- by Salimat Oluwakemi Garba
Travelling is the salt of life – flavouring it with new experiences, cultures, scenery, food, beliefs, and lifestyles. But as sweet as these adventures can be, some experiences are a little too salty; leaving you with revelations you weren’t quite ready for.
As a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, I’ve encountered a fair share of culture shocks. Some make me smile, others make me think, but one in particular leaves me absolutely baffled every single time: Why don’t Brits rinse their dishes after washing them?
Growing up in a Nigerian household, dishwashing was more than a chore—it was a ritual. Our kitchen didn’t have a sink or modern facilities, but we had a system that worked. My brother and I, around 7 or 8 years old at the time, shared the duty. One of us would scrub dishes in soapy water, and the other would rinse them – not once, but twice – in two separate bowls of clean water.
We were also taught something very specific: soapy bubbles should never be left to dry on dishes. Letting them sit and crust over was considered both unhygienic and just plain wrong. If that happened, you had to wash the dishes all over again with no exceptions.
So, we worked quickly, making sure each plate or pot went straight from soap to clean rinse before drying. When the first rinsing bowl started to get soapy, we’d throw out the original wash water, shift things around, and refill the second rinse bowl with fresh water.
Even now, with modern sinks and running water, the principle remains the same: wash, then rinse thoroughly under clean, running water before draining.
Imagine my shock when I moved to the UK and discovered that many Brits skip the rinsing altogether. Dishes go straight from the soapy water to the drying rack, as though the bubbles magically vanish with air.
At first, I thought it was a one-off. Then I saw it again. And again. Until it became clear: this wasn’t a fluke, it was a thing.
So, naturally, I took to my TikTok @diaryofamediagirl. I posted a video titled “British doing dishes culture shock…” where I showed exactly what I’d been seeing: Brits washing dishes in soapy water and placing them, still sudsy, straight onto the rack.
What I didn’t expect? The avalanche of reactions.
User @teatimediy: Not me or my husband’s family, but my mum doesn’t rinse them. She doesn’t change the water midway either.
User @thesendmumsatnav2025 offered some justifications: 1. Our sinks and spaces are smaller, so rinsing into a full sink is tricky. 2. They’re never that soapy. I let the soap run off. 3. It’s about saving water.
User @n4katom1 clapping back at thesendmum: 1. In all of Europe, sinks are like that. You can place dishes aside and rinse them all at once. 2. Yes, they are that soapy. The soap doesn’t come off by itself – ewww.
User @cyanosisregina chimed in with a personal policy: “I’m a Brit, and that grossed me out. We rinse under hot running water. My family’s neurodiverse, so rinsing is a must. Now I know why I don’t eat at people’s houses!
Then there was User @tijaygi: Grew up in a house where everything tasted like soap. I rinse heavily now.
The reactions were as varied as they were enlightening. It turns out, not all Brits skip rinsing, but enough do that it’s become something of a generational habit passed down like Yorkshire pudding recipes or Sunday roast traditions.
But here’s my lingering concern: beyond the sight of foamy dishes being just plain off-putting, what about the taste? The slick texture? The perfumed residue of washing-up liquid? And more seriously the health implications. We don’t eat soap for a reason, right?
In the end, this isn’t about who’s right or wrong, it’s about how deeply our habits are shaped by culture, environment, and upbringing. What seems unthinkable in one household is totally normal in another.
Still, I’ll be here with my rinsed plates and raised eyebrows, wondering how many cups of tea have been served with a hint of Fairy Liquid on the side.
Oluwakemi S G 
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