How to Wash the Dishes Effectively 

Loved this video so much I ordered the book. The quote in the beginning of the book from Thich Nhat Hahn (sp?) sold me immediately but so did the look of the book. Once I get a chance to read the book I may get several copies for my daughters. The dishwashing method shown in the video is straight from my grandmother’s kitchen. Thank you for the memory.❤️

One time as I was washing a sink full of dishes with a bad attitude, it struck me that if I was washing dishes then it must mean I had food to eat or that I had just eaten. That may seem like a silly thing to say but it was an attitude adjustment for me, that I need to show gratitude. Ever since I have had a better experience when I clean up after a meal! Thank you for this video! I am grateful to have food to feed my family and I’m thankful that I have the tools to make and serve that meal!

I really enjoy his vocal inflection it sounds so positive and uplifting

Ha ha ha! I liked this. My mom said to wash glass ware first, then plates, cups, and bowls, then silverware, cooking utensils, and pots. Last, wash the sharps. I have been washing dishes for 67 years, and I have not changed the order of washing. I am now 73. The theory was least greasy to most greasy. Nice little video.

I was told by a health inspector years ago to wash each piece of silverware, Forks, spoons, and butter knives with my fingers, that way I could rub off and feel everything that was on them. I've never had a single dirty spoon, knife, or fork since then. I also knew a blind man who was a dishwasher at a restaurant and he was the best dishwasher that the owner ever had. He also cleaned the Knives, spoons and forks by rubbing his fingers on them under the water. It may take a little longer but it does get them cleaner. I also make sure they soak in a separate container on the counter next to the sink. All my dishes get rinsed off just as soon as someone if finished with them. I also washout and fill every glass with clean water and set in on the counter until dishes are being done. It's a very rare occasion that my dishes aren't done. I do dishes all the time. I'll never use a sponge, because they are loaded with bad bacteria. I always use a fresh dish cloth every time I do dishes. I'll go through 2 or 3 every day. They're small and don't take up any room in the washer. They're also very cheap. NEVER mix bleach with Dish Soap. It's very toxic. I always wash my sinks like a dish before washing dishes too. Another thing most people forget to do is wash the silverware basket on their drainer. I wash mine all the time. I never have any worries about clean dishes in my home. I also wipe out the fridge a lot too. Everything clean in the kitchen takes away a lot of worries about sicknesses. Peace..

As a kid and a younger woman, I hated doing the dishes. It was always something that had to be done as quick as possible when I was the most tired from a long day. When I was working full time and had to come home from work, cook, get a meal on the table, eat, pack lunches for the following day and then do dishes, I had no time before I had to go to bed. After I became disabled and wasn't working full time anymore I saw this video and then bought the book and read it. It turned my mind around. I started being mindful of everything that went into the task. And I learned to enjoy caring for my belongings. Seeing the brilliant shine on my plates, looking brand new when I was done. I enjoy the heat of the water, the smell of the soap, the suds. The simple ritual let's my mind rest. It's probably my favorite time of day now.

I love this guy. My grandma always said “ clean as you go.” Best advice.

My grandmother taught me how to wash dishes “the right way” (HER right way), which was to gather dishes in a sort of lineup with cleanest first (typically glassware), then cutlery, plates and cups, and finally the dirtiest, which were pots and pans. Funny how this system has informed my dishwashing experience all my life and I find it meditative, not a drudge at all.

His voice and mannerisms are so charming that I could listen to him lecture on pretty much anything!

I absolutely adore this man. He has such a kind spirit about him, like he actually GENUINELY cares about us and our dishes xD He seems like such a sweetie

When I was a kid dishwashing time was story time! My Dad would sit in his chair and Mum and I would wash by the dishes. But with a twist. Both my parents had a similar social stratus but their young history was so divergent. Dad worked in the North with the Cree and Deane people and he had his stories. Mum left her Saskatchewan life to study in Hamburg, Berlin, Rome and Paris and then was a musician with the Met in NYC. They both ended up in England during the war. But so divergent again. So at the sink the wonderful stories just flowed spontaneously every night. It was an enchanted time of stories and fantasy! So washing dishes by hand every day and sometimes all day is a time to spend remembering the enchantment of childhood!

this proves to me that you can literally be and do anything in life and remain happy and enthusiastic whilst doing it.

He is correct about "feeling it." From personal experience, both in woodworking and dishwashing, I can attest that your fingers are more sensitive than your eyes, *especially* as we age, but it is true at any age. Your hands and fingers will detect dirty spots that you would otherwise (literally) overlook.

What a quirky video. I enjoyed all his quirky little takes on dish philosophy, but the title is not good. He skips a lot of basics in terms of washing effectively.

