Looking for an environmentally friendly way to clean the dishes? You can clean the dishes without using any harmful chemicals and you can ditch the plastic. Here is 3 ways you can wash up the pots without using washing up liquid.
How to clean the dishes with baking soda
The first step is one you will be familiar with, scrape excess food off of your plate in your bin or compost bin.
Rinse the dishes with water to get off most of the food residue, if you feel necessary give them a little scrub with a cloth or sponge, make sure they are still wet so the baking soda can stick to the surface.
Sprinkle some baking soda onto the dish, it is recommended you use a shaker of some sort or craft your own because it is really easy to dump too much baking soda onto your dish by accident! You to add just enough baking soda so that it forms a paste with the water remaining on the dish. Play around with different consistencies adding more baking soda or water wherever necessary.
Rub the baking soda paste around the plate, scrubbing especially hard in places with more stuck on food, you may need to leave it to soak a while if the food is being especially stubborn and will not clean off. In some rare cases food may still not clean off the dish, if this happens then add baking soda again but this time add some white vinegar to react with the baking soda this will remove any grime.
Rinse your dish clearing off all the baking soda and dry your dishes as you normally would.
IMPORTANT: Baking soda will not kill the bacteria found in raw meat so if a dish has come into contact with raw meat you must sterilise it. Soak the dish in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and this sterilise your dish.
How to clean the dishes with white vinegar
Scrape excess food off of your plate in your bin or compost bin.
Rinse the dishes with water to get off most of the food residue, if you feel necessary give them a little scrub with a cloth or sponge.
Add white vinegar to a microfiber cloth and give a good scrub. If you know some dishes are going to be harder to clean pour some white vinegar onto them and let them soak a while first. In some rare cases food may still not clean off the dish, if this happens then add baking soda and create a paste with it then add some white vinegar to react with the baking soda this will remove any grime.
Rinse your dish clearing off all the white vinegar and dry your dishes as you normally would.
IMPORTANT: White vinegar does kill some forms of bacteria but not all so if a dish has come into contact with raw meat you must sterilise it. Soak the dish in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and this sterilise your dish.
How to clean the dishes with natural soap
It is super important that if you are going to clean the dishes with natural soap that you use the right kind of soap. The most effective natural soap needs to contain olive oil, make sure that the soap is a natural soap too do not just use any old bar of soap as most contain additives that are dangerous if you consume them. Soap is what people used to wash the dishes before the invention of washing up liquid.
Scrape excess food off of your plate in your bin or compost bin.
Rinse the dishes with water to get off most of the food residue, if you feel necessary give them a little scrub with a cloth or sponge.
Rub your soap bar onto the dish then give a good scrub with a cloth or a sponge.
Rinse your dish and scrub off all the soap residue and dry your dishes as you normally would.
IMPORTANT: Natural soap does remove some forms of bacteria but not all so if a dish has come into contact with raw meat you must sterilise it. Soak the dish in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and this sterilise your dish.