Serious Q - do you use your dishwasher?

[Zeze]

We had a brand new dishwasher (in late 90s) that came with the house, but we ended up not using it at all. This is because it spent way too much hot water and way too much time. Also it doesn't scrub, so you have to pre-scrub everything before putting them in.

I mean, by that time, I might as well just soap-scrub it then rinse to complete the whole job.

If we had a dinner party then it makes sense to fully load it up and let it run.

Today, as a family man, I still don't use it in my house. It just takes up too much time, requires a large enough load, and too much water.

 

[lxskllr]

Exactly how I see it. Once you're done with all the preliminary bullshit, you might as well finish the job, and wash the stuff. I've had a dishwasher for 25 years. It's a storage bin for plasticware.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I hope she does not feel used. I cook, she does the dishes. She tells me that she is ok with it and doesn't mind doing dishes. I do the heavy pots/pans though.

 

[BudAshes]

Dishwasher uses way less water than doing the dishes in the sink. And a nice one can do a load pretty fast. Dishwasher is a must have appliance in my opinion.

 

[Brainonska511]

I use it all the time because it uses less water than hand washing and it's less work. As long as the big food items are scraped into the trash and select items given a quick rinse before stuff cakes on, it does a fine job cleaning.

Sure, takes more time, but it's not like I need my dishes on the double.

As for your loading problem, do you only own two dishes? Just run it when it gets full.

 

[BoomerD]

Fuck yes, but I rinse EVERYTHING before it goes into the dishwasher. It's almost clean enough to put it back in the cupboards to be used again...ALMOST.

BudAshes is correct. When done correctly, a modern dishwasher ises about 1/4 the amount of water washing dishes by hand uses...and MIGHT get the dishes cleaner/better sanitized.

 

[MrSquished]

Yep. I use the quick wash and it's fast so saves energy and water. With the chemical warfare dishwasher pods I use, it's amazing. I use mostly eco-friendly cleaning supplies, except for dishwasher pods and toilet bowl cleaner, that's when I use the napalm.

It's funny a lot of people I've heard just use the dishwasher as a place to store shit, usually in smaller NYC type apartments. It's not too common to have a dishwasher in NYC, and with space at a premium, it's more useful as storage.

 

[Zeze]

Exactly how I see it. Once you're done with all the preliminary bullshit, you might as well finish the job, and wash the stuff. I've had a dishwasher for 25 years. It's a storage bin for plasticware.

We tried using it as a storage / drying rack too, but that went out the window because it doesn't air them out and it smells.

 

[IronWing]

I haven't had a dishwasher in over thirty years. With two people, don't see the need.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I throw everything in there even pots and pans, just not cast iron stuff. Run it maybe once a week once it's full or mostly full. It's a life saver. I see it the same way as a washer and dryer for laundry. I'd hate having to do that manually.

Next house I might even have two dishwashers. Load one, run it, use dishes directly from it and put in the other one when done. Efficency!

 

[Zeze]

I use it all the time because it uses less water than hand washing and it's less work. As long as the big food items are scraped into the trash and select items given a quick rinse before stuff cakes on, it does a fine job cleaning.

Sure, takes more time, but it's not like I need my dishes on the double.

As for your loading problem, do you only own two dishes? Just run it when it gets full.

We have tons of dishes. But we also use them.

You mean to tell me you store dirty dishes waiting to get full while they're all caking and drying up? So you pre-scrub the 2x meals worth of dishes or scrub again just before the wash?

 

[Brainonska511]

We have tons of dishes. But we also use them.

You mean to tell me you store dirty dishes waiting to get full while they're all caking and drying up? So you pre-scrub the 2x meals worth of dishes or scrub again just before the wash?

Nope. I don't scrub anything before it goes in the dishwasher - just scrape off the big chunks left behind. The dishwasher is run on average every other day. Works perfectly fine because dishwasher detergents and the sprays do quite well. Not sure why you like to make work for yourself when you have a dishwasher.

 

[Red Squirrel]

We have tons of dishes. But we also use them.

You mean to tell me you store dirty dishes waiting to get full while they're all caking and drying up? So you pre-scrub the 2x meals worth of dishes or scrub again just before the wash?

Me personally I just rinse them real quick under the sink so there's no real food remnants then throw them in. When it gets full I run it.

 

[spacejamz]

Just me in the house but I try to run it at least once every month or so to help keep the rubber drain tubes from drying out....(not sure if they actually would or not LOL)

 

[KMFJD]

Only on holidays or after a dinner party or something where we use a lot of dishes

 

[biostud]

I didn't have one before I got kids and moved to a house with one. With three small children it is a life saver. The modern ones doesn't use that much water and are also energy efficient.