"there's an enormous amount of deceit about dish towels" 😂😂😂😂

His tie is driving me nuts.

Mom, I may not be the surgeon you wanted me to be, but at the very least I'm learning something that will help us!

I loved this video. I'm living in South America and without a dishwasher for the first time in many years. I love to cook but dread the handwashing of dishes. This really helped me take a different approach to this. Thank you!

Didn’t use the sponge on the mixer attachment or the pieces or the coffee pot rings. Both were in contact with oil. Just soaking in soapy water won’t clean them. They need a sponge as well.

I just adopted soneone else's method, which is similar to yours, but the dishwater bin, tub, bowl (whatever you choose), is for the cloth or sponge only, to keep the dish water from getting too dirty while I wash. But you are so entertaining to watch! I loved "use whichever one you like to look at the most. It's your kitchen. This is your screw driver I alsi like the reason you use your bare hands. I really feel the same way. I have to feel what I'm cleaning. I have to feel whether there's still stuck on stuff, whether it's still greasy, and...oddly enough...how much pressure I'm using with my hands. I can have a pretty heavy touch with my hands, and have broken more than my fair share of thin glasses and small plates lol. For some reason I judge how much pressure I'm using with my hands when I don't have gloves in.

I really appreciated how calm he his through the whole video.

I admit, this did inspire me to go wash the dishes after I watched it

I wish this gentleman could narrate all the lessons in my life.

My favorite sponges are Scrub Mommy and Scrub Daddy. They don't get sour or hold onto tiny food particles like some other sponges do. They rinse clean and stay fresh. Scrub Daddy is primarily for scrubbing pots and dried-on food, but it can also be used for all-purpose dish washing because it's not abrasive. Scrub Mommy has two different sides. One side is the same as Scrub Daddy, and the other side is for more gentle washing. Both of them are shaped to get into any area of dishes, pots, and utensils. They have a great reach with glasses and mugs. Look for these round "smiley face" sponges at your grocery store.

I normally break washing into type, small (utensils/cuttlery), medium (plates bowls and that kind of thing, large (cooking wear). Ensuring larger stuff/caked pieces are soaking while smaller stuff is being cleaned. using the cleanest water for the cleanest/least dirty stuff, then par cleaning the worst stuff with dirty water before refreshing the water and finishing of the the now nearly cleaned pieces. Defo a dance and great tips!

Another tip I learned from working along side a fast food dishwasher is first scrape, rinse and put like dishes, cups, glasses and flatware together, then you may want to soak pots and pans in hot water, while you are washing the rest of the stuff. Then commense with putting flatware in bottom of a dish pan or sink. Wash cups and glasses, followed by dishes and bowls etc. Put these on your dish drainer. Next wash the flatware and yes knives should be done alone like in the above video. Now comes the presoaked pots and pans, which may still take a little more elbow grease. Also one tip, my grandmother used to keep cooked food in oven tolerant serving dishes in a warm oven until serving. She then had time to wash the pots and pans right after cooking. After dinner all she had left were the dishes etc to do. Old fashioned clean as you go time management! This works well with a large amount of dishes etc.

Thank you so much for this tutorial 🙏 my mom told me and my dad to do the dishes while she took a bath this was a completely new term to us when we looked it up it was actually real so me and my dad frantically searched the internet for how to videos. This was a new and scary task but thank you for coaching me through it.

After 20 years of washing dishes by hand i finally bought a dishwasher 🎉🎉 Im way too excited 😂

Use a clean washing cloth EVERY DAY. At the end of the day put the one that you have used that day in the wash. Always have a selection of washing cloths in your drawer ready to go. Not just one that you leave out and use day after day. Never use sponges. I remember hearing an expert talking about bacteria growth and he was asked “how do you keep bacteria from growing in sponges” and he answered “get a new one every day”. So for one year you would need 365 sponges!

Never imagined a video about washing dishes could be fun to watch.

I love how you relate to the audience with personal pronouns, the personality you bring with touches of charm via the use of stories, music, and presentation design (clothing, towels, organization,) and a hint of random. Furthermore, I can appreciate the syncing to music with the most noticeable points highlighted as certain instruments come in, not to mention your simplification of these ideas in a non-condescending tone that uses comparisons to get ideas across. Lastly, I appreciate how the camera moves with Mr. Miller, zooms in, and how little infographics pop up occasionally!

This is such a serious topic for me that I could have done this video for him. I am very particular about my dishes being cleaned dried and put away. Unfortunately I do not have a dishwasher so it's done by hand here but I know they are clean.

Nothing like a clean dish and clean kitchen.

How to wash the dishes: Step 1: wash the dishes😃 But he's adorable.

