Protect hands from dish washing

[faa2010]

Hi, could you please give me some advice on how to protect my hands from washing dishes?

Should I do it after the end of the day?, after playing the piano?, which process should I follow before and after doing the dishes?

[quantum]

Wear gloves when washing dishes.  Dish detergent can dry out your hands.  If this is something you do a lot, then apply moisturizer to your hands afterwards. 

Use scrubbers, scour pads, brushes, etc. to do the work, don't use your hands or nails to scrub. 

[ted]

I have washed the dishes at least once a day for sixty years and have encountered no problems. What exactly is the trouble, dermatitis from the soap ? If so, try using less of it, most people waste soap, and water too for that matter. If dermatitis is actually present then follow quantum's suggestion and wear gloves until it disappears. You could also try using different soap and see what happens; perhaps you are allergic to certain soaps. Be sure to rinse your hands after doing the dishes of course.

[j_tour]

Paper plates?

No, I'll stop that.  Yeah, I mean absolutely I can't really play when my hands are damp or freshly dried, so at the end of the day is ideal.

But you must be washing a lot of dishes that this would become an issue.

I'm sure like many people in my younger days I knew quite a few guitarists who were "professional" dishwashers, and at least one them swore by using a glove on his fretting hand.

But for me at home, it's not really an issue, just washing a few plates or the odd pan and utensil every now and then.  Yeah, I have an electric dishwasher, but I just don't like to use it:  it's pretty loud and not, in the end, any easier than just grabbing a sponge or a scrubby and getting it over with.

I much prefer the concentrated forms of dish soaps:  just a tiny bit on a sponge and it really lasts at least a few dishes.

[outin]

If one has atopic skin type, washing dishes definitely may cause problems. My solution: A dishwasher
If I do wash by hand I usually wear disposable nitrile gloves which I also do when cleaning the house.

[Bob]

I've been noticing dish soap seems nicer on my hands than alcohol hand sanitizer.

Otherwise, just eliminate the problem -- Get rid of the dishes.  Plastic silverware, paper plates, plastic cups.  Aluminum foil over anything used to bake.  Not much to wash that way.

[faa2010]

Thanks for the advice, I have been wearing gloves and trying not using lemon soap so I can protect my hands.

Aim: caring for my skin, muscles and bones.

The issues are that sometimes water enters in the gloves, running out of water, there are dishes, plates or pans with burnt crumps or grease, or the water can turn either too cold or too warm.

Besides of risking my skin, I start to have like muscle cramps, my fingers, phalanges or my joints related to my hands and wrists get in pain.

[j_tour]

Yeah, doing a mega dishwashing session kills my back, every time, just essentially stooping down to get into the sink.  It is not the worst household task, but it is annoying, probably, but not to the extent that you have some legitimate grievances about the task.

You might try the nitrile gloves:  I have to use them to handle hazardous materials at work from time to time, and while they're not the most comfortable, depending on if you get the right size, they're very form-fitting, so maybe less of an issue of water seeping in.  I think they come generally in boxes of, say, fifty or a hundred, for cheap, but they might have them in smaller quantities as well.

TBH I do use paper plates somewhat often, and aluminum foil for baking things, somewhat like Bob was saying.  It seems very lazy, and it is, but it's also convenient.  And one two or four quart/liter pot for boiling water doesn't need to be washed too often. 

[Bob]

TBH I do use paper plates somewhat often, and aluminum foil for baking things, somewhat like Bob was saying.  It seems very lazy, and it is, but it's also convenient.  And one two or four quart/liter pot for boiling water doesn't need to be washed too often. 

It's not lazy.  It's not worth the time.  You have to buy the food, cook the food, and then spend time eating it, the good part.  And then to wash dishes for how long after that?  Ditto on reusing things.  You can reuse cooking pots or even the paper/plastic stuff a few times before throwing it out.  A used paper plate can become the lower paper plate when they're too thin for whatever's in them.


Also.... Neosporin on the hands to help heal them.  Raising the humidity in the room too if it's too dry for the hands.  If the environment is overall dry, your hands are going to dry out.  Washing dishes isn't going to be the big catalyst for that.  Staying hydrated, eating well, etc. is good too then for keeping skin from cracking.  I'm not an expert.  I've just noticed it from different places I've been and different times of the year.  Sometimes it just sucks for skin cracking.

I suppose disposable gloves too.  If you don't want to have your hands need better cleaning, throw on a pair of throwaway gloves.  Wear, do, toss.  Hands stay the same pretty much.

[dogperson]

Thanks for the advice, I have been wearing gloves and trying not using lemon soap so I can protect my hands.

Aim: caring for my skin, muscles and bones.

The issues are that sometimes water enters in the gloves, running out of water, there are dishes, plates or pans with burnt crumps or grease, or the water can turn either too cold or too warm.