 

[dullard]

Also it doesn't scrub, so you have to pre-scrub everything before putting them in.

If you have to pre-scrub then either your dishwasher is broken or you are using really terrible detergent.

My wife and I just pile the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, no scrubbing, no rinsing. 4 to 5 days later it is full and we run a normal wash cycle. Uses only 1 to 6.8 gallons depending on the setting selected. I challenge you to wash 5 days of dishes for 2 people using a normal amount of dishes with 1 gallon manually. https://www.bosch-home.com/us/produ...ogglebox=manuals/Togglebox=accessoriesOthers/

Consumer Reports says: "Skip prerinsing." https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/dishwasher-detergents/buying-guide/

 

[dullard]

That said, I don't put my chef's knives through the dishwasher. No reason to ding up the blade.

And I don't put my cast iron pot or pan in the dishwasher either. I don't want to harm the coating.

 

[Hans Gruber]

If you have to pre-scrub then either your dishwasher is broken or you are using really terrible detergent.

My wife and I just pile the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, no scrubbing, no rinsing. 4 to 5 days later it is full and we run a normal wash cycle. Uses only 1 to 6.8 gallons depending on the setting selected. I challenge you to wash 5 days of dishes for 2 people using a normal amount of dishes with 1 gallon manually. https://www.bosch-home.com/us/produ...ogglebox=manuals/Togglebox=accessoriesOthers/

Consumer Reports says: "Skip prerinsing." https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/dishwasher-detergents/buying-guide/

You do not need to pre-scrub. If you choose to let your dishwasher do everything for you. Over time your dishwasher will die/fail because of all the crap on your dishes. It gets stuck in the innards of the dishwasher and blocks the drain.

I retired my 25 year old dishwasher a few months ago. It served me well. Technological obsolesce? No, it still washed dishes well. I just figured it was time for a new dishwasher before the old unit failed.

I have an in sink hot water dispenser that cleans off my dishes.

 

[BudAshes]

You do not need to pre-scrub. If you choose to let your dishwasher do everything for you. Over time your dishwasher will die/fail because of all the crap on your dishes. It gets stuck in the innards of the dishwasher and blocks the drain.

I retired my 25 year old dishwasher a few months ago. It served me well. Technological obsolesce? No, it still washed dishes well. I just figured it was time for a new dishwasher before the old unit failed.

I have an in sink hot water dispenser that cleans off my dishes.

You can just take the drain apart with a screw driver and clean it out pretty easy.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

What the fuck is going on in this thread, this is a troll right?

Of course you are supposed to use a dishwasher. Yes, it uses far less water than manually washing. Yes, you start loading that shit with breakfast dishes after dumping whatever wasteful leftovers you have in the trash and giving them a quick rinse, finish up with dinner/after dinner drinks/dessert dishes, turn it on at night. No cast iron, no knives are my rule (I'm paranoid about pitting on my blades). Use name brand dish detergent (off-brand/store brand is shit, leaves crap all over your dishes). Clean the filter once a quarter.

 

[I'dluv2]

Next house I might even have two dishwashers. Load one, run it, use dishes directly from it and put in the other one when done. Efficency!

We have a Fisher Paykel dishwasher that has 2 separate drawers, 2 washers in 1. Just wife and I and if wanted we could never unload them completely again.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Consumer Reports says: "Skip prerinsing." https://www.consumerreports.org/appliances/dishwasher-detergents/buying-guide/

Caveat to this: if you have a septic system, you should try to avoid as much crap .. well, non-crap crap.. going in your field as possible, so wipe it off. Rinsing won't do much aside from limiting how much shit builds up on your DW filter. Like don't sweat sauces but don't put in plates with a quarter of a steak on it or some shit.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Skipping prerinsing does make sense from a water saving point of view but only if you're about to run the dishwasher right away since it's full. Ex: I wouldn't let a plate with food remnents sit in there because it starts to smell after a while. Especially any kind of sauces like ketchup or bbq sauce or anything of that sort that is still on the plate. So normally I'll rinse it out real quick to get the worse of it out.

Certain foods like egg will also harden and may not wash out properly.

 

[Red Squirrel]

We have a Fisher Paykel dishwasher that has 2 separate drawers, 2 washers in 1. Just wife and I and if wanted we could never unload them completely again.

You can actually run each one independently? That's actually really cool.