Not cleaning the dishes for weeks, any problem?

[kenny1999]

For some reasons I haven't cleaned my cookware and dishware for WEEKS, left-over food residue and rotted vegetables are there.

It's smelling like a garbage center, the odor is strong. Flies and roaches were also seen.

Most of them are made of either ceramic, stainless steel or PP(Polypropylene)

I hope this is not a silly question but I really wish to know,

is it enough to just clean and wash them with kitchen detergent and tap water? Could bacteria or other dirty stuff migrate or get down into the inside of cookware/dishware for this long time?

Do I need to do something more to make them perfectly clean?

 

[Vinylhanger]

For some reasons I haven't cleaned my cookware and dishware for WEEKS, left-over food residue and rotted vegetables are there.



It's smelling like a garbage center, the odor is strong. Flies and roaches were also seen.



Most of them are made of either ceramic, stainless steel or PP(Polypropylene)



I hope this is not a silly question but I really wish to know,



is it enough to just clean and wash them with kitchen detergent and tap water? Could bacteria or other dirty stuff migrate or get down into the inside of cookware/dishware for this long time?



Do I need to do something more to make them perfectly clean?

Just wash them. Very hot water.

If that happens to my small appliances, I tend to toss them, but for dishes and pots and pans, there aren't usually enough places for the goo to hide.

Then after cleaning the pans, just make sure you use them on a hot stove or oven.

Dishes will usually come perfectly clean.

This comes from experience. It happens.

 

[blissful]

You'll be safe if you completely wash the outside and inside of all those items. You might have to soak them first, or chip away at the stuff on them, but you'll be safe and nothing grows inside the materials they are made from.


Please take this in the spirit in which I ask you this. I care and it seems as though you didn't previously, or during childhood, have parents or custodians that answered questions or talked with you very much. You have a lot of questions and that is good, to ask all kinds of questions, and no question is stupid or wrong. How or did you help out in the kitchen when you were growing up? Did people have conversations with you during that time about kitchens and cooking and taking care of your home?

 

[GotGarlic]

Are you continuing to cook with and eat from your dirty pans and dishes that are covered with crusty food and insects?

Because considering the questions you've asked before, including all of your excessive concerns about insects and food safety, I'm starting to wonder if you've been punking us all along. Is this a bunch of bs, kenny?

 

[pepperhead212]

One word - Clorox! Soak things in a solution, but be careful about mixes. Most, but not all dish detergent will mix with it ok.

Second, if this really happened, change your habits. This can be signs of a mental health issue, which hopefully can be dealt with. The only time I ever saw something like this was in my sister's apt., but almost all that was thrown out, unless the lady that cleaned it out for me saved any of it!

 

[kenny1999]

You'll be safe if you completely wash the outside and inside of all those items. You might have to soak them first, or chip away at the stuff on them, but you'll be safe and nothing grows inside the materials they are made from.


Please take this in the spirit in which I ask you this. I care and it seems as though you didn't previously, or during childhood, have parents or custodians that answered questions or talked with you very much. You have a lot of questions and that is good, to ask all kinds of questions, and no question is stupid or wrong. How or did you help out in the kitchen when you were growing up? Did people have conversations with you during that time about kitchens and cooking and taking care of your home?

I wish I was taught about everything in the kitchen. I think I would be more confident now about everything I am doing. All I have learnt now is by myself.

I always only ask questions when I have doubt. I have common sense, but when I get onto the forum I want to know more than just common sense, In addition, sometimes even if you think your "common sense" is right, it could be wrong. I cannot think of an example at the moment, but I have such experience.

An example I can think of, I repeatedly used cheap sponge for LONG time until it broke, but I only happened to know that it should be tossed after short-term usage (e.g. a week or two) because it could harbor bacteria.

Yes, I don't even know what the bacteria is or how it will affect my health but I just feel safer now to toss a sponge within short time.

I agree that sometimes I am paranoid, you are right, during my growth my questions are often not answered, or even respected by my parents.

 

[kenny1999]

One word - Clorox! Soak things in a solution, but be careful about mixes. Most, but not all dish detergent will mix with it ok.

Second, if this really happened, change your habits. This can be signs of a mental health issue, which hopefully can be dealt with. The only time I ever saw something like this was in my sister's apt., but almost all that was thrown out, unless the lady that cleaned it out for me saved any of it!

No, it is the first time ever I haven't cleaned and washed the dishes for such a long time. It isn't my general habit.

But is it really necessary to use Clorox on dishes? Will it corrode them and make the dishes even worse to use?

 

[dragnlaw]

No kenny, the Clorox will not harm them and you don't need to use that much. As said, a good soak in super hot water and dish soap should do the job. But don't leave them soaking after the water has cooled! Drain, add more hot water and start scrubbing.

If you can still smell the Clorox (and I'm talking about on the dishes! not your hands) - then there must still be food on there or they didn't rinse well. Use really hot water to rinse.

Even your sponges can be cleansed with a squirt of vinegar at the end of the day. When they do fall apart, as you did before, toss them.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Are you continuing to cook with and eat from your dirty pans and dishes that are covered with crusty food and insects?

Because considering the questions you've asked before, including all of your excessive concerns about insects and food safety, I'm starting to wonder if you've been punking us all along. Is this a bunch of bs, kenny?

I agree. This probably the silliest thread I have witnessed on this forum.
He's trolling. No doubt about it.

 

[Linda0818]

For some reasons I haven't cleaned my cookware and dishware for WEEKS, left-over food residue and rotted vegetables are there.

It's smelling like a garbage center, the odor is strong. Flies and roaches were also seen.

Most of them are made of either ceramic, stainless steel or PP(Polypropylene)

I hope this is not a silly question but I really wish to know,

is it enough to just clean and wash them with kitchen detergent and tap water? Could bacteria or other dirty stuff migrate or get down into the inside of cookware/dishware for this long time?

