Cleaning the dishes

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Using a sponge or brush on Shabbat

  1. One may not clean dishes or even gently wipe a countertop with a sponge because gripping the sponge will inevitably cause liquid to be squeezed out where one's fingers grasp the material. However, using a sponge which has a handle or a vinyl back one may gently wipe a countertop but it is still forbidden to wash dishes.[1]
  2. One shouldn't use a dry sponge to wipe up a spill unless the sponge has a handle or vinyl back.[2]
  3. One may not use a wet brush to scrub if the brush's fibers are soft and dense. However, if the fibers are stiff, sparse, and made out of synthetic material one may use that brush for scrubbing. Similarly, a plastic mesh or wire mesh may be used for scrubbing only if the fibers are thin and the netting is widely spaced. However, one may not use a mesh if the fibers are closely packed; for example, one may not use a steel wool pad. To determine whether the fibers are considered dense or sparse one should conduct the following test before Shabbat: Immerse it in water and upon removing it if the water drains out immediately the fibers are considered widely spaced, however, if water stays absorbed it is considered densely spaced.[3]
  4. A wet sponge is Muktzeh Machmat Issur and may only be moved if the space it is occupying is needed. When moving a wet sponge one should do so gently so as not to squeeze out any liquid. However, a dry sponge or a wet sponge which has a handle or vinyl backing aren't muktzeh and may be moved for any necessary purpose.[4]

Dishwasher on Shabbat

  1. It is forbidden to place dishes in a dishwasher on Shabbat even if it is on a timer and won't turn on until a specified time.[5]

Cleaning Dishes Unnecessarily

  1. If one doesn't need to clean dishes because one has others or the like see the Hachana page whether it is permitted to clean them.
  2. Initially one should clean the dishes before Shabbat out of Kavod Shabbat.[6]

Sources

  1. 39 Melachos (vol 2, pg 348-9)
  2. 39 Melachos (vol 2, pg 349)
  3. 39 Melachos (vol 2, pg 349-50)
  4. 39 Melachos (vol 2, pg 354)
  5. Rav Hershel Schachter (Electric Appliances min 35) explained that even if the dishwasher was on a timer to turn on at midnight and one puts the dishes in at 11pm and then closes the dishwasher it is forbidden since closing the dishwasher enables the dishwasher to function an hour later. If it wasn't closed the dishwasher wouldn't start. He added that it is forbidden to have a mechanic illegally tamper with the dishwasher so that it will start even if left open.
  6. Rav Hershel Schachter (Electric Appliances min 30)
Category Topic
Mitzvot of Shabbat
Kiddush Levana - Enjoying Shabbat - Fourth meal of Shabbat - Havdalah - Having a meal on Friday - In the Spirit of Shabbat - Kiddush - Lighting Shabbat Candles - Making Early Shabbat - Making one hundred Brachot on Shabbat - Preparing foods on Shabbat - Preparing for Shabbat - Shenayim Mikrah - Kavod Shabbat - Shabbos Davening - Seudat Shabbat - Seudat Shelishit - Lechem Mishneh - Motzei Shabbat - When Does Shabbat Start?
Restrictions of Shabbat
Allowing Carrying Using an Eruv Chatzerot - Animals on Shabbat - Asking a Jew to work on Shabbat - Asking a non-Jew to work on Shabbat (Amirah LeNochri) - Benefiting from a Violation of Shabbat (Maaseh Shabbat) - Books, notebooks, and papers - Brushing Teeth on Shabbat - Building a structure on Shabbat (Boneh) - Carrying on Shabbat - Cleaning the dishes - Cleaning and Folding Garments on Shabbat - Clearing the table - Cooking (Ofeh and Bishul) - Cosmetics on Shabbat - Dancing and clapping on Shabbat - Electricity on Shabbat - Eruv Chatzerot - Eruvin - Games on Shabbat - Getting dressed on Shabbat - Giving birth on Shabbat - Grinding (Tochen) - Handling objects on Shabbat (Muktzeh) - Infants on Shabbat - Introduction to the Modern Eruv - Kneading (Lash) - Mail on Shabbat - Medicine on Shabbat (Refuah on Shabbat) - Melacha That Begins Before Shabbat - Opening bottles and containers (Boneh) - Plants on Shabbat (Zoreah) - Preparing for after Shabbat (Hachana) - Reading on Shabbat (Daber Davar) - Recreation on Shabbat - Sechirut Reshut - Separating mixtures (Borer) - Squeezing fruits (Sechita) - Speaking on Shabbat (Daber Davar) - Taking a cruise over Shabbat - Taking measurements on Shabbat - Techum - Transactions on Shabbat - Transportation on Shabbat - Going to and Staying in the Hospital on Shabbat - Wages on Shabbat (Sachar Shabbat) - Washing one’s body on Shabbat
Melachos
Introduction to Melechet Machshevet - Marbeh Bshiurim - Plowing - Planting - Harvesting - Gathering - Threshing - Winnowing - Separating - Grinding - Sifting - Kneading - Baking and Cooking - Shearing - Laundering - Combing - Dyeing - Spinning - Mounting warp threads - Making two loops - Weaving - Unraveling fabric - Tying - Untying - Gluing, taping, or stapling - Ripping - Trapping - Slaughtering - Skinning - Tanning - Smoothing - Scoring - Cutting precisely - Writing - Erasing - Building - Demolishing - Completing a vessel - Extinguishing a flame - Kindling a fire - Carrying