOICE, is an adamant anti-rinser. EveryDay goes on to quote Mr. Iredale:
“There’s absolutely no need to pre-rinse,” he says.
All you need to do is scrape any solid food into the bin or compost before stacking your dishes into the dishwasher, he says. The dishwasher will clean off the rest.
“You may actually get worse results with your cleaning if you pre-rinse things than if you don’t,” he adds.
That’s because most dishwashers have sensors inside them that sense how dirty your plates are; they wash your dishes with a suitably strong jet.
So, if you pre-rinse your dishes, “you may actually fool your dishwasher” into thinking you only need the lightest of washes, Mr. Iredale explains.
I also found several others who are on the same bus as Mr. Iredale. They also suggested that prerinsing is a definite no-no.
Now here’s the million-dollar question. Will this advice change how you do it? I will admit it would be very difficult for me to not rinse but we will see.
We have a brand-new (1-one-year-old used 4 times just to keep the line open) dishwasher. We replaced the other one because it was ancient, not because we use it much. And the last time I did use the old one, it leaked. So, I’m sure it has all of the sensors that Mr. Iredale speaks of.
I am trying not to be old and set in my ways, but I am my mother’s daughter. How about you? How do you do it? Do rinse or are you an anti-rinser. Let me know.
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Hugs & Blessings,
I rinse the dishes first. If there is something that really sticks, like potatoes on a plate, I find they don’t come clean if I don’t rinse. I, too, wash a lot of dishes by hand but we do use our dishwasher several times a week. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.
Hi Debbie. I rinse too. So we are on the same page. It is an ongoing debate. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week.
Interesting topic – I live alone and hand wash my dishes. When I lived in a larger household, I rinsed to get stuff off before it dried. If plate wasn’t that dirty, I might just put it in and feel guilty.
You’re funny, you put it in and felt guilty. Now that would be me. We generally wash by hand too, but when I use the dishwasher, I rinse. Old School I guess!