Besides of risking my skin, I start to have like muscle cramps, my fingers, phalanges or my joints related to my hands and wrists get in pain.

Since you are also having pain and muscle cramps, I suggest that you see a physician for an evaluation.

[perfect_pitch]

Is a dishwasher out of the question??? I love my dishwasher...

[lostinidlewonder]

Do you know many elderly people who have damaged their hands from washing dishes? Are you washing industrial grade appliances? What about washing yourself in the shower or bath does that cause damage? Are you using water or acid? ahha

[faa2010]

Do you know many elderly people who have damaged their hands from washing dishes? Are you washing industrial grade appliances? What about washing yourself in the shower or bath does that cause damage? Are you using water or acid? ahha

Well, sorry if I am caring about my hands too much, but in my family they have warned me about hand damaging if I don't take good measures while I am cooking and washing dishes.   My grandmothers, my aunts and even my mother have suffered from joint pain in their hands because of drastic temperature changing, the skin in the hands gets ruined with the contact of the soap used to wash dishes.  The last time I washed dishes, my hands and wrists hurt.

If you haven't had any of these problems, well then Congratulations, it is great that you have great genes and a strong skin, but consider that not everyone have them.

[lostinidlewonder]

Well, sorry if I am caring about my hands too much, but in my family they have warned me about hand damaging if I don't take good measures while I am cooking and washing dishes.

Well, sorry if I sound unsensitive but it seems really melodramatic to think that the physical action of washing dishes, the temperature of the water and apparent difficulty to avoid soap on the hands is something that may cause damage. Perhaps for people who do very very little physical activity and washing dishes is the hardest thing they have to do this may cause a problem but honestly to me that sounds really feeble. Do you have problems washing yourself in the shower or bath, does the temperature of the water then cause you problems, what about dressing yourself, does the weight of the clothing cause harm to your wrists too?

My grandmothers, my aunts and even my mother have suffered from joint pain in their hands because of drastic temperature changing, the skin in the hands gets ruined with the contact of the soap used to wash dishes.  The last time I washed dishes, my hands and wrists hurt.

There is zero difficulty to avoid the soap and to say your wrists hurt from washing dishes must mean that you have a medical condition which causes your joints to be so sensitive that even lifting up a dish to wash it causes problems. Are you hoping that someone here on a piano group can suggest what medical therapy might be required for you to manage washing dishes?

If you haven't had any of these problems, well then Congratulations, it is great that you have great genes and a strong skin, but consider that not everyone have them.

Please consider also that this situation you have posted comes across as very melodramatic. My mother was a skin specialist and dealt with people with many different types of conditions, if you have eczema or psoraisis then it should be no surprise to you that chemical soaps and detergents can cause problems. But you are talking about even the action of picking up a dish which causes you pain, how are we to help you defy gravity so they become lighter, what about the temperature of the water how can we help with that if you haven't thought about how to keep water temperature stable or learn to wait till the water is at an appropriate temperature for you? Sorry this situation sounds quite unusual to me or I am reading this thread wrongly lol.

[compline]

Well, sorry if I am caring about my hands too much, but in my family they have warned me about hand damaging if I don't take good measures while I am cooking and washing dishes.   My grandmothers, my aunts and even my mother have suffered from joint pain in their hands because of drastic temperature changing, the skin in the hands gets ruined with the contact of the soap used to wash dishes.  The last time I washed dishes, my hands and wrists hurt.

If you haven't had any of these problems, well then Congratulations, it is great that you have great genes and a strong skin, but consider that not everyone have them.

faa, 2010 I have never heard of you condition of hands and wrists hurting after washing dishes. Does the same happen when you wash in the shower?   Is this an age related problem?  Arthritis maybe?    I hope you don't mind me asking.  But I would suggest  you buy a dish washer to ease your burden. If you live alone you can buy  a smaller counter top dish washer that is easy to manage.     
If you wash the dishes by hand just make sure you don't let it pile up, wash as you use the plates , cups etc...   Put pots and pans in soak after cooking so that they are easier to clean.  I don't understand when you say water can trickle into the gloves, you can buy  washing up gloves that go right half way up your arm or to your elbow.   Buy non allergic gloves too.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from playing the piano, but does that not give you pain either, I'm sure your physician would advise you better as he knows your condition.  How long do you play or practice for before feeling pain? do you just want to play for pleasure?

 
   
Sorry, but we just don't  know enough of your medical history, not that we should but perhaps an orthopaedic  specialist would advise about wrist/joint  pain.  You can also find out about a skin specialist,   very delicate skin,  One thing you could try is wear wrist supports or braces,   a bit like what sports people use.    Sometimes google or youtube have good tips.

[j_tour]

It's not lazy.  It's not worth the time.  You have to buy the food, cook the food, and then spend time eating it, the good part.  And then to wash dishes for how long after that?  Ditto on reusing things.  You can reuse cooking pots or even the paper/plastic stuff a few times before throwing it out.  A used paper plate can become the lower paper plate when they're too thin for whatever's in them.

