dishwasher tip

cathy_3

my cuz works in unilever in ellesmere port and it was him who told me to use soap powder as dishwasher powder is merely soap powder without perfume!!

so its over 9 years now weve had "dishy" and its been fine

sometimes I have to rinse again as I may have put too much soap powder in so can smell the perfume
but
since Ive been putting vinegar in the rinse aid part I have had no smell at all just shiny shiny plates ;D

cathy_3

once a month  put a the contents of a jif lemon in the dishwasher  with vinegar in the rinse aid compartment mix it with bicarb to make a runny paste


just put the lemon juice in a bowl on the bottom of the dishwasher


this gets all the pipes and bits cleaned out  

the vinegar and bicarb will remove any left

if i have a mouldy lemon left over from cooking etc

i cut in half and throw it in the cutlery holder its mushy when it comes out but the dishes and dishwasher are clean and smell lovely

cathy_3

nearly forgot

before you close the door on the dishwasher, put your dishcloth in just tie it or thread it through the rack and you have a lovely clean smelling sterelised cloth when the dishes are done ;D ;D ;D

squeaky

adi wrote:

Dishwasher - waste of time? Before buying a dishwaser, or any other 'labour-saving' device ask a question. Will this actually save me time? In a small household the amount of time taken to expertly load and unload a Dishwasher you could have just washed up by hand. By doing so you would have saved water and energy. A Dishwasher uses at least 3 times the water of hand washing. In a household the children could be paid pocket money to do the washing up - still cheaper than a dishwasher!

Wandering about Old Style, like you do I came across the post I've just quoted.

I SO disagree with this

I worked out that my dishwasher uses 50 litres of water per wash (according to my new water meter - thank you MSE) and that as a single person I can often just do one wash a week with the right pots and crockery planning. A hand wash each day and rinsing actually uses more water than that and the hot water used to come from a huge tank I had to heat, though the combi boiler I have is rather more efficient.

Still, though it depends on usage, I reckon my dishwasher is very competetive when used properly.

On top of that the machine uses water at temperatures that would scald my hands and detergents that would take my skin off. Items are far cleaner, better rinsed and a whole lot more sterile than can be done by hand.

Besides - I resent having to spend so much time at my kitchen sink staring at a blank wall.

That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

blue-kat

Cathy:
what powder do you put in the DW- clothes washing powder?
or do you mean soap flakes (don't know where to buy these from)?
-thanks !

Loadsabob

I have always maintained I wouldn't accept a dishwasher as a gift. Perhaps I may feel differently if I had a family (though I think a rota would achieve the same results of saving me time!).

I honestly HATE the things. There's only myself, and my boyfriend at weekends, and I compare our dish-washing with the stays we have at my brothers, who has a dishwasher (for him, his wife and toddler).

I hate the way the dishes squeak when they come out clean, it sets my teeth on edge. He still uses tablets, so the glasses look as though they've been sand-blasted in no time.

There are LOADS of things that can't be washed in there - much cookware, pots and pans and utensils, so they still have to be washed by hand. Anything he particularly values (favourite mugs or glasses) don't get put in there. