Until I get back from my appointment elsewhere

Lol. Overnight. I will leave the really crusted up supper dishes (pans) to soak. But the next morning, I make my coffee, sit on the porch & drink it, then go straight in and wash them. Can't stand dishes sitting.

I don't know if I have ever found my upper limit. Depends on how busy I am, I guess. I don't keep close track of it, but I try to keep the health department out of the picture.

It really isn't that bad

I am living in Thailand and don't have a sink, but if I leave a dirty dish anywhere for over ten minutes, I'm asking for an army of almost invisble ants to emerge from the walls and take over. I've learned to add a dollop of cooking oil to my scrubbing water, which seems to repel them for several days.

Ordinary soap also seems to work, if I leave a soap film.

They also crawl over my clothing, looking for skin flakes and can sting me relentlessly if I don't the right kind of body wash, or add a few drops of cooking oil to the container.

Overnight. I'll do them in the morning when I'm in the kitchen having coffee and breakfast. Usually only a couple of plates and cups anyway.

An hour. Tops.
Leaving them any longer makes my OCD hurt.

Until morning

Long enough to let my food settle and not much longer unless it is breakfast or lunch in which I wash them immediately after use.

I just finished running a new drain line. The dirty dishes have been sitting in the sink, for about a week now.

Mine don't stay too long at all, thanks to my dishwasher. I actually enjoy doing dishes.

That said, I've had friends and exes who prefer to wash them by hand, but I think they're just crazy.