In the US, we were blessed with a dish washing machine. It was great. Put dirty dishes in, fill with dishwasher detergent, turn on and voila! Clean dishes!
Our first apartment here had a dishwasher. It was tiny, and I was told by several people that it would be really expensive to pay for the energy to run it. Since we don't have running hot water (I've yet to visit a house/apartment here that does), the dishwashers have to have the ability to heat up the water (like the shower heads). This means running the dishwasher gets expensive. So we just never bothered with it. And as a result, we did lots of dishes.
We moved to an apartment without a dishwasher. And I still do lots of dishes. I know that some say that the products here are made so that clean up is a breeze, but I disagree. It takes a lot of scrubbing to get those pots and pans clean. And it does require a lot of soap. But a few months back a Brazilian friend of mine recommended using Ypê bar soap. There are a couple different brands, but
I wouldn't necessarily say this kind of soap has revolutionized my dishwashing, but it is cheaper because the soap lasts for every. You just rub your sponge on the soap, work up a lather and wash away. It's a little less convenient, but it's one area in the household budget where you can save a little money. And that's nothing to sneeze at!
I remember many years ago when my mother was astounded with the electricity bill after using her brand new dishwasher everyday for a month. Having said that, I'd expect the new models to be a lot more efficient so I wonder if that wisdom still holds true.
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, washing machines that heat themselves are making a come back in other places. I now live in London and the new machine we bought last year does that even though we have a hot water supply. The manufacturer realized that the hot water from the boiler can fluctuate in pressure and temperature and it's better if the machine controls everything itself. It doesn't seem to affect our bill very much, by the way.
I like the notion of using the bar soap. It does save money!
ReplyDeleteI noticed that in Minas, apartments don't come with hot water. Instead, you have the heater with electrodes (i.e. the unsafe shower head where I get mild electric shocks when I turn off the water!) In Rio, people do have hot water but it's not the same as the boiler and hot water heater we have in the US. They have a small tank that heats a few liters of water and so you don't need the scary looking shower head with all the wires sticking out!
At least hot showers in Brazil last longer than in the US!
The reason you're getting shocked is because you dont have a ground wire. Put that in and you have no more shocking experiences...
DeleteYeah, if only I knew how to do that....if I could put in a ground wire in Brazil, I'm sure I could fix lots of other problems too!
DeleteI actually use this soap for my body. Less chemicals and I use way less than that of your normal body soaps. The lather is incredibale as well for such little use per shower. I live alone, so I don't share this product with anyone and have noticed that one bare will last 2 months easy com certeza. The only thing I miss about the states I think is the, Dawn, liquid soap. I think about it a lot when I do my dishes here. I miss another thing too, cheezits. Oh and, Golden Grahms, as well... kkkkkkkkkkk
ReplyDeleteLong lasting soap--isn't it great to find something of quality that is cheap?! Yeah, don't go down that road of reminiscing about certain products. It's dangerous...:-)
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