Thank you for sharing the great tips. Can you tell us where we can buy the same white wool sponge that he uses?

That's a weird but kinda smart way to use the dish cloth. In Sweden we typically use it to wipe off countertops and tables. I would never use the sponge thing to wipe down the kitchen. Also, learned nothing new but his enthusiasm made me smile.

If your cloth dish rag sours, shove it into the bottom of a glass jar, or tumbler, pour a capful or more of ammonia over it, soak it for 30 minutes, rinse … all new ! no smell ! But to avoid this, ALWAYS rinse your dish rag ...every. single. time... and hang to dry. Amen

I have a question: Where do you put the sponge and towel etc afterwards? Without it being a huge germ collection plate

This video is so nice for me especially because I am an adult with Autism and my mom decided that when I was a kid I was not allowed anywhere near the kitchen so I never got to learn how to do stuff like this or how to cook. I'm living with my partner who also has Autism and washing the dishes is such a hassle for me because I was never taught how to do this. That may sound silly and on some level it is and I can recognize that but for me it's very hard for me to learn things on my own I need someone to show me how to do it. This same thing applies to jobs if I'm not shown exactly how to do it then I will have to go off of what I think I know and that usually turns out to be wrong. My previous job was working at a restaurant inside of an elderly home and I really liked it but no one showed me exactly what to do just the general idea of it and I got fired because I assumed everyone should be served equally at the same time when you don't do that. Anyway back to the dishes thing I'm definitely going to let my partner know to get a big bowl (we don't have any) and a dish towel because I kept feeling like I was using WAY too much soap and I was. Now that I know of course it makes sense to have a container with soapy water in it that I can just dunk the dishes into and then use the sponge to clean the dish. Again I can't thank you enough for making this video because I now know what to do and it will be one less thing to worry about for me.

Thanks a lot, man! Despite my parents' acknowledgement that I wanted to wash dishes, they rarely have the time to teach me. If I were to do the dishes anyways, my siblings wouldn't particularly appreciate it, so I might just do it at night without anyone watching, haha.

My mother taught me a order to wash dishes. Starting with glasses, because they need to be the cleanest with no spots. Never use a dishcloth on glasses, because it can leave little bits of lint. Second is the utensils, always knives first, dried, put up out of the way. Third is the plates and bowls, put in the strainer to air dry. Last is the pots and pans, since they are usually the dirtiest. Pots and Pans are always dried and put straight up.

what a lovely video, he brings the grace to cleaning.. i love this❤️❤️❤️

Thank you!!! I have work in many kitchens. People think that I am OCD, because most people will just drop dishes in your water. Knives and whatever. Then there are the people that also like to cross contaminate by using your dish water as a bucket that they dip foreign nasty towel in, even sour one, so they can wipe down whatever. Some people think that it is ok that chucks of food exist in the water and that temperature of the water is a no factor. OMG

He's also washing his tie and I'm getting nervous about it.

Where did you buy your wool sponge? (not the sea sponge or steel wool, I mean the wool sponge, the one he is holding at 1:11)

I love this very easy clean in the kitchen

Well, I love to cook but dislike dish duty. However, once I start, I go as far as cleaning the sink, the stove and mopping the floor... That goes to show that you have to deal with everything, and even if you don't like it, do it with love... and heck, you'd be amazed with the results!!!

What an aesthetically pleasing video! Beautiful decor, interesting shapes in the background, delightful colors.. Gosh, even the watch he's wearing is cool! I could watch anything if it was shot and edited this way... Hence. haha.

I’m obsessed with this

ABC (Always Be Cleaning) as you go when cooking.

This man is my hero.

I need someone to edit and video my art like this. I like to talk and need it to sound as interesting as this was 😂

THANK YOU‼️ The only reason that I don't cook/bake more is the cleanup

informative, relaxing and wholesome! thanks for doing this great video

I love this. Dishwashing is underestimated process 🍴🤍

Peter Miller is such a sweet, friendly man! How can watching a video about dishwashing (DISHWASHING!!) be so entertaining? Peter Miller.

my man made dishwashing look elegant and classy. i'm gonna listen to some jazz while dishwashing from now on.

Thank you. I truly enjoy washing dishes, but Not in a large resturant.💁‍♀️☺🙋🏻‍♀️

oh i just loved it! so adorable and lovely way of telling about smth I usually considered a bit lame tbh, but now I really wanna go and try it this way :3 btw a great idea to have a bowl with soapy water, quite eco friendly tip for those who has just began their path to more sustainable lifestyle.

I loved this video and i love this mans personality ☺️

Bravo, Sir! Bravo!

