My dish soap routine got exposed when my mom visited and pointed out I wasn't rinsing the sponge between uses

I had been squirting soap directly onto a dry sponge for 10 years before my mom in Chicago saw me do it and said I was basically just smearing grease around, and now I'm curious if anyone else has had a basic dishwashing habit completely shattered by a family member.

2 comments

2 Comments

williamhill4d ago

Oh man, I gotta disagree a little here. I mean, I've been doing the same thing for years and my dishes come out clean every time. Maybe it's just me but I think the soap still does its job even on a dry sponge. The water from rinsing activates it anyway. Plus, if you rinse the sponge between uses you're just washing all that soap down the drain before it even touches a plate. My mom tried to correct me once too and I told her to just let me handle my own kitchen.

grant.sam4d ago

A few years back I would've argued the same way you are @williamhill, but my wife convinced me to try rinsing the sponge first and I saw a real difference. The soap actually foams up better when the sponge is wet, and I noticed less greasy spots on my glassware. I used to think it was wasteful too, but a quick rinse under hot water doesn't really wash all the soap out, it just gets the sponge ready to work.