Detergents for Dishwashing Machine:
Using a dishwasher with a detergent typically leaves spots or residues on your utensils (e.g., plates, bowls, cups, and spoons). The residue could also be so low in concentration that you can’t see it. The residue consists of food, detergent, and the water’s minerals. The food residue and detergent residue on the utensils could mix with food that you are eating, and this contamination could cause health problems over the long run.
Phosphate-based detergents are allegedly bad for the environment. They may create an algae bloom. According to other scientists, phosphate from detergents do NOT harm the environment. They are responsible for a small concentration that leaks into the environment, and they should not be toxic or destabilizing for the environment.
Chlorine bleach in your dishwasher soap is the reason you can't put dishes with tomato or milk on them in the dishwasher without rinsing first. The mixture of chlorine and tomato or milk creates a poisonous gas. The chlorine bleach will leave some toxic residues on your utensils. The chlorine bleach will evaporate, and then flow out of the dishwasher and into the house (especially when you open the dishwasher door.) Chlorine is toxic for your eyes and the interior of your body.
Petroleum-based ingredients poses problems for human health and the environment. They contain toxins, and the production of these petroleum products creates pollution.
Lye is a highly concentrated watery solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. It is highly corrosive to the skin. Your dishwashing machine may leave invisible traces of lye on your utensils.
Many newer dishwasher detergents boast about their usage environmental ingredients. However, some science studies claimed these “environmental” detergents were actually still slightly toxic, equally toxic, or more toxic than the traditional detergents.
Many restaurants and bars use both dishwashing machines and hand-washing options. The former is used for most utensils, and the hand-washing method is for cleaning the toughest strains off the utensils.
After using the dishwashing machine, restaurants should check the cleaned utensils for obvious residues. The residues should be rinsed off with water. Do NOT go to a restaurant that gives you utensils with residues on them. The residue on the utensils is leftover food, detergent, and water minerals. The food and detergent are toxic when consumed. The residues on most obvious on clear-glass utensils, and difficult to see on metal, colored, or white utensils.
Rinse Aid for Dishwashing Machines:
The dishwasher uses hot water to clean your dishes, but the hot water creates lots of water vapor. The water vapor will condense onto your utensils, leaving behind toxic residues consisting of food, detergent, and water minerals.
Dishwasher manufacturers strongly recommend the usage of drying rinse aid. Drying rinse aid changes the surface tension of water, thus, the water does NOT bead up and stick to your utensils.
Rinse aids contain chemicals, some of which are sometimes toxic and not biodegradable. These chemicals create a film that stays on your dishes and glasses. Meaning they can transfer to the food and drink that gets ingested the next time those dishes are used. Also, the chemicals in rinse agents sometimes get released into the air, causing fumes that can irritate your eyes.
The chemicals used in rinse aids get washed back into the water system, polluting the water that goes through the system and back into our lakes and rivers.
Hand-Wash Your Utensils:
Hand-washing your utensils is the safest bet to get clean dishes with far less toxic residues than using a dishwashing machine. Hand-washing involves the usage of friction or rubbing, water, and less-toxic liquid-dish-soap. The rubbing action and the less-toxic liquid-dish-soap is a huge health advantage over dishwashing machines, which clean by spraying hot water and using more toxic detergents.
You must use a proper technique to efficiently hand-wash your utensils. Restaurants use 3 sinks to hand-wash their utensils. The first sink is for the soapy-soak and scrub-off-food stage. The second sink is the “soak in the very warm water stage.” The third sink is the sanitation-soak stage. The second sink is refilled with fresh water when it is filled with too much soap and food residues.
(1) You’ll need 2 sinks to wash the dishes by hand, and drying rack. Ideally, wash your utensils right after you eat. Cleaning a smaller number of utensils after 3 meals is A LOT less stressful on your lower back than washing a larger number of utensils at the end of the day. Get your family members, roommates, and friends to help you out. Before you put the dirty utensils in the sink, use a spoon, fork, or spatula to scrape off fats, oils, and leftover foods off the utensils and into the trashcan. The fats, oil,s and leftover foods will eventually build-up and clog your sink. You'll need a a powerful unclogging liquid to fix this problem.