Love the sheepskin pad idea!! Washing dishes is a pain no matter what. Yet, it it can be a delight to relish the warmth or coolness of water to clean our beloved kitchenware. Stroke them with the care one does for a lover. Appreciate each tool’s purpose and strength. Oh ya. Water and food are our sustenance, caring for the portals should be as holy.

Im here because I wanted some company...I don't like to do chores alone so yeah thanks!! Awesome video!

I love this. Watch it often

Today, i had been washing my dishes with my mother. (Sunday 6th September 2020) it’s my busy activity working from home. I took a break by using my phone, TV and computer.

Finally a video about this! 👏👏👏

Loving THIS.

Why IS it so hard to find a good quality absorbent dish towel?

I respectfully disagree. Dude lets the water run way too much and could do with a fraction of the soap for the amount of dishes he's washing. If I may: 1) Scrub all dishes under low running hot water to get bits off. 2) Turn water off and thoroughly wipe all bit-free dishes with a soaped sponge [a little goes a long way, depending on the soap]. 3) Rinse under low running hot water (use spray function for greater coverage, if available) and rack. Nice green mason jar, though.

I use a compostable dish sponge which I microwave for 60 seconds after use. Also, i spray disinfectant on the basin, faucets, counters and wipe afterwards.

This guy is so cool. Big mood.

It’s unbelievable. You have almost the exact same thought process as I do. From beginning to end.

This was really awesome thank you very much.

Superb subject.

I love how he took the effort to wash all these dishes with a PERFECTLY good dishwasher. It looks like a bosch

I hate to do the dishes, but when I put my mind and heart to it, I do just as you've instructed.

I suppose this is a necessary lesson of instruction for some people - I was taught all of this as a teenager by my mother - it is very important to thoroughly wash all detergent off the utensils as detergent damages the lining of your stomach

This almost inspired me to do the dishes in my sink

This was enjoyable and surprisingly entertaining to watch.

I really prefer a long-handled nylon brush for all of my dishwashing needs. It doesn't sour, it gets less food trapped in it, it's plenty abrasive without scratching _most_ things, doesn't shred itself on a cheese grater or microplane, and the long handle lets me get to the bottom of a tall glass or a blender, plus I can clean a knife without my hands going anywhere near the pointy end. I don't know about you, but when I cut myself in the kitchen, it used to be about 20% during prep/cooking and 80% while cleaning something sharp. I switched to the brush, and the washing-related injuries went down significantly. Ugh, that sour smell that comes from damp towels or sponges. My mom's really conscientious about cleanup, so our kitchen never had that smell when I was growing up. Then I got an apartment in college and within about a week that was our basic "kitchen smell". I even got used to it. But now, when I go to a house party and offer to help wash up, I dread touching a musty sponge, because it takes so much work to get the smell out of my own hands.

Fantastic!

Video on the kitchen sanitation where we prep food also pleeeaaase Food52 and Sir Peter ^___^ thank you!

Okay but how do you get bread dough off of ... everything? They gum up sponges like crazy!

This guy is awesome!

I like to start unscrewing the french press filter under running water, then let the water do the rest of the work to finish unscrewing. Cleans the grounds stuck in between and does a faster job of disassembling the filter. You just gotta keep your hand under it if you don't want it to drop.

love this!!

so thoughtful

They made us watch this during our advisory at school

This is a very aesthetically pleasing video.....

Wonderful book by a terrific writer (Full Disclosure: Peter is a longtime neighbor/friend).

love your background jazz.. 😉👌👍

LOVE THIS GUY!!! Great video. There's always something new to learn, and better ways to do everything...including washing dishes. Am curious to check out the book. ❤☮🌎

I wished I would’ve found this a lot sooner. I had to hire one of my friends as a dishwasher at this bar I was cooking at and I swear this man didn’t know how to wash dishes 🤦🏾‍♂️. Mind you he was 27...a whoooole five years older than I

making my cousins watch this as a punishment since they like to do everything half assed… they were actually entertained and hopefully learned.

I was taught to soak dishes, or at least rinse food residue off of dishes, as they are placed in the sink so that all that's need to do when time to wash dishes is to soap up and rinse off.

Oh my gosh, he is so right about the dish towels! They’re made to look so cute for the kitchen, but due to their quality you’d be better off with a sturdy paper towel. 😅 Sometimes I’d be drying a dish and I’d yell in frustration, why is this taking so LONG!!!

Excellent!

And that's how you wash dishes! Thank you for this video!...more people need to learn how to wash dishes. My Mother taught me since I could barely reach the table where she had her three basins, one to take food off the dish, one to scrub and one to rinse. By the way, we had to boil water to wash dishes. No indoor plumming! I grew up in Mexico.

Thank you.

Step 1) Load Dishwasher Step 2) Watch video for shits and giggles.