Dishes--No rinsing in water after washing?

[cakes]

Mixer taps like those known elsewhere in the civilized world have only been permitted in the last few years.  Many Brits still believe that they are "dodgy", and some believe that they are actually still illegal and that luxury hotels are evading the law.

Fascinating. We took over a house in 1976 that had a mixer tap in the kitchen. It was an excellent sink and so we kept it and rebuilt the kitchen around it. Without extensive research, we would be surprised to learn that it was unique.

Our company has an operation in England. I had heard the talk about separate taps as opposed to mixers. The hotel I stayed in in Coventry was quite new and appeared to have a mixer tap in the bathroom. When I was shaving in the morning, I had the hot and cold both on to give me the desired temperature. I realized that the left side of the stream was hot and the right was cold. I bent over to look and was amused to see that the tap was not mixed at all and had 2 separate paths.

I think the adversion to or absence of mixed taps in England has to do with the fact that the hot water side is not pressurized in many of the houses. The hot water tank resides in the attic and is gravity fed.

Cakes

[formerly grueldelux]

I always do a hot-water rinse post scrub but i think I am on the minority side of things in Ireland. I fill the sink twice and follow the following running order.

1. Glassware

2. Cups

3. saucers

4. plates

5. empty and refill the sink with hot sudsy water.

6. Cutlery

7. Pots and pans.

This has always been the way to do it in my family, if you don't have a dishwasher. Washing dishes under flowing hot water has always struck me as extremely wasteful. I've seen people do a large pile of dishes and keep the hot water running for over half an hour.

[cakewench]

Here in Germany, my husband and I have a dishwasher in our tiny apt (which we are currently in the process of moving from, oi). The dishwasher takes at least twice as long as mine did back in the US, and everything comes out sparkly clean. This could be more due to the serious 'ahh it burns it BURNS' dishwashing soap they have here than the actual washing time, who knows. When my now-husband was visiting me in the US last year, he was just shocked at how matter-of-factly I was handling the dishwasher soap. No rubber suit, tongs, mask, etc.

In fact, all cleansers here are heavy-duty. Dirt is not tolerated. Rubber gloves: mandatory.