Is it necessary to wash ice cube trays after each use?!
Is it necessary to wash ice cube trays after each use?
This has become a huge debate in my family. We are divided into two camps. One says the trays must go through the dishwasher before being refilled. The other says they just hold water and they aren't dirty so fill them up and put them back in the freezer. Any ideas? Opinions? Scientific analysis?
Answers:
freezing only slows bacterial growth.
We know people and their habits- sneeze- get ice cubes- scratch- get some cubes- the list is endless. They also absorb odors from the freezer. I would not put them in the dishwasher- that would give them a flavor. I wash ours about once a month with warm water and baking soda and rinse thoroughly.
no
In my opinion, unless you drop them or set them down on a dirty place (i.e. a dirty counter or leaky meat package in thhe freezer) thhen no.
The freezing temperature prevents bacteria from forming on the trays.
So, washing them doesn't seem necessary.
Let us forget scientific analysis here and go with good old fashioned COMMON SENSE. They HOLD WATER. And FROZEN water at that. No germs. FROZEN. KILLED in the FREEZING PROCESS. No lips touch them. poepole dont drink out of the ice cube tray. DUMP it and FILL IT UP. ITS FREAKIN' ICE for crying out loud.
But here's the thing....think AUTOMATIC ICE MAKER...and problem solved.
no, who cares. i rekon how can it get dirty? don't be a germ freak! it's just water!
Actually, if you do wash them, they won't empty as easily after awhile since the finish wears off. Your cubes will be "flaky" instead of solid.
We always put them back in the freezer without washing. What are you washing out. Water. It seems that you are just wasting energy to put them into the dishwasher to wash them when all it did was to hold water. You could always hand wash after the 4th-5th time of filling them but that would be all it needs.