Dishwashing tips to make your china shine

Who says washing dishes in the sink is drudgery? Some people see standing over the sink washing dishes as much-welcome "quiet time," ideal for thinking or perhaps listening to music or talk radio. To get super-clean dishes, fill your sink up with warm water, add a few squirts of natural dish soap, pull on your rubber gloves and have fun at it.

Let them soak for 10 minutes in lemon juice-infused hot water.

Sprinkle them with kosher salt and dish soap before rinsing them until they're squeaky clean.

Oven-proof casserole dishes of clear glass may be marred with large cloudy spots even though they're clean as a whistle. Eggs, milk, cheese and other proteins are the culprits and none can stand up to white vinegar. All it takes to remove them is rubbing the spots with a vinegar-soaked sponge or cleaning cloth.

If you're so germ-shy that even antibacterial dishwashing liquid isn't enough to put your mind at ease, soak washed dishes in a sink in a solution of 15 millilitres (one tablespoon) of household bleach to four litres (one gallon) of water. After five minutes, rinse well with fresh water and air-dry.

Unlined rubber gloves may leave an odour on your hands reminiscent of auto tires. How to prevent it? Rub lotion on your hands before slipping on the gloves. No rubbery smell and a hand moisturizing treatment as you wash!

Keep your dishes sparkling clean with these great dishwashing tips — you may even come to love the job.