Nearly everyone else in the world washes up by having a sponge with dish soap on it and holding an item under a running tap of water. It doesn’t touch anything other than your hands, and is cleaned and rinsed. Only in the UK do folk fill a bowl or sink and squirt soap into it and then wash stuff in it.

Do they? I asked some friends.

<<

A Brit living in the US: “Definitely using a bowl is [a UK thing]. We sometimes wash things in the sink (we have a double) but I’m not sure if that’s me being British or not.”

A native New Yorker and wife of the above: “They [bowls] exist here but aren’t the norm. Ideally you have a double bowl sink and fill one half. If you want to horrify Americans, don’t rinse.
…
I use the running tap if it’s just a couple of things. Or a gross pan. It would be a waste of hot water to do that for a sink full though.”

A Belgian: “In Germany and Belgium it is common to do it in the sink.” (I’m assuming she’s still talking about the dishes.)

A Brit, living in Britland: “When I worked in such places, the approved McDonalds method (which I assume is American in origin) was with two sinks – one hot soapy water for cleaning, and one fresh cold water for rinsing. Hand sprayer also available (with 60 degree water) for particularly stubborn bits of welded-on onion.”

A Brit married to a Spaniard: “Yes! [my husband] thinks we’re total weirdos”

A Brit – sorry, ‘ex-pat’ – now living in New Zealand: “Most Kiwis assume a dishwasher is an essential item, but I’m pretty sure they fill a sink with water when they do handwash? But NZ is quite British-legacy.”

A Canadian: “In places with only one sink we (personal we, not Canadian we) generally wash under running water and apply soap to each item (bad for the environment, yes we know), if we have two sinks we fill one with soapy wash water and one with clean rinse water. If it’s only a few items we wash under running, even with two sinks. Dishwasher takes priority if we have one.”

>>

So the responses I’ve had so far would seem to suggest otherwise.

@johnx2 **** Larkin. The miserable bastard can rot in Hell. Sorry, Hull. So difficult to tell them apart.

(not a fan, especially when the Higher English teacher who was supposed to enthuse us said he was a whiny miserable twunt in as many words.)

therein lies your problem – solution – get a proper sink

@tjagain not my problem, mama didn’t raise no fool. I just know the country kitchen fashion victim demographic. 😉

So the responses I’ve had so far would seem to suggest otherwise.

Cool, I’ve got access to Greeks, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanians, Germans, Canadians, Americans, Irish, and Indian sub continent…I’ll be back…

Oh and an Italian

Some replies are back in already!!

Greek, and Romanian: Both under running taps, the Romanian (between you and me, she’s a bit of a drama queen) found a bowl in her first apartment, and apparently nearly fainted with horror (like I said…)

Irish: same as UK, thinks his bowl is from his under grad days (may have been given to him by his mother) is more or less a family heirloom now, may pass to his son…

Canadian; Not rinsing is weird, doesn’t mind the bowl washing method, but not rinsing is a crime against humanity, sorry (is Canadian, thus always apologising)

EDIT

late entry from the Americans, both said dishwasher, and looked at me like it was a trick question, but they don’tt have a bowl in the sink at home. One realised what I was talking about and thought his mum may have done this, but thinks  most Americans would think it’s weird…

Cool. So your US and Canuck correspondents broadly said the same as mine, there’s a degree of consistency there.

This is weirdly fascinating. Keep ’em coming!

There’s more;

Spain and Portugal: running tap, again both found the UK habit weird…the Spaniard doesn’t mind the bowl (is married to a Brit) but still washes under a tap, habit.

I may have started an international dispute here, the Irish and Romanian are still arguing about bowls in sinks….

Indian: married to Brit, has bowl in sink because sink is marked easily, rinse before dishwasher.

Pakistani: running tap.

EDIT:

Last the German: No bowl in the sink, but sink filled with water and soap. Uses dishwasher mostly

So, pretty similar to yours.

Is it significant that most of the “warmer climate” Europeans and Pakistani washed under a ruining tap, I wonder?

I dunno, could be. This is hardly scientific given the sample size!

I wonder whether water quality is a factor? Areas where water cleanliness is less reliable / less regulated are more likely to use a running tap rather than standing water? (Purely wild speculation of course.)

The sink is a bowl.

Fill the steel sink, add dish soap and gently running water, wash then rinse under the water and then onto the drainer. Glasses never look as clean as out of a dishwasher but we haven’t died yet.

…international aspects largely now covered, I don’t think the social class dimension has been fully explored. Out of time so cutting to the chase: bowl use is lower middle fastidiousness with a bit of overspill, tending to working. No value judgment

Don’t you end up using a load more washing up liquid and more importantly, water if you use the running tap method? There comes a point were (even rinsing) you’d use less water with a bowl surely? Given the scarcity of water in some countries I am surprised by the findings of nickc’s extensive ‘research’. Suspect water quality is a factor as Cougar speculates.

More importantly: 5 pages and 172 comments. Frivolous data that will be stored for years on a cloud server somewhere. What a waste;)

I take it lower middle fastidiousness would also include a pair of marigolds.

The plastic bowl keeps the water hotter for longer. Only a solution if you have a metal sink…

Cats in sinks is where it’s at.

Cats In Sinks

My work has a bowl in the sink. Whenever I use the sink the first thing I do is take the bowl out and put it on the floor. It spends more time on the floor than in the sink. Pointless. It’s like putting a chair ontop of a chair. Or a plate ontop of a plate.

Put plug in sink.
Fill sink.
Wash up.
Empty sink.
Rinse.

More importantly, why do we have the laundry equipment in the kitchen?
Taking up space where a dishwasher could go? Our dryer isn’t in the kitchen, I’d like to move the Washing machine too, then we could have a dishwasher but can’t think of a sensible place, maybe below the dryer, but then I’d have to do DIY which upsets me.

We have a bowl in the sink, not my choice but it’s there, I’m told it reduces collateral damage when I wash up.

why do we have the laundry equipment in the kitchen?
…
but can’t think of a sensible place,

Did you just answer your own question?

Ok, badly worded I could put it in the bathroom with the dryer but I’d have do some DIY to box it off nice and safely. The bathroom is now in a separate room to the toilet where the previous owners built a small extension for a hot tub of all things, (two up two down ex council house). They had to smash it to get it out as I really didn’t want it.
I could move the toilet to the bathroom and have a laundry room where the toilet was but that’s alot of DIY plus separate bathroom and toilet is so much better.

Don’t you end up using a load more washing up liquid and more importantly, water if you use the running tap method?

No, we covered this, you need just a gently running tap, it doesn’t need to be a kitchen sized replica of Niagra. and you don’t need a huge amount of Fairy either. It’s about the same water/detergent use if you’re emptying your bowl and refilling it because it’s filled with food waste from your dishes.

The plastic bowl keeps the water hotter for longer. Only a solution if you have a metal sink…

If you have washing-up liquid and hot water, that’s always a solution.

No, we covered this

Please forgive me. I’ll keep up at the back;) Sounds dubious to me for a big stack of dishes.

I know it’s common practice in much of Europe for the washing machine to be in the bathroom. Next to washing basket and closer to bedrooms for putting clothes away. Building Regs and lack of a lift (More Europeans live in flats or single storey houses) make it harder I guess.