Take Our Dishwashing Quiz!

Information taken from Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson (New York: Scribner, 1999)

1. Why should you do dishes immediately after soiling them or immediately after a meal?
   1. Because that’s the way Grandma did them.
   2. The sooner you do them, the easier they are to get clean.
   3. Food-laden dishes grow bacteria
   4. Work before play.
   5. Accidents happen more easily when the dishes are left half done - leftover food spills and drips, dishes get knocked over and broken
2. True or false: When cleaning up after a meal, you should wash whatever dishes are piled next to the sink first, then what was removed from the table, then the heavily soiled pots and pans.
3. True or false: If you do not have a double sink, it is okay to rinse with the faucet running right into your wash water.
4. What should the temperature of your wash water be?
   1. About the temperature you take a bath in
   2. A little hotter than bath water
   3. Temperature doesn’t matter. The soap will kill the germs.
   4. Hot enough so you are uncomfortable if you hold your hand in the water for too long.
5. Why is it recommended that you use rubber gloves when washing dishes?
   1. The dishes are less likely to slip out of your hands
   2. They will keep your hands from getting all “wrinkly� in the water.
   3. You can use hotter water when you are wearing gloves.
   4. So you can pretend you are a Victorian lady while you wash the dishes.
6. What should you do if two glasses get stuck one inside the other?
   1. Call the police
   2. Pull really, really hard
   3. Call everyone over to see who is the strongest
   4. Fill the inside glass with cold water (to make it contract) and stand the outer one in warm water for a couple of moments (to make it expand) then gently pull them apart.
7. Which is more sanitary, washing dishes by hand or using the dishwasher?
   1. The dishwasher is better because it doesn’t involve hands, which everyone knows are dirty
   2. Washing by hand, because it’s more old-fashioned
   3. They are both equally sanitary if you use only fresh, hot, sudsy water for washing and rinse the dishes thoroughly with very hot water.
8. Why should you use hot water to rinse the dishes?
   1. It works better
   2. Hot water kills microorganisms
   3. Hot water prevents spotting
   4. Hot dishes will dry faster
9. True or false: When you run out of room in the dish rack, you can set glasses upside down flat on a dishtowel laid on the counter.
10. When should you switch to a clean towel to dry dishes?
    1. When yours becomes too wet to dry with
    2. When someone takes yours
    3. When you get tired of looking at the design
    4. Whenever you start drying
    5. When yours becomes soiled
11. True or false: Once dishes have air dried in a dish rack, it doesn’t matter how long you leave them there.
12. True or false: As soon as you wash the last dish, it is acceptable to pull the plug and dash out of the kitchen so you can do something else before the evening is over.
13. Which are appropriate activities for which to use the kitchen sink?
    1. Chores connected with food and things that touch food
    2. Washing your hands before beginning to cook
    3. Cutting and arranging flowers
    4. Washing your dog’s dish
    5. Hand-washing laundry
    6. Washing your hands while preparing food
14. Is it acceptable to wash the countertops with the same dishcloth you use for washing the dishes?
15. What is the goal of the after-meal cleanup?
    1. To get all the women in the kitchen so the men can have a chance to visit without them at the table.
    2. To return the kitchen to order
    3. To provide a means of punishment for any children who misbehaved during the day.
    4. To get rid of all traces of cooking and eating.

Answers:

1. (b), (c), and (e), although a case could be made for d).
   
2. False: After the meal, dishes should be washed in this order: glasses; silver or flatware; plates, bowls, cups and saucers; serving dishes; mixing dishes and bowls; pots, pans, skillets, casseroles; cooking utensils. Before serving the meal, fill hard to clean dishes used in the preparation of the meal with plain hot water, or if they are greasy, with sudsy hot water so they can soak until you finish eating. This will make clean up easier. When stacking dirty dishes in preparation for washing, stack “like with like� in the order that they will be washed.
   
3. False: Rinse dishes in the second half of your double sink or in a plastic dish pan, separate from your washing water. If you are rinsing in the second half of a double sink, line it with a rubber mat or towel to protect delicate glass and china.
   
4. (b) and (d)
   The water you use should be hotter than bath water. It should be a bit uncomfortable to leave your hands in it for a sustained period.
   
5. (c)
   
6. (d)
   
7. (c)
   
8. all of them
   
9. False: Set items properly in the draining rack so that water does not pool in them. If you are draining on a towel laid on the counter, set bowls, cups, and glasses so that they tilt slightly. You can do this by making a slight fold in the towel or by setting something relatively flat at its edge, such as a clean plastic cutting board. If you set them down flat, moisture is trapped under them; they do not dry, and they provide an environment in which bacteria can grow.
   
10. (a), (d), (e) When hand-drying dishes, always begin with a perfectly clean, fresh towel – not one that you previously used and hung to dry or one that you have dried your hands on. If you are drying a large number of dishes, you may go through half a dozen or more towels. Used and damp towels are home to many bacteria. Using bacteria-laden towels to wipe dry your dishes spreads bacteria all over them.
    
11. False: Air dried dishes should be put away as soon as they are dry. The dish rack is not a storage spot. It is unsightly and exposes the washed things to splashes, dust, sneezes and breaks.
    
12. False: When the dishes are completed, wash the sink and adjacent countertops with an appropriate cleaner, then rinse and wipe them dry. Empty the sink drain basket of any food particles, and then clean it and the drain. The drain should be sanitized once or twice a week The FDA recommends that you make a sanitizing solution of one teaspoon of regular chlorine bleach in one quart of water and pour it down the drain.
    
13. (a) and (f) The kitchen sink should be almost entirely reserved for chores connected with foods and things that touch food. Do NOT fill the dog’s dish there. Do not empty a flower vase or cut and arrange flowers there. Do not wash your hands there before beginning to cook, although it is acceptable to wash hands that get floury or sticky during cooking in the kitchen since you are only washing off food particles. If you need to hand wash some laundry, do it in the laundry tub or a portable plastic tub and empty it in the toilet when done.
    
14. No. Have different types of cloths, rags, and towels and use them only for their intended purposes. Dishcloths are used for dishes, sinks, counters, and tabletops. Rags are used to wash the floors and clean up spills. Hand towels are used for drying hands. Dish towels are used for drying dishes. When handling meat, use only paper towels to dry your hands. You should launder your dishtowels separately from the rags you use for dirty jobs such as floor washing. After every kitchen cleanup, remove the soiled linens and cloths and replace them with fresh ones.
    
15. (b) and (d)