The rare 1881 Iowa settlers manual has a tip for washing dishes when you've run out of soap. It's in the cleaning chapter of the book and was written for some of the first people moving into Iowa to homestead in the 1880's.
"To wash dishes without soap, have your dishwater hot and add a very little milk, as this softens the water, gives the dishes a nice gloss and preserves the hands. It removes the grease, even that from beef, and yet no grease is ever found floating on the water as when soap is used."
I haven't tried it but it sounds like a reasonable approach. The chemistry is correct - and if dirty dishes are anything like dirty hands, most of the bacteria removal takes place during the vigorous drying, rather than during the actual washing.
The chapter on cleaning also contains instructions on housekeeping, dyeing and soap making.
This chapter and more can be downloaded for free at www.PioneerHandbooks.com.
Even if you're not the type to run out of dish washing detergent, you can still hit the Facebook Like button below and save this how-to from disappearing into history
It's easy enough to do and a good way to keep this knowledge alive.
Fantastic! I so wonder if the whey from the milk does not react some way with the grease and make it's own sort of soap type substance? By the my grandmother said her mother would use milk to polish wood floors.
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