(2) After eating, immediately wash the dishes. If you can’t do this, then soak the dirty dishes in soapy water. Use one sink to store the dirty dishes.
Do NOT soak wooden utensils in water or soapy water. The wood will gradually absorb the water or the soapy water. Moist wood will gradually cultivate molds or fungus, and moist wood could excessively bend and/or crack open. Wood will also absorb some soapy water, and this will contaminate food cooked or touched by the wood. Always wash wooden utensils right after you are finished using them.
(2) Use a sponge (especially a sponge with a soft side and a rough side), apply some dish soap and water to the sponge, and then use the soapy-wet sponge to rub down the dirty dishes in the first sink. Rub down every part of the utensils. When the sponge runs out of soapy water, you add in more dish soap and water to the sponge. You only need a little dish soap each time you add the soap dish to the sponge.
(3) Turn on the water faucet when you need water; turn off the water faucet when you don’t need water. Only use a small to medium flow of water. This saves water. Some scientists claimed you should use very warm water when washing dishes. Some scientists claimed cold water for washing dishes is just as effective as very warm water.
(4) Stack all the soapy dishes in an organized fashion (e.g., similar utensils stacked on top of each other) in the second sink.
(5) When the second sink is full of soapy utensils, you then turn on the faucet with a low to medium flow of water. Then use the running faucet to quickly rinse off the soap from an utensil (most of the soap should easily and quickly come off at this step). Then you use the running faucet and your hands to rub and rinse off the leftover soap from the utensils. Rub down every part of the utensil. You do this rinse and rub over the first sink. Ensure you do NOT splash soapy water onto any nearby drying rack or onto any utensils drying off in the drying rack.
(6) Then place the clean, wet utensils on a drying rack. The water will evaporate. Ideally, your drying rack should be exposed to sunlight to facilitate the evaporation. Your drying rack should be on a tray that captures water dripping off the wet, clean utensils. The drying rack should be shaped so that the dripping water runs off into the sink.
(7) When the utensils on the drying rack is dry, place the utensils in a cupboard. The cupboard keeps dust, airborne germs, and whatnot off the utensils. The utensils must be dry, or they will cultivate excessive germs while they sit in the dark, air-constricted cupboard.
(8) Whenever you do any manual labor or physical exercise, remember to take breaks. When you are a bit exhausted, then rest for one minute to two minutes. When you are very exhausted, then rest for at least 30 minutes, take a nap, or sleep. Hand-washing dishes will usually stress your lower back muscles. When your lower-back is slightly tired, rest your lower back. Give your lower back a rest by using your arms to lean on the kitchen counter or sink.
(9) Use dishwashing gloves to protect your hands from the dishwashing soap and rubbing friction. The dishwashing soap will eventually remove excess sebum (your body’s natural oil) from your hands. This will dry out your hands and make your skin tight and brittle. Dry skin is easily damaged. After using a dishwashing glove, hang-dry the gloves. Try using clothes line clips to hang-dry the gloves on a chair. If the interior of the dishwashing glove gets dirty (e.g., cultivates excess microbes), then get a new dishwashing glove. Keep the interior of the dishwashing glove dry to greatly slow down the growth of microbes in the dishwashing glove.
(10) Use a drain filter to prevent large food bits from clogging up your sink. The drain filter should have tiny holes like a screen door. Large holes will allow excessively large food to clog up your sink.
After hand-washing your utensils, some people dry it off using a dish towel. Don’t use a bath or hand towel since the lint may stick to your dishes. You want a dish towel that leaves behind zero to minal lint, and the dish towel’s material should be non-toxic (e.g., the fiber is non-toxic and any colors or substances added to the fiber is non-toxic). If you wash your dish towel with laundry detergent, then the dish towel will have some laundry-detergent residue on them. The laundry-detergent residue is toxic. Ideally, do NOT use a dish towel to dry off your newly cleaned, wet utensils.