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

[MC Rider]

............ Can't live without our disposal.

When I was a kid we used the toilet as a disposal for food scraps.

 

[martyp]

I used to have a dishwasher, dryer, and garbage disposal. Now I live in Thailand and have none of those appliances. Garbage disposal’s are rare here and I do without even in my newly built home. Dishwashers and dryers though, I find to be unnecessary. In a hot climate, wet items dry so quickly that a dryer would be ridiculous and even dishes dry quickly enough to empty a dish rack very quickly.

 

[Dash man]

We have all three, even though sometimes I think washing dishes by hand is easier.

 

[Aerides]

I have them all, but not having them isn't weird. Older homes aren't built for them either.

We use the dishwasher frequently as it is more economical on water usage if you have a decently filled machine, probably twice a week. I imagine it's a daily thing for families with multiple kids.

I use a clothes dryer - my HOA doesn't allow line drying, and heck, in Florida I don't think anything can get dry when the humidity is over 80%.

The garbage disposal I use very rarely. I probably put old ice down it for a run through more often than I put food down it.

 

[Gumby]

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.

They are both clean and not clean while the door is shut.

 

[MC Rider]

They are both clean and not clean while the door is shut.

Deep thoughts by Jack Handy.

 

[Jerry1]

I have a brand new Bosch 18" wide dishwasher that I'm sure no one on this forum has

Are you sure about that?

Yes, it’s 18 inches and while I like it and it does a great job, especially for just me and DW, it was not one of our better decisions. The cabinet builder recommended it so we could have 6 more inches of cabinet. While it’s true that we were worried about space in our new, smaller kitchen, I’d much rather have the full size dishwasher when we have family gatherings. Thankfully, 90+ percent of the time it is just me and DW. One thing that Bosch does very well is run quietly. That part I love.

 

[RunningBum]

I don't think it's weird that you don't use them, but if you're selling a house with no dishwasher and no place for a dryer, I'm taking a hard pass on it unless I'm convinced they can be easily added.

Garbage disposal I can live without. I'd just scrape plates better and I think anything left would go down an open pipe ok. But I'd rather have one.

 

[COcheesehead]

One word: resale.

 

[RobbieB]

Yeah, weird.

Once you have one...

My parents got one that you had to attach a faucet widget to. Feed in the hot and drain out the dirty. My first wife did the same. Portables I think they called them, also had to plug them in as they were on wheels and not connected to anything. Makes life easier.

Just rinse off the dirties, pop 'em in the washer (yeah, you do need to scrub the burned on pot residue off) in the DW and run the sucker when it's full.

You clear the sink each meal and stage the stuff in the DW until it's full. Nice and neat.

 

[CindyBlue]

Live with a well and septic here. Never in my whole life have lived in a house that had a dishwasher. Have a garbage disposal, but never use it on purpose - we just run it once in a while to clear out anything that might have fallen in accidentally. Didn't have a dryer until I was in my 40s, and I just love it for underwear and socks! As a kid, I had to hang out all the family laundry on the clothesline because we never had a dryer then, either, and I just hated hanging out all the little pieces of underwear for a family of five - too much work! Give me sheets any day (grin!)

But in spring, summer, and fall, I only use our dryer for underwear and socks - otherwise I still hang everything else out on the line. In winter, everything but my knit shirts and pants go in the dryer (the knit shirts and pants I hang on a dryer rack I attached to the wall near the washer.) But except for in winter, my hubby hangs all of his clothes, including underwear and socks, out on the line (and yes, we each do our own laundry (smile!))

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

If you have a dog you already have a garbage disposal and the pre wash setting of a dishwasher. [emoji23]

 

[Telly]

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.

Do you have a cat? If not, get one. Then you know what to do...

 

[Telly]

A dishwasher is a MUST! I'm too young for dishpan-hands... DW, too!

 

[RobbieB]

If you have a dog you already have a garbage disposal and the pre wash setting of a dishwasher. [emoji23]

Yeah Baby!

