Zero Waste Dishwashing

I have a dishwasher for the first time in my adult life, and it's amazing. I'm at the age where I'm too old for Pokemon Go but not too old for Snapchat, so naturally stuff like this excites me. 

Not only does the dishwasher sanitize and use less water, it's the best drying rack for limonade bottles. I can actually relax during dinner parties instead of scrubbing plates to clear sink space. At first I didn't mind not having a dishwasher, because it was just me, or the two of us, and it's hard to make enough dishes for a full load. After several years, however, washing up became mind numbingly boring, like watching Taylor Swift pretend to be guileless again.

I still have to wash some dishes by hand- things I need to use immediately, delicate glasses and utensils. I try not to put dishes off, cleaning while I cook, and I collect and reuse dishwater when possible (I like using extra water from my tea kettle to sanitize things). When handwashing, I typically don't soak dishes first. Scrub directly with soap and rinse with a thin stream of water to save resources.

Zero Waste Dishwashing

THe METHOD

I've been using the same Redecker beech wood and plant bristle brush for years now, replacing only the head and saving the handle. I prefer brushes to sponges because they dry quickly, make cleaning pans easier, and seem to last longer (you could also use a natural sponge, if preferred, or knitted hemp cloth). Simply wet the bristles and apply directly to a bar of soap. Aleppo is nice because it's palm oil free, cleans oily items perfectly, and is easy to buy unpackaged in Paris, but you can use any pure, food-safe soap. To sanitize the brush, boil the head with a little vinegar. I put dishes either in the dishwasher or on a dish towel so they drain. If I'm running out of time, I use a clean cotton dish towel to hand-dry (mine are secondhand), otherwise I air dry and put them away immediately. I dry the sink immediately every time, and clean it out with Aleppo soap or vinegar a few times a week.

The brush easily removes burned or baked on food debris. For stubborn cases, try deglazing with vinegar while the pan's still hot or using a pot brush. I personally use baking soda to scour on rare occasions, but I'm trying to reduce my baking soda usage because it's a non-renewable resource and I don't recycle it. It helps that I don't cook cheese or meat at home anymore. I can typically reuse cooking oil and any wet food can be scraped into compost before washing.

Because water is so hard here, vinegar is necessary in the sel detachant and rinse agent compartments of the dishwasher (when handwashing and drying I don't need it). If your rinse compartment doesn't dispense enough product, fill a small bowl on the top rack 1/4 of the way with vinegar. We buy cheap dishwasher tablets in bulk here, but to make some dishwashing detergent yourself, use 1.5 cups each baking and washing soda, 1/4 cup Epsom salts, and two tablespoons citric acid. Mix well and store in a glass container for powder, or pat into molds and wait a half hour for tablets. I don't rinse the dishes before putting them in the automatic washer and they still come out completely clean. To clean the dishwasher I was told to run an empty cycle with vinegar, but I haven't needed to do that yet.