‘It’s more hygienic’: woman follows Chinese tradition of using pig feed to wash dishes instead of liquid detergent, starts old customs debate
- A video of a woman washing dishes in a basin filled with a murky, brown-coloured liquid filled with floating scraps goes viral
- The woman claims washing dishes in pigswill is cleaner than using liquid detergent, saves water and is a local custom
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The woman, surnamed Ren, from Guizhou province, claimed that using pig feed is a traditional washing method in her home region that is a cleaner, eco-friendly alternative to using liquid detergent, Dianshi News reported.
In the video, Ren is shown washing bowls and dishes in a basin brimming with a murky, brown-coloured liquid filled with floating food scraps and other unidentifiable objects.
After soaking the dishes in the pigswill, she placed the items in a container of clean water before rinsing them under a tap of running water.
Ren pushed back against a flood of negative comments about her washing-up method, describing herself as an old-fashioned woman from the country and that using pigswill to wash up is based on a local custom that dates back generations.
“When the older people do dishwashing, they soak the dishes in hot pigswill before rinsing with clean water,” she told Dianshi News.
Ren added that her pigswill method saved water and is cleaner than using liquid detergent as there are no chemicals used.
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“I strongly support this tradition, and I really don’t think it’s unsanitary,” Ren said.
Despite her adherence to using pigswill, Ren said she did not use it on a daily basis but only “from time to time”.
Ren’s pigswill washing method caused widespread online discussion in China, with a Weibo news post on the story receiving more than 5.5 million views and 2,700 comments.
Many people said they found the idea of using pigswill for cleaning unsanitary and the video disturbing to watch.
“It looks disgusting, making me vomit,” commented one person.
However, Ren’s approach struck a chord with some people.
“I also know that some places use rice husks to wash dishes. It’s more eco-friendly, and it’s beneficial to the pigs because the dishes add nutrients to the pigswill. Meanwhile, it will save water as there is no need to use so much water to rinse as we normally do with liquid detergent. By comparison, it’s more hygienic,” said one person.
Another supporter, who said they have seen similar methods used, said: “When I was a child, my grandma washed dishes with corn husks and then used the same water to cook rice for feeding the pigs.”
