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

[Brook2]

I was visiting a friend awhile back she was stunned I didn't know how to run a dishwasher (I've never lived with one).

Even with her How-to instructions it seemed like a hassle to 1) figure out if the items inside were dirty or clean, since they all are shiny, 2) having to load it 3) having to unload it. 4) sort into piles and then put it in the cupboards.

It seems so much easier to wash them in the sink and use a dish drainer. Am I missing something?

I also don't have a clothes dryer or garbage disposal. Not because I am boycotting them, or because I can't afford them, but just because I can't remember living in a place that had them, so I never missed them. Now that I look at people's households closely, it seems standard to have these 3 things.

 

[Charlotte]

Perhaps not that big of a deal if you live alone? But, when both of us were working outside the home and we were raising our kids, I would have been very unhappy to have been lacking a dishwasher or a dryer. I see them as time saving devices.

 

[Major Tom]

I understand that dishwashers make more efficient use of water than does hand washing. I also have never owned a dishwasher, and don't know how to use one. I think that washing dishes by hand is good for the soul. I'm single and live on my own.

 

[38Chevy454]

A garbage disposal is not really needed, just put bigger stuff in the trash. Or if on a septic system, like I am, you do not want to put unprocessed food down the drain. A dishwasher is a convenience and is nice time saver, assuming you don't almost fully wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

Clothes dryer seems like a necessity to match the clothes washer. Even if you can hang out to dry, there are times you need or want to use a dryer.

 

[Ronstar]

We have a dishwasher and dryer, but I have never run them. We had a garbage disposal in our snowbird condo (but not at home - on a septic) and knew how to run it.

 

[Andre1969]

My current house has a dishwasher. I have never used it, in fact don't even know how, but my house mate has used it from time to time. I know if you have one, you should at least run it once in awhile, or the seals and such can dry out.

Previous house, that I lived in, from 2003-2018, didn't have one.
Before that, my condo, that I owned from 1994 to 2004, did have one. I lived in it from 1994-96, and we used it. I hit hard times from a divorce, moved in with my grandmother to get the bills paid down, and rented the condo out. I wouldn't say the tenants trashed the place, but they didn't take very good care of it. The dishwasher was pretty old to begin with, and when I took the condo back in 1999, after evicting them, I couldn't get it to work. I redid the kitchen just before putting it on the market, and had a new dishwasher put in, but never got the joy of using it.

My Grandmom's house had a dishwasher for as long as I can remember. The first was an old avocado green thing from around 1969 that was simple, but worked. The house got new appliances in 1994, and that dishwasher, while still functional, was replaced with a white one. At one point, the new one didn't get used for awhile, and a hose or something dried out and had to be replaced.

If we made fancy dinners all the time, I could see using the dishwasher. But, it's just me and two house mates, and we all pretty much just fend for ourselves, food-wise, so in some ways it's like a frat house, I guess. We just don't have a whole lot of dirty dishes, all at once.

 

[Andre1969]

My current house, and my old condo, also have/had garbage disposals. Like the dishwasher, the one at the condo ended up breaking. I did have it replaced when I remodeled the kitchen, to get it ready to sell.

I never put anything down the garbage disposal on purpose. I'm the type that rarely wastes food, and any scraps such as eggshells, banana peels, coffee grounds, etc, I throw outside in a bucket and let it compost. Or, if something major gets forgotten in the fridge and spoils, I just throw it out in the woods and let Mother Nature's little garbage disposals handle it.

The garbage disposal is simply a matter of let the water run, turn it on for a few seconds, and let it grind up whatever. Every once in awhile, something gets stuck in there, but I find that a quick flick of the switch on and off is usually enough to dislodge it. There's been a few times I've reached my hand down in there to clear something. Freaks my house mate out...I think he's seen too many horror movies. Although, after googling it, I think maybe I'll stop doing that!

 

[Lakedog]

Living alone, I never use the dishwasher. Have been in my current house for two years but not sure I would know how to run the dishwasher. When I sold my lake house a few years back, the dishwasher had not been used in almost 10 years but it worked fine when the home inspector ran it through a cycle. I was expecting the seals to leak but no problems.

Usually no garbage disposal since most of my homes have been on septic systems. I do use a clothes dryer though.

 

[MarieIG]

We have all three. I admit I like the dishwasher, no ifs, ands or buts, although we occasionally hand wash various items.

