Washing Dishes on Shabbos - part 2
Question: Is it permitted to rinse or soak dishes that may not be washed on Shabbos?
Discussion: Just as it is forbidden to wash dishes that are not needed for Shabbos, so is it forbidden to rinse them233 in preparation for washing them after Shabbos. Soaking dishes in preparation for washing them after Shabbos is also prohibited. [Note: “soaking” is only prohibited when it entails a specific, additional act, such as filling a dirty pot with water to soak it, or filling a dishpan with water on Shabbos and then placing the dirty dishes in it. If, however, a dishpan was filled before Shabbos and the dishes are merely removed from the table and deposited therein, that is permitted.]
There are, however, several specific cases when rinsing or soaking is allowed. It is permitted, for instance, to rinse or soak dirty dishes which will otherwise become permanently stained, will attract insects or flies, or will emit a foul odor.234
In addition, some poskim permit soaking dishes or pots to prevent leftover grease or soft food particles from hardening and becoming difficult to wash after Shabbos.235 Other poskim do not agree with this leniency.236 All poskim agree that once the residue has hardened and formed a crust, it is forbidden to rinse or soak dishes or pots to prepare them for washing after Shabbos.237
When washing dishes on Shabbos it is prohibited . . .
* to turn on the hot water tap.238 On Friday night, when the tank and the water it contains are still hot, it is strictly prohibited to turn on the hot water tap even if the boiler was turned off before Shabbos, since the tank and/or the hot water in the tank will cook the cold water which flows into it automatically.239
* to use a sponge, a wet cloth, a paper towel or any implement made of any other absorbent material.240
* to use steel wool or synthetic scouring pads which trap water between their fibers.
* to use bar soap.241
When washing dishes on Shabbos it is permitted . . .
* to use hot or warm water that was heated and prepared in a basin before Shabbos. Hot water should not be poured directly over globs of * fat to dissolve them.242
* to use liquid detergent.243 It is preferable to add water to the liquid soap to dilute it before Shabbos.244
* to use synthetic scouring pads whose fibers are widely spaced and cannot trap water (such as the round plastic “Shabbos sponges”).245
* to use a nylon bottle brush.246
* to wear rubber or plastic gloves.
* to plug the sink drain with a stopper.247
* to empty the refuse which accumulates in the drain into a garbage can.248
* under extenuating circumstances, to plunge a blocked drain with a rubber plunger.249
233. When dishes are stacked in an empty sink, the routine use of the sink for washing hands or food, etc. is permitted, even though the dishes in the sink will inadvertently be rinsed off; see Mishnah Berurah 321:21.
234. She’arim Metzuyanim b’Halachah 80:27; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:2; Machazeh Eliyahu 1:55-5. [In the unlikely event that soaking or rinsing will not remedy these conditions, then washing is permitted as well.]
235. Minchas Shlomo 2:35-12; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:3; Machazeh Eliyahu 1:55-5.
236. See Me’or ha-Shabbos, vol. 1, pg. 115, quoting Rav Y.Y. Fisher; Nishmas Shabbos (O.C. 323:361).
237. Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:3.
238. If the hot water tap was turned on inadvertently, some poskim advise against closing it since stopping the cold-water flow from coming into the tank will cause the water already in the tank to become cooked or cooked faster; see Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 1:48. Other poskim are not concerned about this problem and allow shutting it off as quickly as possible, preferably with a shinui. All poskim agree that a non-Jew may be instructed to shut off the water. For an elaboration, see Shulchan Shlomo 318:1-1, Orchos Shabbos 1:100 and Nishmas Shabbos 318:73-2.
239. Igros Moshe, Y.D. 2:33; O.C. 5:20-4; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 1:39 and 31, note 4. [This halachah may be different in Israel and other countries where water is heated by solar power; a local rav should be consulted.]
240. O.C. 320:17.
241. Based on Mishnah Berurah 326:30. See dissenting opinion in Yabia Omer 4:27.
242. Mishnah Berurah 253:100; Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:8).
243. Aruch ha-Shulchan 326:11; Kaf ha-Chayim 326:43; Rav Y.S. Elyashiv (quoted in Shalmei Yehudah 9:3).
244. To satisfy the view of Igros Moshe, O.C. 1:113, who discourages the use of liquid soap on Shabbos; see Az Nidberu 10:16.
245. Rav S.Z. Auerbach (Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:15). See also Yabia Omer 4:30-19.
246. Be’er Moshe 1:43.
247. Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12:16.
248. O.C. 308:34.
249. While many poskim allow unclogging a blocked sink or a stuffed toilet with a plunger, there are those who do not, maintaining that this may constitute “fixing” the drain, which may be a violation of Makeh b’patish or boneh; see the various opinions in Igros Moshe, O.C. 4:40-9; Minchas Yitzchak 5:75; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasah 12, note 50; Yabia Omer 5:33.