Some people do, but when you see it in a movie, it's entirely possible that it's simply because the set has no running water.

Next time you see a scene where people brush their teeth in a movie or on a sitcom, and never use the tap to rinse their mouthes out, it's the same thing.

My dad does this, and starts by the cleanest plates and finish with the dirtiest.

I do as you do and am form the uk. I see some people use just the soapy water without rinse and it’s weird!

Yes, a lot of people who wash dishes in the sink, by hand use a sink of hot water and soap to soak the dishes, then they are either passed into a sink of clean water for rinsing or better yet, Piled up in the second sink for rinsing under the tap and then they go into a rack for drying. I don't know anybody who would leave the soap on the dishes, it must be an oversight in the making of the show.

Edit: I stand corrected. The way I described in common to the USA but the description by the OP is the way many do it in other places.

Asian people have a little bucket with strong.soapy water, they dip the sponge into that instead of submerging the dish, the sinks empty and they use the wet sponge and then rinse in the sink after. I thought that way was clever

This annoyed me too in Australia. A sink full of water and soap... all dishes use same water... water gets gross... then they just take the dish out of soapy dirty dish water and put on drying rack... it doesn’t seem clean to me

My house growing up did an extra step and rinsed the soapy dish in scolding hot water or a second sink of scolding hot water to rinse.

Now a days we just debate on rinsing the dishes before they go into the dish washer... my parents believe dishes must be washed first and dishwasher is more like a sanitation cycle.

“I’m soaking them.....” was an excuse I used to delay the inevitable task of doing dishes. But wouldn’t soak dishes now gross water, grosses me out.

my parents would just dump dirty dishes into one sink filled with water and let it sit until the water was disgusting. never understood that.

In restaurants and grocery stores you hand wash dishes in the three sink method, which does involve the two sinks of water that you're describing.

I don't actually like the system terribly well I prefer to rinse my dishes before I dunk them in the water. But overall it does work well for industrial quantities of dishes. At home I pretty much do them the way you're describing.

We do in Germany if we don’t have a dishwasher. I thought it’s common

It depends on how much you clean up. If you only wash 2-3 plates and glasses, using direct rinse-scrup-rinse uses less water in total. But you can run several sink-loads full of dishes through a sink full of soap water and then rinse them off in another sink full of clean water. That uses up much less water than rinsing every plate and glass individually, twice.

Dishwashing habits have changed, and detergent manufacturers have had to change their formulas to keep up. They used to be optimised for washing a large load in a full sink. Now they have to optimise for a couple of dishes at a time, and the dishes not sitting in water.

It's likely that the movies are lagging behind. Either that or you've absorbed your imagery from old movies, but I'd bet on the former.

Here's one example of detergent reformulation:

[Dawn dish soap says you're washing your dishes wrong

If there's a lot of dishes, yeah. You fill the sink with water and add dish soap and soak the dishes in it. Then you scrub it with a sponge or something (it gets soapy from the dishwater). Afterwards, you rinse. This saves water because you're not running water to wash each dish.

Nope. I just leave the water running but the sink never fills up. Still can wash dishes like that.

No one does this in easter europe as well (as far as i know). I also always found the american movies weird. We usually just put the dirty dishes in the sink, sometimes let a bowl or something like that fill with water, so it doesn't dry up and it's easier to wash. Then when you wash the dishes you just... Idk.. Wash them. With dish soap and running water.

Most comments are about doing dishes at home but I'd add that in some restaurant/food service settings, we employ the 3 sink process. First sink empty for dirty dishes and spraying off food, second sink is soapy water for scrubbing, third sink is water with a sanitizer solution for food safety compliance. This is for places that don't have a mechanical dishwasher like the deli I worked at.

I wash them in a sink full of soapy water then I rinse them with hot water to get the soap off. If there is still food and soap on the dishes then they arent clean. I don't know what it is you described those people did but it sure as fuck isn't washing the dishes.

I’ve never washed my dishes like that. For me it’s

Wet dishes Scrub with soapy sponge Rinse dishes Drying rack.

However, in commercial kitchens I’ve seen the disgusting slop sinks you’re referring to. There’s usually a second sink for rinsing and a 3rd sink for sanitizing (bleach water I guess)

When i do this the dishes typically are already rinsed well, i also rinse them off in fucking hot clean water after soapwater Also wash the "cleanest" items first, typically glasses, mugs etc.