The dryer is convenient in bad weather. I know how to use a clothes line and really would not mind using one - in nice weather, but we no longer have one. (Too bad, come to think of it.)

I don't use the garbage disposal.

 

[skyking1]

Not odd at all. I've always been on a septic system and never had a garbage disposal. I have a dryer but we hang most everything up.
If i had my way the dishwasher is a fancy drying rack, but the roomie and DW both like using it now.
I don't mind washing dishes, it is sort of water therapy for me.

 

[mountainsoft]

We lived without a dishwasher about 13 years before we built our house. I didn't miss it at the time, but appreciate that we have one now. We still hand wash some items, but most go in the dishwasher. I could certainly live without it, but it's a nice convenience. We have a simple system, if it's in the dishwasher it's clean. We run the dishwasher as soon as we reload it with dirty dishes. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to run, and doesn't really do a very good job. It's good for glasses and plates, but pots and bake ware need to be scrubbed before loading.

I don't think we could go without a clothes dryer. We rarely get days nice enough to hang anything outside, and if we did they would quickly be covered in fir needles, pollen, and tree sap, among other things.

Never had a garbage disposal. Garbage goes in the garbage can. We're on a septic system so it's not a good idea anyway.

Some old friends used to have a garbage compactor. I thought it was a neat idea, but was messy and smelled a lot. I certainly wouldn't want one and don't know if they even make those anymore.

 

[Gumby]

I was 47 years old before I had a dishwasher. I still hand wash all the pots, pans and a few other things (delicate stuff, stuff with wooden handles, the good Wusthof knives), but for the regular plates, glasses and silverware, it is really convenient. We've had a clothes dryer as long as we have owned this house (31 years now). Prior to that we were apartment dwellers and used the laundromat. Never had a garbage disposal.

 

[CardsFan]

Dryer: The most useful of the 3. I have never used a clothes line. Mom stopped when I was about 10.

Dishwasher: A nice convenience. Have had one in all houses. 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.

Disposal: Lived for years without one. Actually put the first one we had in a house with septic. Only used it to rinse dishes after putting everything else in the trash. But that is a convenience to avoid clogged drains. Still use it the same way now, on sewer.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I grew up on well water and a septic system so no garbage disposal.
My first experience with a garbage disposal was in a townhouse. I put left over food- I think it was pasta down the disposal and clogged it up. Maintenance person came out to fix it and said don’t do that!
So- what is the point of having a GD? 40 years later and I still don’t really use the one I have and think that they are useless.

I’ve used dryers and clotheslines most of my life but gave up hanging out clothes 20 years ago when I moved into my current house. Not going back.

For years I washed my dishes by hand after my dishwasher broke in my old house. I didn’t replace it until I was selling.
My current house was a new build and I started using the dishwasher more since it was new. I did a combo of hand washing and dishwasher.
Then I learned from my younger friends that they put everything in the dishwasher so I started doing that. I just run the dishwasher overnight and then put the dishes away in the morning while waiting for the coffee to be ready. I only use it 1-2 a week. It has a light that shows dishes are clean.
I’m probably not going back to hand washing.

I mean I’ve got important things to do besides wash dishes and hang clothes.
Like post about those chores on a message board. [emoji23]

 

[Jerry1]

Our first dishwasher had a light to tell you if the dishes were clean (a cycle had run) but the couple we’ve had after that don’t have the indicator light so we use a little magnet that looks like a push pin. If it’s on the right the dishes are clean and we move it to the left when we unload it.

We use all three appliances. The dishwasher - we get laughed at by our kids because we rinse everything before we put it in the dishwasher. I just really like it for the way it basically sanitizes everything - especially the glasses and silverware.

The dryer - couldn’t imagine being without it. Never had a clothes line but we do hang our swim towels on the pool fence and we do have a folding rack for delicates.

Garbage disposal I could live without. I really don’t put anything down the drain but it’s nice for the little bits of food that might end up in there from time to time. Mostly o just turn it on when I dump the dish pan so the water drains quicker. (Even though I have a dishwasher, we still had wash a number of things like knives, plastics and pans.)

 

[braumeister]

Our first dishwasher had a light to tell you if the dishes were clean (a cycle had run) but the couple we’ve had after that don’t have the indicator light so we use a little magnet that looks like a push pin. If it’s on the right the dishes are clean and we move it to the left when we unload it.

