Do you have a dishwasher?

[W2R]

Do you presently have a dishwasher in the house (or other living quarters) that is your main residence?

And no, a dishwasher does NOT mean your spouse!

This poll was inspired by a statistic given in another thread. Only about 63% of Americans have dishwashers. How does the ER forum stack up?

 

[Marquette]

Have dishwasher, came with the house... I use it quite a bit but could get by without one (next house is going to be a single-basin dishwasher). None of my pots, pans, or knives go in the dishwasher though.

I also use my dog for pre-wash.

 

[Gotadimple]

Have a dishwasher, everything possible goes in it.

Have a dog, too. She doesn't 'do' pre-wash.

-- Rita

 

[UncleHoney]

Since you brought up the question, I got to thinking I haven't lived in a house or apartment without a dishwasher since before 1956.

 

[growing_older]

This is a good example of creeping lifestyle. I was the dishwasher for years as a child and young adult and I resisted getting one for many years. When I upgraded to a nicer house after several years, it came with one and it seemed time to upgrade lifestyle as well. I will not be going back to life without one again. And I'm looking forward to gradually adding other new fangled gadgets over the years, too. Seems to me I don't need to jump on each new thing as soon as they are available, but do enjoy the gradual additions and labor savings.

When I rented before buying my first house there were plenty of apartments without dishwashers. Is that common anymore? Most everywhere around here includes one as routine now.

 

[toofrugalformycat]

I went from washing them myself with H&C running water (as a kid and young adult), then to hauling water from the creek and heating on a woodstove, then to H&C running water again, then to a roll-it-to-the-sink dishwasher. When that dishwasher died I didn't want to spring for a built-in, because washing with H&C running water seems so easy compared to hauling it from the creek, but DH insisted. Now it's so convenient I wouldn't be without it, given a choice. Especially when we have folks over for dinner.
Lifestyle creep indeed.

 

[W2R]

This is a good example of creeping lifestyle. I was the dishwasher for years as a child and young adult and I resisted getting one for many years. When I upgraded to a nicer house after several years, it came with one and it seemed time to upgrade lifestyle as well. I will not be going back to life without one again. And I'm looking forward to gradually adding other new fangled gadgets over the years, too. Seems to me I don't need to jump on each new thing as soon as they are available, but do enjoy the gradual additions and labor savings.

When I rented before buying my first house there were plenty of apartments without dishwashers. Is that common anymore? Most everywhere around here includes one as routine now.

Here, too. My house in Baton Rouge didn't have one, but I didn't miss it. My apartment had one that I never ran, even once. It was easier to just clean dishes as they got dirty. Now that I am in my own house, I have a really nice dishwasher and use it regularly, for perhaps the first time.

 

[Caroline]

then to hauling water from the creek and heating on a woodstove,

Do tell, toofrugal!? This sounds interesting -- when did you do this, how long did you do it for and how old were you? As I contemplate the second half of my adult life I wonder about living off the grid or in a developing nation for a couple of years.

I figure I'm 1/4 there already -- don't own a dishwasher (never had one in my life, actually) OR a clothes dryer! ;-D

 

[toofrugalformycat]

Do tell, toofrugal!? This sounds interesting -- when did you do this, how long did you do it for and how old were you? As I contemplate the second half of my adult life I wonder about living off the grid or in a developing nation for a couple of years.

I figure I'm 1/4 there already -- don't own a dishwasher (never had one in my life, actually) OR a clothes dryer! ;-D

We lived in our remote cabin nine months continuously, when I was age 27, and a few weeks at a time in the summers prior when we were constructing.
I live in town now, with all the mod cons.
When I visit our cabin now, that 5-gallon bucket is considerably heavier than it used to be, hauling it over fallen trees and such. I guess I could half fill it and make two trips, eh? Or even clear a path to the creek? Nah.
Lots of people in western Alaska villages have to haul water and use "honey buckets". Water and septic systems are problematic in areas of permafrost, and with little economic activity. Infectious disease rates in Alaska villages are high. Back when I was hauling water, it was just DH and I, no one else for miles around. We never got sick except when we went to town, which was seldom.
If I were to live that way long term again, I'd figure out a well or catchment water or something. We just didn't have the bucks back then. Hot showers were one of the main motivators for our move back to civilization and getting j*bs.
But it surely was a great education in learning to distinguish between wants and needs.

 

[Gumby]

We got our first dishwasher two years ago. As the designated scullery maid, I really appreciate it.

 

[aaronc879]

We got our first dishwasher two years ago. As the designated scullery maid, I really appreciate it.

No dishwasher, never had one. I'm single and just wash each dish right after I use it. I never have a sink full of dishes. However, if I was living with other people I would want a dishwasher.

