Do you use your dishwasher?

[ER Eddie]

I don't have a dishwasher. I wash dishes by hand. I don't mind. Sometimes I find it relaxing.

 

[DEC-1982]

Use it? Yes. Scrub and rinse super-dirty items before putting it in.

 

[YoungSaver]

Yes, Yes, No, Yes

 

[Retired Expat]

Very much about saving water and electricity these days. Good for the planet and my bank account. Running a full load at night is more efficient and economical especially if you leave off the heated dry cycle.

Wipe down if really greasy and scrape the plates but unless I expect them to sit there is no reason to pre rinse. It works great and saves time and money so why not?

 

[pb4uski]

What Davebarnes said. Bosch is the best.

+1 and Bosch quality at Kenmore prices is even better.

 

[pb4uski]

Never tried Tang or baking soda in our dishwasher but we do use about half a cup of vinegar in every load. We have really hard well water and after 10+ years of running two to three loads a week it still performs like it was new.

+1 I often let ours run for about 30 seconds, then pour in some white vinegar and then let it run.

 

[Elbata]

Not until now. Upon reading this thread, I started using my DW as a strainer. Thanks ER Forum.

 

[Tracer]

I live alone, so just about once a week. I find myself washing many things by hand that I use daily.

And yes, I pre-rinse. I was in the commercial dishwashing field selling and leasing equipment and chemicals. Restaurants ALWAYS pre-rinse. Commercial warewashing equipment is far more powerful than home machines. The wash and rinse cycles combined last all of 90 seconds.

 

[tmm99]

Thanks again, ER forum members for all your posts!!!!! I'm the OP coming back to give an update.

I was on the fence about getting a new dishwasher since we were not using the old one (which might have been installed in the late '80s when the house was built, I'm not sure, but it sure looked archaic.) I at one point even considered having three drawers in its place, but after reading all your posts, we decided and bought an entry-level (=cheap) Whirlpool dishwasher (it had a very good review rating though cheap), and I'm truly amazed at how well the dishwasher works!! I put dishes/pots/cooking spoons, etc without rinsing them at all, with some stuck cheese bits, some smeared sticky rice, and other kinds of food bits stuck on them pretty good, and ran a normal-heat dry cycle. Everything came out clean! No bits stuck anywhere!! Things sure have changed over the years, haven't they? Technology rocks!

I would especially like to thank the people who posted saying they used their dishwasher without pre-rinse. I'm so glad we decided to give the dishwasher another try.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks again, ER forum members for all your posts!!!!! I'm the OP coming back to give an update.

I was on the fence about getting a new dishwasher since we were not using the old one (which might have been installed in the late '80s when the house was built, I'm not sure, but it sure looked archaic.) I at one point even considered having three drawers in its place, but after reading all your posts, we decided and bought an entry-level (=cheap) Whirlpool dishwasher (it had a very good review rating though cheap), and I'm truly amazed at how well the dishwasher works!! I put dishes/pots/cooking spoons, etc without rinsing them at all, with some stuck cheese bits, some smeared sticky rice, and other kinds of food bits stuck on them pretty good, and ran a normal-heat dry cycle. Everything came out clean! No bits stuck anywhere!! Things sure have changed over the years, haven't they? Technology rocks!

I would especially like to thank the people who posted saying they used their dishwasher without pre-rinse. I'm so glad we decided to give the dishwasher another try.

Just be sure to clean out the food screen often.

 

[tmm99]

Just be sure to clean out the food screen often.

Oh, yes, thank you! I’ll definitely do that.

 

[Milton]

We have one but it broke years ago and we have not bothered to repair it. I just wash the dishes by hand: it is not difficult and doesn't take long.

Seems like a solution in search of a problem.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Just be sure to clean out the food screen often.

I just bought a new DW and am waiting for installation. My old one had filters that were a major PITA to clean, but I found the newer models have filters that are much easier to access. This was a major consideration when choosing.

 

[mystang52]

..... we decided and bought an entry-level (=cheap) Whirlpool dishwasher (it had a very good review rating though cheap), and I'm truly amazed at how well the dishwasher works!....

It's been my experience that usually the only difference between entry line models and their more expensive siblings are the bells and whistles. But the underlying mechanical and electrical guts are the same. Enjoy your new Dishwasher!