Do I need to do something more to make them perfectly clean?

 

[blissful]

Kenny, like dragnlaw says, you can put vinegar into a sponge, this helps.


Bacteria will grow in most moist environments. So let's say I have a sink full of dishes and I fill it with hot water and soap. It will probably be fine for an hour but as time goes on bacteria will start to grow. Leaving it for a day would grow lots of bacteria. Standing water is usually full of bacteria.


If I left it stand for a day, I'd drain out the water, rinse everything off, then start again with clean water and soap. Washing everything, rinsing everything, and drying or letting things dry.



So after washing dishes, rinsing well, washing the inside and edges of the sink, all of which I let air dry, I rinse out the sponge good a few times with water and squeeze out all the excess water. This is when a squirt of vinegar will keep it fresher. Then the next time I want to use the sponge, I rinse it a few times again before using it. The same with washcloths.



Depending on how many dishes you use in a day, it's easiest to wash them sooner rather than later. I wash dishes 3 or more times a day with 3 people. If you only have one person in your home, you might only wash things once a day. If I have a washcloth or sponge that I'm not sure if it has been rinsed enough, or if it was dry enough overnight, I sniff it to see if it smells fresh. If it is not fresh, wash it and rinse it.



Your parents should have shown you respect and taken time for conversation and understanding.


Please ignore the unhelpful replies to your question. These people are much like your parents.

 

[kenny1999]

Kenny, like dragnlaw says, you can put vinegar into a sponge, this helps.


Bacteria will grow in most moist environments. So let's say I have a sink full of dishes and I fill it with hot water and soap. It will probably be fine for an hour but as time goes on bacteria will start to grow. Leaving it for a day would grow lots of bacteria. Standing water is usually full of bacteria.


If I left it stand for a day, I'd drain out the water, rinse everything off, then start again with clean water and soap. Washing everything, rinsing everything, and drying or letting things dry.



So after washing dishes, rinsing well, washing the inside and edges of the sink, all of which I let air dry, I rinse out the sponge good a few times with water and squeeze out all the excess water. This is when a squirt of vinegar will keep it fresher. Then the next time I want to use the sponge, I rinse it a few times again before using it. The same with washcloths.



Depending on how many dishes you use in a day, it's easiest to wash them sooner rather than later. I wash dishes 3 or more times a day with 3 people. If you only have one person in your home, you might only wash things once a day. If I have a washcloth or sponge that I'm not sure if it has been rinsed enough, or if it was dry enough overnight, I sniff it to see if it smells fresh. If it is not fresh, wash it and rinse it.



Your parents should have shown you respect and taken time for conversation and understanding.


Please ignore the unhelpful replies to your question. These people are much like your parents.

Normally I just wash my dishes with kitchen detergent and rinse with tap water and done. But this time the dishes really smell badly. I hope the ceramic is fine, but I don't think the wooden one is, I have a wooden spoon I am going to toss it.

 

[blissful]

I don't know if you can revive wood as easily as you can clean all the hard surfaces, like metal glass or ceramic.

You can try things for wood. Read this or something like this on wood. Rub with lemon and salt.....lots of ideas. https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/how-to-care-for-wooden-bowls/


With the dishes and pans and bowls, when you clean them, as you clean them, run your hands over all the surfaces when you think it is clean. If there are rough areas, that may be foodstuff stuck to it, in a thin layer that you can't easily see. (eggs do this especially and they are hard to see on white bowls) Scrub the rough areas with soap and water, and once it is smooth then rinse and dry.

 

[kenny1999]

I don't know if you can revive wood as easily as you can clean all the hard surfaces, like metal glass or ceramic.

You can try things for wood. Read this or something like this on wood. Rub with lemon and salt.....lots of ideas. https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/how-to-care-for-wooden-bowls/


With the dishes and pans and bowls, when you clean them, as you clean them, run your hands over all the surfaces when you think it is clean. If there are rough areas, that may be foodstuff stuck to it, in a thin layer that you can't easily see. (eggs do this especially and they are hard to see on white bowls) Scrub the rough areas with soap and water, and once it is smooth then rinse and dry.

I rarely buy or use lemon for my food because it's not my favorite. How about rinsing the wooden spoon (pure wood) only with very hot water repeatedly? Do you think it's good enough to wash away possible dirt and bacteria? Most woods look so porous on their surfaces.

 

[blissful]

I rarely buy or use lemon for my food because it's not my favorite. How about rinsing the wooden spoon (pure wood) only with very hot water repeatedly? Do you think it's good enough to wash away possible dirt and bacteria? Most woods look so porous on their surfaces.

I would scrub it good and rinse it in hot water, yes. Wipe it down in vinegar. I've heard that wood does not usually harbor bacteria once it is dry. Let it sit in the sun is another good thing, if you have sunshine available. I think it would be good enough.

 

[taxlady]

The University of California at Davis did a study of bacteria on wood. They found that first, the wood sucks the bacteria below the surface and then kills them. I always use a wooden cutting board when I cut raw meat, because of the antibacterial qualities of the wood. Sure, the wood looks porous, but that's probably part of its magic trick. BTW, bamboo is not wood, it's a grass. I have never read or heard about any studies about bamboo and antimicrobial properties, so make sure it's wood and not bamboo. I would thoroughly wash the wooden spoon and let it dry. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[dragnlaw]

Actually I did read a report on the antibacterial properties of bamboo. But, as is with other antibacterial properties in anything of that nature, it will lessen with time.

I have many wood and bamboo chopping boards. I use them indiscrimantely. Scrub and let dry (in sun if possible).

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I would just move, and then buy all new stuff.