Gwyneth Paltrow recently revealed she cannot sleep if there are dirty dishes in the sink, sparking debate about whether leaving crockery unwashed overnight is dangerous. While the actor insists on immediate cleaning, food safety experts suggest it may not be as risky as commonly believed.
According to Lisa Ackerley, a food-safety expert, bacteria on dirty dishes will breed overnight, but if they are thoroughly washed the next day—especially in a dishwasher—there is no significant problem. “Those germs aren’t going to start crawling all over the kitchen,” she says. However, for hand washing, it is better to clean them the night before, though occasional lapses are not a major concern.
Interestingly, a 2015 Swedish study found that children in households where dishes were handwashed had a lower risk of allergies, possibly due to increased microbial exposure. Ackerley cautions against excessive cleanliness, stressing the need to balance infection risk with a healthy microbiome.
The exception, she warns, is utensils and chopping boards used for raw meat, especially chicken, which can carry campylobacter. These should be washed immediately, ideally with an antibacterial cleanser if a dishwasher is unavailable.