 

[braumeister]

I just bought a new DW.

What happened to the old one? Did you keep her too, or did she find a new DH?

 

[leftymd]

All European dishwashers lack the heating element. Unless the 'sanitize' function is used on Bosch DW's, chances are any dishes/silverware will still be somewhat wet the day after washing.

 

[haha]

I am short of drawer space in my kitchen. In my area, not many people cook regularly, their dishwashers work at restaurants. But they work too expensively for me, so I usually cook, and long ago a previous owner traded his dishwasher for more drawer space. It is something of a challenge for me to keep up with the dishes, but drawers win out over a new dishwasher in the space.

Ha

 

[gerntz]

I am short of drawer space in my kitchen. In my area, not many people cook regularly, their dishwashers work at restaurants. But they work too expensively for me, so I usually cook, and long ago a previous owner traded his dishwasher for more drawer space. It is something of a challenge for me to keep up with the dishes, but drawers win out over a new dishwasher in the space.

Not needing to take the added time to immediately wash after eating vs. just sticking dirty stuff in DW (not spouse) and letting sit for 2-3 days/4-5 meals is an appreciated benefit here. Plus I find dishes freer of spots than when we hand wash as we can miss a spot or two. Rinse aid helps too.

 

[steelyman]

I use mine 2-3 times a week and wipe/rinse dishes before they go in. I don’t want any temptations for various bugs to share my home!

[ADDED] The rinse also gives an occasional opportunity to run the garbage disposal.

 

[tmm99]

It's been my experience that usually the only difference between entry line models and their more expensive siblings are the bells and whistles. But the underlying mechanical and electrical guts are the same. Enjoy your new Dishwasher!

Thank you, mystang. Interesting about what you said. I'm glad I decided to go cheap! I couldn't be happier.

 

[tmm99]

All European dishwashers lack the heating element. Unless the 'sanitize' function is used on Bosch DW's, chances are any dishes/silverware will still be somewhat wet the day after washing.

My whirlpool dishwasher has a dry-heat option and plastics come out dry after leaving everything in for a while after the cycle is complete. I do use Jet-Dry. The manual says a rinse-aid is a must if you want dry dishware.

 

[kimcdougc]

Yep, use every day or two after rinsing in the sink. The only reason for rinsing first is that sometimes leaving them in there a day or without rinsing invites ants in.

 

[tmm99]

I am short of drawer space in my kitchen. In my area, not many people cook regularly, their dishwashers work at restaurants. But they work too expensively for me, so I usually cook, and long ago a previous owner traded his dishwasher for more drawer space. It is something of a challenge for me to keep up with the dishes, but drawers win out over a new dishwasher in the space.

Ha

I can relate. I have a smallish kitchen, and the location of the dishwasher is not ideal. I got a quote to replace the old dishwasher with three drawers, which was $350(CAD). The dishwasher I was looking to buy was $500(CAD), so I re-arranged my dishware to make the unloading of the dishwasher easier and decided to get a new dishwasher instead of the drawers. I felt if I could do away with doing the dishes (with no pre-rinse!), it would be worth it. I still have a space issue, but rearranging dishware/cookware and removing not-often-used cookware helped.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

What happened to the old one? Did you keep her too, or did she find a new DH?

ROFL! I was thinking the abbreviation for dishwasher sounded familiar.

 

[W2R]

I am short of drawer space in my kitchen. In my area, not many people cook regularly, their dishwashers work at restaurants. But they work too expensively for me, so I usually cook, and long ago a previous owner traded his dishwasher for more drawer space. It is something of a challenge for me to keep up with the dishes, but drawers win out over a new dishwasher in the space.

Ha

If you still feel short of drawer space even with the extra drawers, maybe you can arrange some way to hang up your saucepans and skillets? My last house had a thing with hooks on the wall up above the (in wall) oven, where I hung two skillets and three saucepans, and I thought that for me it was an ideal arrangement. The pans I used most often were right there in front of me, instead of way down low in a drawer, and I liked that arrangement. The picture below is from Google images but is similar to what I had (except mine was completely metal, quite ornate and New Orleanian in style). I should have something like that put up in my present kitchen too, but haven't figured out where I would want to put it.