Is it weird not have a dishwasher, dryer or garbage disposal?

[Midpack]

I’ve always lived with all three, even as a kid, so it would be unusual to me - but not weird.

We hand wash large items, but glasses, cups, plates, bowls and silverware go in the dishwasher, we run it every 5-7 days or so. We had to force ourselves to not rinse all the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, as that can use more total water than hand washing. Lots of people waste water using a dishwasher because older models didn’t used to clean stuck on stuff very well.

We’d rather line dry laundry, but we’ve never lived in a neighborhood that would allow a clothes line. I haven’t seen one in decades, even though DW and I both grew up with Mom’s who had/used clotheslines and dryers. [Trivia: My Mom even had an electric mangle iron to iron sheets]

I could live without a disposal, but it would make for a messy kitchen trash can. Never tried to go without, and they are cheap and reliable IME. They do take up a lot of space under sinks though.

 

[brucethebroker]

For those who would like to line dry, but are not allowed to (by HOA, etc.), try hanging wet clothes in the garage. Never thought to do that, (since we used our basement in a previous home), but our W/D are in the garage of our current home, so we gave it a try. Works fine, usually in 24 hours, a little longer in the cold weather-faster in summer. We live in a moderate humidity area, so that helps. I picked up a wheeled clothes rack to hang the clothes, like you find in a dept. store, and move it if we need access to our storage area. When the duds are nearly dry/dry, we put them on the dryer fluff cycle.

 

[fh2000]

We like the convenience.

My 33 year old gas dryer is still running. How strong? I am not too sure. DW sometimes run two cycles for each load to have clothes completely dry. But natural gas is relatively cheap.

I am on my 3rd dishwasher, and 3rd disposal after 33 years. It is not too difficult to replace them, though at 67 I am not sure if I want to do it myself anymore.

 

[Jerry1]

We like the convenience.

My 33 year old gas dryer is still running. How strong? I am not too sure. DW sometimes run two cycles for each load to have clothes completely dry. But natural gas is relatively cheap.

This is a sign that your dryer vent is clogged. Maybe not, but it’s worth checking if you’re not sure.

 

[Gumby]

This is a sign that your dryer vent is clogged. Maybe not, but it’s worth checking if you’re not sure.

In addition to the energy waste, it is a safety issue if the dryer vent is clogged.

 

[Music Lover]

My 33 year old gas dryer is still running. How strong? I am not too sure. DW sometimes run two cycles for each load to have clothes completely dry. But natural gas is relatively cheap.

In addition to checking if it's clogged, have you tried using the auto dry function instead of a timed cycle? We use that all the time and it works perfectly and there's no guess work on how many minutes each different load requires.

 

[ncbill]

Have them all at the house.

Our mountain cabin built 60+ years ago has none of them & no A/C either.

Finally got internet up there last summer...before that it only had a landline.

 

[rodi]

For those who would like to line dry, but are not allowed to (by HOA, etc.), try hanging wet clothes in the garage. Never thought to do that, (since we used our basement in a previous home), but our W/D are in the garage of our current home, so we gave it a try. Works fine, usually in 24 hours, a little longer in the cold weather-faster in summer. We live in a moderate humidity area, so that helps. I picked up a wheeled clothes rack to hang the clothes, like you find in a dept. store, and move it if we need access to our storage area. When the duds are nearly dry/dry, we put them on the dryer fluff cycle.

Our washer & dryer are in our garage. We have 2 cars parked in our 2 car garage, so there isn't room to put a drying rack. But we've discussed hanging some lines on rollers where we could hang the laundry near the ceiling over the hoods of the cars on rainy days.

 

[Music Lover]

We have a dryer but will still hang dry a lot of our clothes. Putting them on hangers on the shower curtain rod works pretty well.

 

[catii]

No garbage disposal needed at my house! We have a dozen tortoises, & a half-dozen ducks. Nothing even vaguely edible goes to waste!


We don't have one dishwasher - we have two! Take clean dishes from one, use them, & put them into the second. DW thought I was crazy when we remodeled the kitchen, but she loves it now.

 

[imnontrad]

A dishwasher uses less water than washing by hand.
In addition, because of the hotter water and the bleach in the dishwashing soap. your dishes will be cleaner/more sanitary.

