Whether it's your daily duties, or the task of clean-up after throwing a large dinner party, doing dishes an unavoidable and cumbersome chore. Not to mention that feeling of dread once all the guests have gone on their way, and you’re left to deal with the mountain of dishes.

No need to worry, though. We’ve put together a quick read on how to get through those utensils faster than you can say “pro dishwasher.” Okay, not that fast. But, you’ll learn:

• • • The system professional dishwashers use to clean dishes during peak times

    • How to escape the smelly, moldy sponge using our premium microfiber dish cloth and scrubbing sponge

    • Do you own a dishwasher? Discover tips and tricks for making the most out of it, such as why rinsing dishes beforehand wastes time

“My dishwasher was broken and I bought these while buying the glass cloths. They’re so good. I don't mind washing the dishes at all. Very little soap is needed and I didn't have to use any cleanser on the pots.” - Diana Sander, United States

Best Pro-tools for Cleaning Dishes in Minutes

1. Organize and Prioritize

Hey, we get it.

Nobody likes doing dishes.

What if I told you there’s a way to trick your mind (or your family’s) into wanting to clean the dishes?

According to a study by the Journal of Neuroscience, decluttering your environment frees up brain power that can be invested in other tasks.

For example, taking five minutes to arrange your plates, bowls, silverware, and casserole dishes into neat piles at the edge of your sink will look less intimidating.

Consequently, your brain won’t get overwhelmed by the “endless” piles of dishes and utensils. Instead, it’ll think, “Okay, I have X piles of plates and bowls to go through. No biggie!”

Here’s an organization system to help you declutter your kitchen and make your dishes more manageable:

• • • Glassware: Arrange your glasses, pitchers, mugs, and wine glasses as close to the sink or dishwasher as possible.

    • Plates and bowls: Stack your plates and bowls into neat piles. Don’t go too high, or they’ll fall over. Place the non-stackables next to these piles, fitting them on one another where possible.

    • Flatware: Collect all your knives, spoons, ladles, and forks into a huge bowl or colander.

    • Cookware: Place them furthest from your sink, as these are usually the most soiled.

“These rags are my favorite, they get the toughest food out of my pots without scratching. And they dry fast after use.” - Kiesha Williams, United States

2. Scrape and Soak the Tough Stuff

Ah, dinner parties.

They're fun filled evenings with all the food, glorious food.

However, when people are spoiled for choice, they usually try and eat as much as they can, which, if we’re being honest, isn’t much at all.

The result? A ton of leftovers.

As a rule of thumb, try to salvage what you can with the correct storage methods and leftover recipes. It’s best not to waste good food when you don’t have to.

As for the gunk that’s left on the glassware, cookware, and flatware, use a plastic scraper or a butter knife to scrape it off.

And for the love of gingerbread cookies and jingle bells, don’t throw them in the sink. Toss them directly into the bin or the garbage disposal.

If your pots and skillets are giving you a hard time, add some water to them and a few drops of dish soap and return them to the stove.

After the water comes to a boil, allow it to sit for 20 minutes or so, and try scrapping out the gunk again.

Expert Tip: Place some fresh lemon slices with water into an ice cube tray and freeze them. Run the cubes through the garbage disposal to keep it fresh and sparkling clean.

3. Pick the Right Tools for the Job

Most of the time, the line that separates an expert dishwasher and a novice is the tools they use.

For instance, using a scrubbing brush to clean a pot that made a delicious seems like a good idea at first blush.

Far from it.

You see, the problem is the brush will get all the gunk out of your dish, but then you’ll have to find a way of getting the food particles out of the bristles.

That’s too much work. We’re working on a tight schedule, people. We need a solution that’s effective and requires little to no effort for the post-clean-up.

Fortunately, Microfiber Wholesale has made two power tools to help you do just that.

Microfiber Scrubbing Sponge

Our Microfiber Scrubbing Sponge has polypropylene scrubbers on one side and microfiber on the other.

The scrubby side is coarse enough to remove caked foods without scratching the surface, which is excellent news if you own any nonstick, stainless steel, or Teflon pans.

Consequently, you won’t have to expend too much elbow grease to clean your pots and pans or worry about them getting ugly and scratched up.

In contrast, the microfiber side absorbs eggnog spills and wipes down your counters after you’re done dealing with all the dishes.

