If you don’t have a dishwasher you will need to know how to wash the dishes effectively so you don’t end up with dirty and spotty dishes. Even if you do have a dishwasher, you might hand-wash fine china or you might hand-wash the dishes if you don’t use a lot of dishes. Dishwashing is more complicated than you might think, especially in tiny apartments or in homes with small sink and counter areas. Here are some suggestions that will help you learn how to wash the dishes quickly and efficiently so that you will end up with spotless dishes in no time:

Pre-treat the dishes: This is especially important to get all the food debris off the dishes before you start to wash them. If you have a double sink pre-treating is easy. Just fill one side of the sink with hot water. Make the water as hot as you can stand, but always wear gloves. Add a tablespoon of a gentle, all-natural dish detergent like Rockin' Green Auto Dish. Put all the dishes in the hot and soapy water and let them soak. That will get rid of any extra debris. If you only have one sink you can mix up a pre-treating solution by putting hot water, a few tablespoons of vinegar, and a tablespoon of natural detergent in a spray bottle. Spray the dishes and let them sit before washing to loosen all the leftover food debris.

Add vinegar to the rinse water: The best way to make sure that your dishes are clean and prevent spots when you are hand washing dishes is to add about a half cup of white vinegar to the rinse water. If you have two sinks and one sink is filled with hot water you can fill the other side of the sink with cold water. Pour about a half of a cup of vinegar into the water and rinse your dishes in that water. Your dishes, especially your glassware, will sparkle. If you don’t have a dual sink you can rinse your dishes in cool water under the tap. Wipe them down with a rag soaked in white vinegar after you rinse them to prevent spots.

Get the right equipment: In order to make sure that do the best job when you are washing the dishes invest in the right tools. Get a dishrack, a sponge with a handle, dish washing gloves, and a natural detergent that won’t deposit dyes, chemicals or fragrance on your dishes.