I didn’t grow up with a dishwasher, so hand-washing dishes has always felt like an inescapable task. Despite being lucky enough to have a dishwasher in my last few apartments, there are still plenty of dishes I have to hand-wash due to their fragility or material, or just because there’s no room left in the dishwasher. Whatever the reason, hand-washing dishes remains inescapable, at least for most of us. There are, however, a handful of hacks, tips, and smart products to make this chore a little less arduous.
I decided to scour Reddit for advice on how to make hand-washing dishes easier and faster, and landed on the most helpful thread brimming with game-changing tips. I started using many of them the day I read it!
The 10 Best Tips and Tricks to Make Hand-Washing Dishes Easier
1. Get a cutlery cleaner.
For most people, cutlery and utensils are left for the end of a dishwashing session — likely when your energy for this task has nearly depleted. A handful of commenters recommended getting a cutlery cleaner like the Sophisti-clean Cutlery Cleaner or the Joseph Joseph BladeBrush (a Kitchn favorite!) to quickly clean forks, knives, and spoons and move on with your day. Personally, I love using the smile on my Scrub Daddy sponge that fits most utensils, and I don’t have to switch between cleaning tools.
Everyone’s looked over at the sink after finishing a meal and letting out a sigh at the thought of hand-washing all those dishes. For one Reddit user, this task is more bearable when it’s parceled out, instead of mentally (and physically) preparing for a long dishwashing session.
“I only wash a few plates or cups, or wash whatever I can in 5 minutes. Then, if that really is all I do, I don’t feel guilty because there are still [fewer] dirty dishes than before. I also like to put on a show instead of focusing on the jaw-tensioning irritation of dishwashing by hand,” user @narfboop writes.
3. Make your own Powerwash.
“Put your dish soap mixed with water into a spray bottle. I learned this working at a hostel years ago, and I’ve never looked back,” user @SunRaSquarePants says. “Spray them rather than soaking them, or even better, don’t leave them long enough that you need to soak them. Washing your dishes right away cuts way down on the amount of work it takes to get them clean.”
4. Replace your sponge with a dishwand.
5. Rub food off manually.
This is a hack I specifically like when it comes to washing pans with egg on them. If you’re not into touching wet food, you can always use gloves. “I rub food off the soaking pots and pans with my hands, so I don’t gunk up the sponge with it,” says user @TootsNYC.
For gunky pans and dishes, user @DLCS2020 specifically recommends the Lodge Pan Scraper (I also use this one and it’s super handy!), which is great for cast-iron skillets. Scraping stuck-on messes before hand-washing will offer a more streamlined cleaning process.
8. Use hot water and gloves.
A few commenters suggested using the “hottest water you can stand” along with a trusty pair of cleaning gloves to make the hand-washing process cleaner and more efficient. If you struggle to find ways to keep your gloves clean and dry, simple adhesive clips on the back of a door will do the trick, while the Bntyok Glove Stand keeps your gloves upright (and you can also use it to air-dry plastic baggies!).
9. Fill a large pot with water.
To conserve water (or maybe you’re in a situation without running water), filling a pot with water instead of the sink can be a better option. “Instead of filling the sink with hot water and soap, I’ll roughly clean out my biggest pot and then fill that,” user @campground writes. “That way, I’m using less water and still have access to the drain. Then, when I’m cleaning something really dirty or greasy, I can put a little bit of water in it, get most of the gunk off, and pour it down the drain without contaminating my main dishwater.”
10. Put on a podcast, audiobook, or music.
When all else fails, putting on your favorite distraction and focusing your mind on something else might just be the only thing to get you through a dish-washing session. “It makes the whole experience of doing chores more pleasant in general!” says user @MelonNyaa.
What’s your favorite trick for making hand-washing dishes more pleasant? Let us know in the comments below!