That's extremely true, Betty Bob Crocker.  Absolutely.  You can easily cook meats in the microwave (I don't like the microwave, but it can be used!) and extra paper plates can be both splatter-shields and grease spouts, perhaps with a few holes cut in them.

It absolutely works, and for regular comestibles, of course you can reuse disposable plates.  Plastic utensils as well.

Chopsticks!  Just give them a good wipe on your shirt and they're good to go!

And you can give them to some girl or whatever you're sweet on and say, "I'll always thought you'd look sexy using chopsticks to hold up your hair in back!"

That's a winner!  It's a man's secret!  She'll never has to know where those chopsticks have been.  A woman's touch takes a man's secret.

I suppose disposable gloves too.  If you don't want to have your hands need better cleaning, throw on a pair of throwaway gloves.  Wear, do, toss.  Hands stay the same pretty much.

Why not?  As said by someone else above, they have gloves that come up to your elbow and beyond!  Unimaginable, but it's true!

There are actually chemists, and chemical engineers who use similar PPE on a daily basis!  And they're not using anything as caustic or inflammatory as housewives' Palmolive neither.  I'm pretty sure PPE can be obtained for cheap, in bulk, for people who have sensitive hands.

Or you could just take up playing the drums, if the housewives' and chemists' solutions aren't good enough.

It may be that the life of a professional dishwasher is not in the cards for the OP, though.

It's not for everybody, after all.

And then to wash dishes for how long after that?

Yeah, it may be the voice of experience, but it takes me no longer to wash one plate/bowl/utensil than thirty seconds, at most.  If one is worried about dysentery or whatever, a soak in a dilute bleach solution is a boon. 

Cookingware?  Yes, cast-iron pans and stainless steel-clad pots and pans need some attention from time to time, but bringing water to boil in a salt solution is somewhat effective, in addition to letting them soak.

I think diluted bleach is the only hope for this case.  Trust in bleach.  Love the bleach.  Admire the bleach.  Trust the bleach.  Rub it into your scalp.  Welcome the bleach into your heart.  Touch it!  Touch the bleach!  It's a good compound, and as long as one isn't dim-witted, you really don't have to splash it all over your clothes.  That last part is optional:  some people like the "distressed clothing" look.

Bleach. Hell, I drink the stuff!  Love it.

If I'd listened to blood relatives, I never would have gone through with drilling that hole in my skull, and I've never felt better.  Why would you listen to some random blood relatives?  If getting your hands wet makes you turn into a Gremlin, you should probably consult a knowledgeable person.

ETA, and, how could I forget?  Just wash the dishes in the shower or bath!  You're there anyway, every once in a while.  Eat the remnants of the floor, if still hungry.  Install a garbage disposal! 

EETA Here's one for the younger audience, "I thought you were Dale!"  Yankee old commercial for dishsoap.

[faa2010]

faa, 2010 I have never heard of you condition of hands and wrists hurting after washing dishes. Does the same happen when you wash in the shower?   Is this an age related problem?  Arthritis maybe?    I hope you don't mind me asking.  But I would suggest  you buy a dish washer to ease your burden. If you live alone you can buy  a smaller counter top dish washer that is easy to manage.     
If you wash the dishes by hand just make sure you don't let it pile up, wash as you use the plates , cups etc...   Put pots and pans in soak after cooking so that they are easier to clean.  I don't understand when you say water can trickle into the gloves, you can buy  washing up gloves that go right half way up your arm or to your elbow.   Buy non allergic gloves too.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from playing the piano, but does that not give you pain either, I'm sure your physician would advise you better as he knows your condition.  How long do you play or practice for before feeling pain? do you just want to play for pleasure?

 
   
Sorry, but we just don't  know enough of your medical history, not that we should but perhaps an orthopaedic  specialist would advise about wrist/joint  pain.  You can also find out about a skin specialist,   very delicate skin,  One thing you could try is wear wrist supports or braces,   a bit like what sports people use.    Sometimes google or youtube have good tips.

Don't worry, if I posted that, it is because lostinidlewonder's posts have been very insensitive in my point of view, he puts it like it is not a big deal or that I am just paranoid or melodramatic, but if I don't take the right measures in this house chore, then one, I won't know how to do the house chore in the right way when it is my turn (yeah, I live with my family, but if I decide to live alone I will be in bankrupt); and second, as time goes by, the damage will be treated too late if I don't check it right now, like not brushing my teeth which can lead me to cavities, exercises for the knees if I do irresponsibly fitting exercises, eating unhealthy things which can lead me to diabetes, hipertension, etc.

