Washing Up Without Hot Water

[qualtrough]

I have the exact opposite of Mobi's situation. My wife sometimes cuts the dishwashing liquid with water to make it last longer.

[t.s]

i will have to ask the maid.

[tutsiwarrior]

why is it that in the UK people don't rinse the dishes after washing up? I (from California) did this and my then wife thought that I was mad...

[Popeyethesailorman]

I'm not obsessed with hot water but when I only had cold water in my kitchen sink, I filled the washing tub up with hot water from the shower.

[wilko]

Sorry I haven't read the whole post so I might be repeating somebody else......

the detergents in Thailand are designed to work in "colder" water than say UK, but remember the water isn't actually cold...its over 25 C usually. the hot water in usual taps does really do any sterilising anyway, and the detergents should workmeffectively inn removing most grease at Thai temp. The key to safe utensils is to make sure that they dry properly...without water bacteria find it hard to survive. Don't wipe with a towel that has been used mbefore it soon turns into a wipe full of bacteria.

[taxexile]

Is it safe? I have sterlised my utensils with hot water from my microwave?

if you are so concerned with sterilizing your utensils , then it should be done before using them , not after.

by the time you have eaten your food and the dishes are ready to be washed , most pathogenic bacteria that were present would be in your stomach already with just a few left on the plate.

any bacteria present on the utensils will most likely be harmless and probably have come originally from your mouth to the plates via contact with spoons and forks.

[penguin]

I remember when eating in Cambodia that many places place your utensils in a cup of boiling water before you use them. Don't recall ever seeing that in Thailand.

[PhilHarries]

Excuse me folks, can anyone enlighten me? What is this term "washing up"? Is it some kind of northern Thai ritual along the line of Songkhran?

[raslin]

(opening that last beer in the fridge, going to get it etc)

You you should be ashamed of yourself wolfie.. there should NEVER be just a last beer in the fridge.. poor planing..!

totster

Wolfie is becoming Thai-ised. They have no word for "planning" so they adopt the English and add "ning" to it which means "do nothing".

Simple, isn't it?

[wilko]

why is it that in the UK people don't rinse the dishes after washing up? I (from California) did this and my then wife thought that I was mad...

It depends on which you think is more volatile - water or detergent...

[jing jing]

I remember when eating in Cambodia that many places place your utensils in a cup of boiling water before you use them. Don't recall ever seeing that in Thailand.

Never been to a food court in Thailand?

Meanwhile, as far as eating in Cambodia is concerned, your utensils are the last of your worries. Have you ever seen their butchery/food storage/sanitation/waste disposal practices? Makes a Thai street food cart look surgically sterile.

[h90]

I couldn't comment on the sterilization aspects of hot water, but I can say that every Thai woman I have lived with (and there's been quite few through the years) has never allowed any farang within 6 feet of a washing up bowl, as they are convinced that farangs don't wash up properly. My present wife, won't even allow Thai men to wash up as she doesn't think they do it properly - the entire male population of Thailand is incapable of washing up!

Have you ever seen them wash the dishes? They put so much soap on them and scrub for hours. Then they rinse and wash again, and again till they are satisfied. Most Thai women won't even use dish washers, because they don't think they do the job properly.

So, rightly or wrongly, that's the way it's been in my washing up life, and I ain't complaining, and I'm still alive.

Strange: Mostly or homemaid washes, but the days she don't stay, say 70 % my wife, 30 % I. My wife really don't consider dish washing as an important thing in life. Never saw someone who does.

We also have sometimes the aggreement, who is less tired who wash or one cook, the other washes the dishes.

[PeaceBlondie]

Once, so long ago it might have been in a prior reincarnation, I had a professor of chemistry, Dr. Darling (no, not the parents in the original "Peter Pan" story; those are Wendy's parents). On campus, circa 1960, Dr. Darling was rumoured to be the inventor of liquid dishwashing detergent. He didn't teach us about phenolic rings, unless I slept through that class.

Why is it that some folks wash up, but they don't wash down? You can wash down the stairs, nga?

[The Dan Sai Kid]

My education was furthered when I came to Thailand. After my first 100 cold-splashed-water-bucket-over-the-head "showers" (common here in Isaan), I had to begrudgingly admit I felt just as fresh (maybe fresher), as I had in the west after a hot shower. My skin could be just as "squeaky-clean" with the cold as with the hot.

I agree that a cold shower can feel as fresh, but I stay in Loei province from time to time - where it is barely above zero in the winter mornings and a shower then is not an enticing propspect. I boil a pan on the gas and fill add it to a basin of cold water.

So I'm not too much off-topic I think that hot water does help with grease dispertion...

[kwamrakmaimeeraka]

I couldn't comment on the sterilization aspects of hot water, but I can say that every Thai woman I have lived with (and there's been quite few through the years) has never allowed any farang within 6 feet of a washing up bowl, as they are convinced that farangs don't wash up properly. My present wife, won't even allow Thai men to wash up as she doesn't think they do it properly - the entire male population of Thailand is incapable of washing up!

Have you ever seen them wash the dishes? They put so much soap on them and scrub for hours. Then they rinse and wash again, and again till they are satisfied. Most Thai women won't even use dish washers, because they don't think they do the job properly.

So, rightly or wrongly, that's the way it's been in my washing up life, and I ain't complaining, and I'm still alive.

I sure picked the wrong gf. She asks me to do the dishes constantly.

[toptuan]

I remember when eating in Cambodia that many places place your utensils in a cup of boiling water before you use them. Don't recall ever seeing that in Thailand.

All the college and university canteens here in Isaan use a similar method. They use something that looks like a rice-cooker or electric crock pot which keeps the water just below boiling. I think if it is not boiling, nothing really gets sterilized, but psychologically it feels good to hold your spoon and fork in the hotwater for about 5 seconds (average dip time).

I have only had serious intestinal bugs about 30 times, so it must work! (otherwise I would be dead, right?)