That’s not even the best part, though.

After your entire kitchen is spotless, you simply throw them in the wash, and they’ll be good as new.

As you can see, we take the squeaky in “squeaky clean” very seriously.

“So far I've used 1 sponge for 2 weeks on all types of dishes. It has made cleaning much easier and more enjoyable. It suds up nicely with just one drop of soap and both sides work great. I’m never buying a disposable sponge ever again.” - Tierra Blanks, United States

Microfiber Scrubber Dish Cloth

If you’ve been too traumatized by moldy, rancid, sour-smelling sponges to ever touch one again, you need to try our Buff™ Home Microfiber Scrubber Dish Cloth.

These are not your average store-bought dishrags.

No sir.

Not only do they have a scrubbing side to remove sticky Christmas spills and stuck foods, but they may also be the only antibacterial dish cloths on the market.

When we say “antibacterial” we don’t mean it in the chemical sense. You see, the tiny fibers on these cloths are extremely good at picking up and holding onto bacteria, germs, and debris from your kitchen appliances.

“This is not my first purchase of these dish cloths nor will it be my last .… I will NEVER go back to icky sponges again. I can machine wash AND dry these to know that they are truly clean for the next use. When they wear out, I order again for speedy, FREE shipping. What's not to love?” - Amy Cairo, United States

4. Hand Washing Your Dishes Like a Pro

Dinner parties are usually special occasions where you get to break out the fancy china and silverware.

At times, some of these plates have been passed down multiple generations, and most families want to keep passing them down.

As such, it’s not advisable to throw them in the dishwasher as they can break or get damaged.

If you want to avoid this and save your ancestors the agony of possibly haunting you (just kidding,) follow these steps:

1. If you have a double-tub sink, fill one with warm water and the other with cold water. The warm water will melt the grease off, and using cold water conserves energy. If you have one sink, use a basin or tub for the rinse water.

2. Start with the least soiled utensils. Usually, this includes the glasses, mugs, and pitchers. Since we arranged the glassware close to the sink, so it’ll be easy to get through them.

3. You must never submerge any knives into the soapy water. You’ll slice your hands open, and flush your holiday spirit down the drain. Pick them from the colander or bowl you had organized them in and wash them individually.

4. Next, using the scrubby side of your dish cloth or sponge, wash all the plates that couldn’t be stacked, like one of those fish-shaped plates, before moving on to stackables. Doing this lets you get the clunk out of the way first and quickly sort through the other plates.

5. Lastly, using the coarse side of the microfiber sponge (or dish cloth,) work on your pots, skillets, and pans. Since you don’t have to worry about scratching them, use as much pressure as you need to get them sparkling clean.

5. Dishwashing Tips and Tricks

Using a dishwasher is not rocket science. You just throw the dishes inside and get on with your life, right?

Technically yes, but there are a couple of things you can do to make the whole process more efficient.

The following information may come in handy, especially during the holidays when your dishwashing machine may have to work full-time.

• • • Don’t rinse your plates before placing them in the dishwasher. It sounds counterintuitive, but most dishwashers have something called a soil sensor.
      It gauges how dirty your plates are and allocates the relevant water pressure to clean them accordingly. If you over-rinse greasy plates, they won’t get the correct amount of pressure and heat they need to get clean.
    • As tempting as it may be to throw all your dishes into the dishwasher, don’t. If you want to know how far you can push it, try and move the spray arms manually to see if they have room to move or not. Adjust accordingly.
    • Are your dishes not getting as clean as they need to be? Your filter is probably full. It’s located at the bottom of the dishwasher tub, under the lower rack.

Caution: Never put wine glasses, a cast iron pan, wooden utensils, anything screen printed, or nonstick pans into a dishwasher. They’ll get damaged beyond repair.

“I love how these work on my dishes. It has a nice spongy side to wipe counters and a gentle yet firm scrubby side that is gentle on non-stick pans, yet strong enough to clean the stuck-on bits. I LOVE these. Highly recommended.” - Rita Navroth, United States

From a Messy Mountain to a Stress-free Kitchen

If you organize, prioritize, soak, and scrub your utensils, you’ll return your kitchen to its usual magnificent glory in no time.

At Microfiber Wholesale, we pride ourselves in building excellent customer relationships through prioritizing customer satisfaction and ensuring we offer value through high-quality content.

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