If you check in the forum, I loaded some videos where I play the piano, so you can see that you are misunderstanding me: I am fit, I can lift a reasonable weight and I can play the piano (even though you see me stiff). If I have pain is because of passing from cold to hot and viceversa, the way I wash the dishes probably, because in some moments where I move my fingers, hands or wrists in the process, they start to hurt, like if they were cramping, and the way my skin turns after washing the dishes is completely different from taking a shower or washing my hands.  And my family warned me about the arthritis, which runs in the family.

If I put this post I did it because I was thinking that there could be some pianists who have the same dilemma because as pianists we need to look for our health, specially caring for the hands, through time. And I wanted some to share their own experience in the matter, and how they have solved it.

BTW, I liked other suggestions from other users, like buying the food and using paper plates and utensils, and the dish washer, I even remember seen one in action. The problem with the dishwasher is that we can't afford it right now, and if we could, there is not enough space in the kitchen to place it.  Using gloves I have also used, and it has been imperative for me to use them even thoughmy other lazy family members don't use them always.

[lostinidlewonder]

....it is because lostinidlewonder's posts have been very insensitive in my point of view, he puts it like it is not a big deal or that I am just paranoid or melodramatic....

Insensitive? So you expect every single reply on here to wrap you up in cotton wool? You post on the internet and will get various replies. How do you expect us to help you defy gravity and make dishes lighter so your ultra weak wrists don't get pain? Worrying about arthritis from washing dishes to me sounds very melodramatic, it is almost as if washing dishes is the most strenuous activity you ever do.

[j_tour]

it is almost as if washing dishes is the most strenuous activity you ever do.

Well, not everyone has a mother in a fruit cellar telling him or her how any push-ups/press-ups one should do every day.

You're a very mean person.

A boy's best friend is his mother, you know.

The OP is so harmless he wouldn't hurt a fly, and yet you insist he wear gloves to do some underwater swim-aerobics?

Very insensitive.

There are some very sophisticated, advanced techniques needed when washing dishes, and to get to ABRSM 8+ in washing dishes is not a simple task.  It takes years of dedicated, directed practice.  There are some prodigies, but they are very rare when it comes to washing dishes. 

[dogperson]

I have suggested to the OP earlier, but I will repeat:

You need to go see a physician. Pain with washing dishes is not normal and should be investigated.  I am not dismissing this as not being real; on the contrary, I believe it but also believe you really need to see a physician.

[lostinidlewonder]

Well, not everyone has a mother in a fruit cellar telling him or her how any push-ups/press-ups one should do every day.

We don’t have cellars they are not popular down under unless you live in Cooper Pedy but then it’s more like your whole house is underground.

You're a very mean person.

Yes I mean well.

A boy's best friend is his mother, you know.

I thought it would be a puppy?

The OP is so harmless he wouldn't hurt a fly, and yet you insist he wear gloves to do some underwater swim-aerobics?

I’m still stuck at the problem of defying gravity so the wrists don’t get impacted upon by the downward force of the weight.

There are some very sophisticated, advanced techniques needed when washing dishes, and to get to ABRSM 8+ in washing dishes is not a simple task.  It takes years of dedicated, directed practice.  There are some prodigies, but they are very rare when it comes to washing dishes.

I think toughening up helps the technique, removing some of that cotton wool one might be wrapped around in too, damn those cocoons!!

[timothy42b]

A couple of things:

If soap irritates you, try different brands.  Some people have weird sensitivities. 

Guitar players sometimes worry about softening callouses.  gymnasts too.  You might try impersonating a guitar player and asking the question on their forums. 

and finally, BUT MOST IMPORTANT!  Knives. 

If you're a piano player, don't wash them at all..  Too risky.  Get a bunch from thrift stores, or whatever the equivalent is in your area (Gebrauchtkaufenladen?) and just throw them away after you use them. 

Also, shave with an electric. 

[outin]

A couple of things:

If soap irritates you, try different brands.  Some people have weird sensitivities. 

Guitar players sometimes worry about softening callouses.  gymnasts too.  You might try impersonating a guitar player and asking the question on their forums. 

and finally, BUT MOST IMPORTANT!  Knives. 

If you're a piano player, don't wash them at all..  Too risky.  Get a bunch from thrift stores, or whatever the equivalent is in your area (Gebrauchtkaufenladen?) and just throw them away after you use them. 

Also, shave with an electric.

I doubt the op needs to shave...at least not the face

Since I tend to cut my fingers every time I try to cook, washing the knives is the least of my problems...

[j_tour]

I doubt the op needs to shave...at least not the face

You know, I haven't the least clue.

I like the double-sided platinum razors made under a mark called "Astra."  It's like six or seven USD for about a hundred of them.

I'm not sure what would fit the OP, but I recommend those.

I really just have run plumb out of clues today.

ETA And, no, the answer is never "a puppy."  What does Dr. Giggles say? 

Exactly right. 

Never a puppy.