Dishwasher help - best way to use?

aliasojo

Never having had a dishwasher before, I'm not sure of the best way to use it. Sounds a bit daft, I know, but so far I dont think we have the hang of this.

If you load it throughout the day with breakfast dishes/lunch/dinner etc and put it on once after dinner, then you must need to go buy extra cutlery, plates etc? (I tried it that way and ran out of everything by 3pm. :rolleyes: ) Also if you do it that way, doesn't the food get dried on by the time it comes to wash?

Or do you wash up by hand most of the time throughout the day and just use it for a main meal wash up?

Do you need to rinse the plates to get bits of food off before putting in the dishwasher? Kinda defeats the purpose then?

As for the detergent...if you use something like Finish Powerball tablets, do you still need to fill up the salt thingy and the rinse aid thingy in the machine?

To think I thought a dishwasher would make my life easier. :rolleyes: I've had the thing working for 2 days and it seems easier to wash up by hand.

All tips and advice [strike]sorely needed[/strike] welcome.

wallbash

I thought all dishwashers came with a manual ?
But to answer some questions

Buy some extra cutlery:D
Food will dry out, but the dishwasher can cope!
Do you rinse ? NO , quick scrape.

Yes fill salt section.

You will come to love your dishwasher :j

stamford

Only use when you've got a decent load in it. Rinse / remove debris off first. Don't bother with expensive branded detergents, use supermarket own brand powdered stuff - dissolves and gets working faster. Always keep it filled with salt & rinse aid - again supermarket own brands.

aliasojo

Lol wallbash, it did come with a manual...but I obviously dont get some of what I'm reading (especially about the 3/4/5 in 1 tabs v's salt etc) or I wouldn't have to ask on here. At the risk of sounding really thick, it just isn't clear to me (or OH for that matter). So I hoped some of the good peeps on here would take pity on me and advise.

wallbash

So I hoped some of the good peeps on here would take pity on me and advise.

No good peeps here , only sarcastic ones :rotfl:
Did not mean to be rude, you could have bought 2nd hand , or shop soiled etc!

I have teenagers, never get them to wash by hand, but they will
load the dishwasher.
last small ideas, i put my small dish mop in the washer to freshen it up.
Start buying stuff that says dishwasher safe.

My 'very' good dinner service. called platinum ( John Lewies ) goes in, a good friend has the same service, but refuses to wash that way.... frightened to damage the silver. Christmas Dinner will be so much easier for you.

cornerstone13

I use Lidl salt, dishwasher powder and rinse aid as they are the cheapest around and work perfectly well in my (12 year old) dishwasher.

Don't really rinse anything, just make sure the filter thingy is always empty (very easy on mine, don't know if they're all different). I give saucepans, oven trays, etc a bit of a scrub first to remove baked on food.

We do a wash once every two days now there are only two of us at home (previously 5) and everything comes out wonderfully clean.

Also experimented with the minimum programme I could get away with, to cut down water/heating costs.

Nile

Hello aliasojo

We're on a water meter so only ever put the dishwasher on when it has a full load.;)

I think I could win the Krypton Factor because of my skill to use up every last space in the dw with pots and pans.:D

We have our 'best' cutlery (eg relativley new and they all match:cool: ) and our 'reserve' cutlery (eg the pattern on the handles have faded and they don't match:o ) and keep using them until there is no more space left in the dishwasher.................then we're ready for a load/wash.

I use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe any excess food off the forks and knives etc before placing in the cutlery holder. I never wipe plates or bowls or pans before placing them in the dw machine.;)

We use Finish Powder Lemon 1kg and any brand of Rinse Aid.

If you can love an inanimate object..............I love my dishwasher because it makes the kitchen look clean and tidy. We never have cutlery, plates and pans lying around the place. They're either dirty (hidden inside the dw) or they're clean waiting for the kitchen fairy (me:D ) to put them back in the cupboards.

I hope you grow to love your dishwasher too.

Nile

sooz

Nile wrote: »

If you can love an inanimate object..............I love my dishwasher because it makes the kitchen look clean and tidy. We never have cutlery, plates and pans lying around the place. They're either dirty (hidden inside the dw) or they're clean waiting for the kitchen fairy (me:D ) to put them back in the cupboards.

This is precisely why I need two dishwashers
One for clean stuff & one for dirty stuff. What is the point of putting everything back into the cupboards, when it's just going to end up back in the dishwasher again? (I don't actually have two, but one day when I have a bigger kitchen....)

I also wash loads of things in the dishwasher, not just dishes. Pots and pans go in obviously, as do vases, storage containers (look at the top of your tea bag,sugar containers etc!), kids plastic toys...


skulks off before anyone accuses her of being slovenly

carla40

i love my dishwasher, but i use the all in one tabs, either glist or fairy active bursts, my pans and glasses come out lovely and shiney, if there is baked on food then i will leave them in soak with boilling water for about 1/2 an hour, i also use the dishwasher fresheners as well

patsy13

do you not have a prewash button on your dishwasher it just rinses them so they do not get smelly

abbecer

I had a dishwasher for about 5 years and hated it. When we moved to this new build house I insisted on an extra cupboard rather than a space for a dishwasher. By the time you have faffed about scraping plates and loading machine correctly you could have washed up. Then all the unloading is a pain in the butt.

Am I the only one who feels this way about dishwashers???

Rebecca x