In australia yes we do it all the time. Water conservation was a big thing growing up. No dishwasher. Although our sink water never got that gross.

Spent a year in New Zealand, and legit watched my macho manly friend don a pair of elbow length thick rubber dish gloves like Dexter's (Laboratory) mom and scrub dishes with half the sink full of soapy water. Most straight out of the 60s thing I've seen

Yeah I think most sinks (the fancier ones are usually just one big ass sink) have two small chambers. One to the left one to the right (usually) in my apartment we keep the one with the disposal clear to rinse waste down and then soak in the other if we need to. Really just the pots and pans that got pretty bad

I used to but because my wife was making a lot of dirty dishes I decided to buy a dishwasher. But I am from the Czech republic.

French there, I try to do what is faster and economical so :

2 sinks : one for washing, one for rinsing

I start like you do for glasses and things which must be very clean, BUT I keep the soapy water I used in the washing sink. Then for cutlery and dishes, I put them in the washing sink, add a bit of soap and very hot water, then I wash it with a soapy sponge before throwing them in the rinsing sink with a little water. It is very fast, because the soapy hot water disolves the fat and other dirty things while I'm rinsing the things in the rinsing sink (I always use more flowing water to be sure it is well rinsed). If the washing sink is too dirty or greasy, I empty it then switch sinks (using the former rinsing water as a washing water).

For drying, I never use a towel because it adds a nasty taste, I let them dry in the air on a drying rack

My wife's grandmother does this. We were staying with them for a bit to help out her grandfather after he had his surgery and I went to do dishes and didn't fill the sink with water and she dog cussed me about how it's her house and she knows how to do dishes so I have to do them her way from here on out. She later came to our apartment and saw me doing them my way and made a comment as well. I just told her it was my house so she had to do them my way and moved on with my day

I still do it the old way. Sink full of the hottest soapy water I can stand. Glassware, cutlery, plates and bowls go in first and soak for a couple min. They are then washed and rinsed in said order. Then all the cooking pots and pans last. If I have particularly grimey pans, they are last to wash and I will fill a new sink of hottest soapy water. I despise grey water without bubbles. Maybe its totally psychological, but I gotta have my bubbles to feel like its clean.

Im from California and recently moved to Lousiana, and i wash my dishes like you soapy spong and some running water, but my boyfriend from here fills one side of sink with dirty dishes and full of water, then fills another sink right side with fresh soapy water and drops dishes there and washes with sponge. He uses no running water. He says this method saves water!? I like my method seeems better!! So both methods are common here i think. Im Hispanic and hes black if that helps. xd

I don't soak my dishes in the sink because of any bacteria already in the sink plus I hate the the thought of the excess food just floating in the sink. 🤢 Yes I'm paranoid even though I clean really well. Its also just easier to clean the dishes off quickly and out them in the dishwasher unless they are a delicate dish. Those are washed quickly by hand and put on the drying mat by the sink or just dried and put away.

I’ll use the same water filled up to clear the debris and get it “surface clean” and the put the dishes in my dishwasher To make sure the dishes are clean. I’m from the US btw

My parents used to do it like this, fill the sink with hot water and soap and wash dishes like that. Personally, I rinse off any debris first and organise the dishes, then I wash with clean hot water and soap.

It depends on how people do it.

Some people let dishes pile up then wash them all at once.

Which are the times you would fill the sink and clean them.

Soap+ soaking in hot water then take each plate and wipe with a rag or sponge

Then you rinse and sit on a towel or rack of some sort to dry.

However a lot of people also do dishes as they appear, or everyone does their own dishes on average. In this case you would not fill the sink. You would wet the plate with hot water, add soap, scrub, then rinse and sit aside for drying.

Many sinks have 2 sides with 1 usually being for "dirty" dishes and the other for "clean" dishes

The way you do it is how my wife does dishes... but man it wastes a lot of water, compared to filling a sink, I'm not sure how you can feel it's the opposite.

I'm from Europe and I've had the same situation (but the other way round) with my girlfriend from Asia. Me and most people I know fill up the sink, wash stuff in there, then put them to dry or even dry them with a towel. She (and everyone she knows) would have the water running throughout the entire process. It caused some irritation for both of us, but after all, it is the beauty of a multicultural relationship that you discover these small every-day cultural differences all the time.