 

[Outtahere]

I never had one until 5 years ago, dh bought it for me as a present when we remodeled the kitchen. I think it was more for him since he hates dishes in the sink and I'm a little lax in that area. It really stopped a lot of bickering

 

[Rambler]

We have a dishwasher, but when I am alone I prefer to just wash my plate myself. I am usually alone all summer when DW and the kids go home. During that time, I never eat more than one meal a day at home, so I would take about a month to fill the dishwasher. Besides that, I hate putting pots and pans in it, because we can never fill it up quickly enough to run it on just one or two meals, and then I have to go searching for pots and pans and have to clean them for cooking. I would prefer to clean them after each use so they are ready when I need them. When we RE, I intend to do the dishes with DW unless we have a crowd over for dinner.

 

[theHundt]

I have a dishwasher and try to pack it as full as possible before running. Oddly it seems to wash best with only about 1/2 of the max amount of soap in the dispenser.

I haven't done any research on it, but I've been wondering lately if a well packed dishwasher is better for the environment than washing by hand. I use a lot of water when I wash things by hand. I don't know how much water my dishwasher uses, but I would guess it's more efficient than I am. Perhaps my hand washing technique just needs work

 

[Puzzley]

Yup... we've had one for the last 20 or so years. Couldn't imagine life in the kitchen now without one.... Ours is so quiet we frequently open the door while it's running, and get a faceful of steam...

 

[Walt34]

I grew up for the most part without one. Being the only male child between two sisters and with traditionalist parents, I did not wash dishes. That was for girls & women. Really! However, I took out the trash, mowed the lawn, beginning at about age 10 I helped when the cars needed repairing or the drain got clogged. We had a portable one with a butcher block top for about 10 years. Moved to an apartment without one for two years. then moved to a shared apartment that did have one, then another apartment with one (at wife-to-be's insistence) and then to a house with one, divorced, then a house without one for 16 years. Then another house that came with one. Used daily. I've never seen anyone use so many dishes as she does. But what the hell, she's cute.

 

[freebird5825]

yes, i actually have 3 -

one is electric,

second is myself for stuff i don't want to put in there (super fragile glasses, wood handle knives and silverstone cookware) and the

third one is DH-to-be, who does the filling and emptying for us. he still does that even since i semi-retired. major points for him!

i use it as a sanitizer, i.e. rinse all the food gunk off first. if i don't run it for a day or so, no science projects or hard caked on food happens inside there. and no filters in the water pumpout lines ever get clogged or grody. my friendly appliance repair guy told me to rinse off first to extend the life of the dishwasher.

 

[dex]

I think you needed an option for Yes - I don't use it.
I've had one for about 9 years now and have never used it.

 

[Sandy]

Four people. Cook 98+% of meals and snacks at home. Pack 4 lunches (and my breakfast) using plastic containers which need to be washed (rather than baggies).

You bet we have a dishwasher!

 

[FinanceDude]

Have had one since I graduated college. My parents got one when I was in high school, apparently my sister and I did well enough until we got so busy in after-school acitivites that once my parents would have to do it, we got a little "helper".

I got a new one 4 years ago, a Maytag. I have never had any problems with it, after all, it is a Maytag.

It gets run nearly every day. With 4 people in the house, we get a lot of dishes. Plus, when DW bakes, MANY dishes are used, since she never got to go to "clean as you go" school, like my mom put me through........

 

[mickj]

Growing up we always had a dishwasher. But as kids we had to scrub all of the food off of the dishes in the sink before loading the dang thing. Basically all the dishwasher did was sanitize the dishes. I used to think that you 'had' to do this. It was quite the revelation that yes you can actually put dirty dishes in and the food comes off with very few exceptions.

 

[TromboneAl]

Few people know...

How A Dishwasher Really Works

 

[HFWR]

I'm all for labor-saving robots...

 

[Khan]

Growing up we always had a dishwasher. But as kids we had to scrub all of the food off of the dishes in the sink before loading the dang thing. Basically all the dishwasher did was sanitize the dishes. I used to think that you 'had' to do this. It was quite the revelation that yes you can actually put dirty dishes in and the food comes off with very few exceptions.

I remember a coworker saying there was no sense to getting a dishwasher because you had to wash them first anyway.

I just scrape the dishes and put them in. I run the dishwasher on Monday and Friday and don't run the dry cycle.

Had dishwashers in some apartments back in the '70s. I've been in this house since '78 and had a dishwasher put in when I overhauled the kitchen 8 years ago (Whirlpool). I like it. As I mentioned elsewhere, I break/chip fewer things than by hand.

 

[Cattusbabe]

I have one and love it. I use it depending on the size of the meal and how many dishes I have used. If it is just he and I the stuff goes in the sink. Parties and big family dinners it goes in the dish washer.