 

[meleana]

In our first house we did not have a dishwasher (or garbage disposal) and when we put it up for sale people always commented about not having a dishwasher, like it was a necessity. This was back in like 1987.

When we moved to a brand new house, the builder put in a dishwasher. No garbage disposal and honestly I don’t get why anyone would want or need one.

Onto our third home now- another new construction- did not put in a garbage disposal in this home either.

We have gotten used to the dishwasher. But we have neighbors who have never used theirs. They barely cook but when they eat at home they only use paper plates, etc.!

 

[rk911]

... When we moved to a brand new house, the builder put in a dishwasher. No garbage disposal and honestly I don’t get why anyone would want or need one.

we put in a garbage disposal when we remodeled the kitchen. virtually all of our organic garbage goes down the chute. no mess, no bugs in the trash cans.

 

[MC Rider]

I can't recall atm the last time we didn't eat food prepared at home.

 

[meleana]

we put in a garbage disposal when we remodeled the kitchen. virtually all of our organic garbage goes down the chute. no mess, no bugs in the trash cans.

Honestly, I have never had bugs in my garbage can or any mess. I just throw everything in the garbage. When full- or if it smells- it goes into the community dumpster. My kitchen is super clean- I’m pretty much OCD!

 

[Gumby]

We put all vegetable waste in the composter out back. It doesn't smell and it helps the garden. We recycle the metal, plastic, paper and cardboard, so our actual "garbage" is fairly minimal. And what there is gets burned in the waste to energy plant.

 

[Turbo29]

With only 2 of us we only run it every other day. For that reason we rinse everything before loading. I don't expect any dishwasher to remove dried on egg yolk.

I put plates with egg on them in my machine all of the time. And due to only washing dishes for two people it sits for two or three days. I can only think of one time in the last five years that there was any egg left on a plate.


This is with a cheapo dishwasher from Lowe's and Costco dishwasher detergent.

 

[HGTVFanatic]

I can understand not needing a dishwasher or a garbage disposal but no dryer. Nope. Can’t imagine that.

 

[Jerry1]

I put all my waste in the garbage except what is accepted for recycle. Most of the food scraps go right in the garbage can that has a plastic bag for a liner. My garbage can also has a lid that is tight. I keep that in my garage and never notice any bad smell. However, I do handle uncooked chicken scraps differently. I put them in a plastic bag (grocery bag) and put them in the freezer until garbage day. The other thing I handle differently is large scraps like watermelon and pineapple rinds. I also put them in a plastic grocery bag or two but then I set them in a bucket next to the garbage so that if they leak (they usually do), I can rinse it out easily. Works for me. I can't imagine putting all my organics down the drain - garbage disposal or not.

 

[Surewhitey]

I once had a plumber say he would never have a disposal as it's just an excuse to get sloppy & send stuff down that shouldn't be. He said many of his calls are due to them being overused, especially with starchy food (rice and potatoes). I opted out 5+ years ago when we remodeled & never a problem.

Dishwasher is only good for 2 or more people & especially dinner parties. When DW is out of town, I typically use 1 pan & 1 plate for most days.

 

[gayl]

I have all 3: dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal but lightly use all 3. Compost with small plastic bucket on counter, love line drying so only use dryer when raining, and only use dishwasher when everyone is over for a meal.

Put a 20 gallon trash can on the curb once a month whether it's full or not. Recycle can goes out 2× a month when gardeners put out green waste can.

 

[Ronstar]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this or not, but don't put eggshells into a garbage disposal. The eggshells reduce down to tiny pieces that clog the garbage disposal regardless of how much water you run through it.

Our garbage disposal at our snowbird place went out. I took it apart when I installed a new one. The old one was full of tiny pieces of eggshells. I've since read online that eggshells down a garbage disposal is a no-no.

 

[Time2]

DW is broken and need to buy a new one.

I read that wrong. I'm glad she's OK.

 

[audreyh1]

We requested no garbage disposal when the house was built, DH hates them with a passion. But all the hookups are there including the switch, so it would be easy to add.

 

[Markola]

100 posts and lots of variety of opinion. We’re all in on convenient appliances here. We even have a robo vacuum, which is fantastic.