Do dishes used for preparing food need to be washed with soap?
It seems to me that washing dishes with soap serves two purposes:
- To remove food residue from the dishes
- To kill bacteria that got on the dishes
As far as I know, the primary way bacteria get on dishes is from coming in contact with human saliva. But that wouldn't happen with dishes that are used exclusively for preparing food and not for eating it. So, assuming good residue can be removed without soap, is there any benefit to washing dishes used for preparing food with soap?
For the purposes of this question, assume we are talking about a home kitchen and not a restaurant.
Best Answer
Human saliva is not your only concern. There are a variety of pathogens that could be problematic if food preparation items (hands, utensils, cutting boards, counter tops, and containers of all sorts) are not properly sanitized. This includes potential pathogens that already exist on the raw food itself. Soap is not necessarily required, but some type of sanitizer is. Dish soap just happens to also remove grease, and is most commonly found in the home kitchen.
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Do all dishes need to be washed with soap?
Get rid of grime, food, etc. - you can do that with water, soaking and a good brush. Rinsing your dishes straight away helps too. So the short answer is yes, you can wash dishes without soap, unless they're greasy/oily.Is it unsanitary to wash dishes by hand?
The difference is that, in nearly 100% of the tests, this bacterium is not the least bit harmful to humans. Washing dishes by hand has far more bacteria and that is mostly because it is living on the rag, sponge or towel you are using.What can I use to wash dishes instead of dish soap?
Have a look around the house and see if you don't have any of these alternatives for dishwashing liquids:- Baking soda. Baking soda is a must-have item for budget shoppers. ...
- Baking soda and vinegar mix. ...
- Shampoo. ...
- Washing powder. ...
- Borax. ...
- Bath soap.
How do you wash dishes without water and soap?
How to Wash Dishes without Dish SoapHow to wash dishes using bar soap (just like my Nanna did ♡)
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Answer 2
"Assuming food residue can be removed without soap"? It's a lot easier with soap (or detergent, which I guess would be the same diff).
If you go to the effort of thoroughly cleaning all food residue, including grease, off of the dishes, with just plain water, then yes, I think the pathogens, microbes, other germs etc. would be washed off along with the food residue. Regular soap, or detergent, isn't really intended to be a germ killer anyway, unless you are talking about "anti-bacterial" soap. That's why you sometimes hear people recommending a disinfecting step (bleach-dip) after rinsing dishes, even when they have used soap.
So I think it actually would be effective - but more difficult - to go ahead and not use soap when washing cooking dishes in your own home with just plain water. I suppose that this is what you mean by "without soap".
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