They'll lick off all that crusty residue, you won't even need to rinse -

 

[Winemaker]

DM and DD took their dishwasher out of kitchen when they remodeled back in '83, I took it and turned it into a portable for my apartment back then. When DW and I bought house in '85, we used it to replace the one in the house in '89. We gone trough 3 DWs in this house that we bought in '91. I took the disposal out 5 years ago, because DW is very odor sensitive.

DM lived in her house 43 years with no DW and no disposal. She had a dryer but used it only for underwear/smalls as she hung everything on a clothesline outside or in laundry. room.

 

[old medic]

We only have a dryer, but clothes, get hung out most of the time. Had a dishwasher at the old house, Didn't get used all the time but was nice when we had gatherings. Still in the air on whether we will get one for here yet. Have never had a garbage disposal... I consider them the ultimate in being lazy.

 

[Badger]

Initially I didn't have a DW or Garbage Disposal until I got married. I didn't want either but it wasn't my choice anymore so she gave them to me for a Christmas present.
I really hated the time when I had to go to a laundromat so we have a washing machine and a dryer. I used to just have the washing machine and a clothes line but marriage again and we have a dryer. Now (36 years later) she wants me to put up a clothes line for those things that could get damaged in a dryer.
Go figure.

Cheers!

 

[Andre1969]

If you have a dog you already have a garbage disposal and the pre wash setting of a dishwasher. [emoji23]

My grandmother used to do that sometimes. Usually, it was after eating a bowl of ice cream, she'd set the bowl down and let the dog lick it clean. Funny thing is, growing up with that, it didn't seem all that odd. But I can remember when my Mom first started dating my stedpdad, the first time Grandmom did it in front of him, it really grossed him out.

Sometimes, when my house mate is making something with tuna, the cat will come running and pester him to death. To distract the cat, he'll usually open a small can of moist food, and set it down for the cat. The dish he uses is just a regular dish, and not a pet-specific dish. So it gets washed and put away with all the other dishes. So at some point I'm sure I've eaten off of the same plate as the cat. I guess that's no worse than what Grandmom used to do!

 

[CindyBlue]

If you have a dog you already have a garbage disposal and the pre wash setting of a dishwasher. [emoji23]

 

[Music Lover]

I've never had a garbage disposal, never seen the need for one.

We use our dishwasher all the time, the new ones are quiet and use very little water, probably less than hand washing. I even installed one in our 3-season cabin.

I've always had a dryer and everyone I know has a dryer.

 

[pacergal]

Have all three and use them frequently.

 

[cj1717]

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.

Yes.

 

[rk911]

in the last 53-yrs we've lived in 2-apartments and 3-homes. we never had a proper washer/dryer until our first home in 1975. no more coin laundries!!! these days we have enough clean clothes for 2+ weeks so I do laundry every other weekend.

when we moved to our present home (1988) it came with a dishwasher. they are very EZ to operate and save time and water. there's just the two of us so it may take a day or two to dirty enough dishes, pans and silverware to fill the washer. when we run it it's usually when we go to bed.

when we remodeled the kitchen we added a garbage disposal. most organics go into the disposal which reduces the garbage we put at the curb to the few organics we can't grind and dry garbage that can't be recycled. the garbage cart goes out every 3-4 weeks (we pay by the pickup here). the recycling cart goes out every other week.

wouldn't do without any of them.

 

[Lcountz]

I think it's weird to have a dishwasher that WORKS.

ALL the people I know have them and don't use them for a variety of reasons...at least not to wash dishes in. Storage mostly.

ALL have some reason...leaks,inconvenience,don't clean well, noisy, too much bother.

I have no dishwasher, no dryer ( just didn't replace after old one died) and no garbage disposal. I live alone, don't need them.

I dry clothes on line in my rural yard 10 months of the year ( NW PA) . Or on the cast iron radiators to put moisture in the air...stuff dries quickly!!! And I don't put ANYTHING down my drains that I don't want to mess up my septic system. ( Fats, gook, scraps, etc). Just waste and TP.

I found I don't need them or miss them. I DID just buy a new washer that I can attach to wifi internet. WHY?!?!?!?!?! I still have a working brain and can remember if the load is done.