In our kitchens, we normally use the cleaning agent in two forms. They are “Dishwash bar” and “Dishwash liquid”. Typical items, which are available in the market, are shown in the figure below.

Fig. 1

The cleaning agents in either of the forms are quite effective. However, they are not without shortcomings.

The normal way of using the Dishwash bar is to rub a wet scrubber on it and use it to clean the dishes. During usage, small quantities of water tend to remain on the bar and the bar will eventually become soggy. This sogginess will adversely affect the effective usage of the bar and will result in a lot of wastage.

The Dishwash liquid, on the other hand, doesn’t have the above said shortcoming. However, it tends to be more expensive.

To overcome the drawbacks and combine the advantageous points I have come out with a a third alternative. I call it DISHWASH SOLUTION. The procedure has two steps.

STEP 1: Make thin flakes of the bar as shown below. Pour the flakes into a container.

Fig. 2

STEP 2: Add water. The height of the water has to be 1.5 to 2 times the height of the flakes.

Fig. 3

There is no need to stir and make a solution. See the figure above. The top part of the mixture will be a dilute soap solution. At the bottom, there will be the flakes in a semi-solid state.

For washing the vessels, we need to use only the upper layer of liquid. Just dip the scrubber and use it for cleaning the vessels and utensils. As long as there is semi-solid stuff at the bottom, we can top up the upper layer with water. Occasionally, it may be necessary to lightly stir the mixture.

My personal experience is that the bars thus used have a very long life. It is easy to there is zero wastage and the bars are utilized one hundred percent.