My dishwasher is made by Schrödinger Appliances, and I'm never quite sure whether the dishes are clean or not until I open it and look in.

 

[Walt34]

Both of us grew up without dishwashers and found that it is a real convenience if there are two or more people, and I would think anyone would want one if there were more than two. For one person it doesn't really save all that much time although I've read that they are much more efficient in water use than doing dishes by hand.

I was in high school before we had a clothes dryer and I've never lived without one since. Nor would I do so willingly, especially in the winter!

The garbage disposal is in the "sometimes nice to have" category but I wouldn't bother installing one if it wasn't already there when I bought the house. And as pointed out, if you have a septic system a garbage disposal is very bad for them.

 

[aja8888]

When 20 family members came to my house the evening after my wife's funeral in January and ate and drank the place dry, I was glad to have the dishwasher and garbage disposal.

But since then it's been "me and the dog" and I haven't used either appliance. If I use dishes that are not made of paper, I wash them by hand. Since cooking is an art I never thought to master, I rely on the microwave to cook, although I can do boiled and scrambled eggs pretty well.

I do have an outdoor BBQ grill and pellet smoker that I can use, but even those are getting less use these days. No sense making a big meal production for just me and the pooch.

The dishwasher here was bought two years ago and it's quiet as a church mouse when running.

I do have a washer and dryer and use them about once every couple of weeks when I run out of clothes.

 

[ownyourfuture]

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

I don't think so, at least not for single people.
Bought my 1st & only home in July 1994. It had all 3. Never used the dishwasher because the one at my parents (mid 80's) basically required you to wash the dishes 'before' putting them in the machine.

Paid an extra $500 to keep the Maytag washer & dryer that had been purchased new in 1990.

The dryer died about 7 years ago. The washer was still working fine, so I started hanging clothes to dry. The washer died last June, so I purchased a new Speed Queen set, but only use the dryer when I'm doing bed linens.

Never used the garbage disposal either. Removed that when I installed a new sink 5 or 6 years ago.

 

[splitwdw]

Why was she stunned that you didn't know how to run her /his dishwasher? All the appliances are different. I have a brand new Bosch 18" wide dishwasher that I'm sure no one on this forum has and you have to learn how to load it and what buttons to push to shorten the cycles. No garbage disposal and need a clothes dryer because it's easier when you are working.

aja8888, I gave away the grill since it's only me now. I'm better at cooking meals than you though but I cook things that don't take a lot of time like fish, chicken and sauteed veggies. I use my china and glass so I have a load every other day. Do you still say "we" and "our"? He hasn't been gone that long and I can't stop using those words.

 

[street]

We had a dishwasher and never used it. When I finally start replacing cabinets in kitchen it will be removed and not installed back in.

 

[aja8888]

Why was she stunned that you didn't know how to run her /his dishwasher? All the appliances are different. I have a brand new Bosch 18" wide dishwasher that I'm sure no one on this forum has and you have to learn how to load it and what buttons to push to shorten the cycles. No garbage disposal and need a clothes dryer because it's easier when you are working.

aja8888, I gave away the grill since it's only me now. I'm better at cooking meals than you though but I cook things that don't take a lot of time like fish, chicken and sauteed veggies. I use my china and glass so I have a load every other day. Do you still say "we" and "our"? He hasn't been gone that long and I can't stop using those words.

Yes, all the time I catch myself saying "we" and "our". I have not gotten used to being here all by myself yet and that may take a long time. Possibly, if I sell the house and move away, that may change things.

 

[MC Rider]

Love the dishwasher. Two houses ago it was a rental with no dishwasher and we found one that attached to the sink. Way better that doing them all by hand, imho.
We have a circular thing with a suction cup stuck on the door. It says dirty and clean. Just gotta remember to rotate it to the right way when you load or unload.



Yes on clothes dryer, I don't want to line dry all my stuff. Disposal I don't care much about and not sure why the prior owner put one in here, we have septic.

 

[DrRoy]

I loathe doing dishes by hand.

 

[marko]

My dear, eccentric aunt had two dishwashers, side by side. Her reasoning was that she never emptied them to cupboards and instead would use dishes from the clean one and put used dishes in the dirty one, alternating. They now make them that way, but the load area is very small.

My mom's quote: "I always said I'd get rid of my husband before I'd get rid of my dishwasher, and I did!"

Clotheslines are not allowed in my community but I'm not sure DW would know how to hang clothes anyway. Can't live without our disposal.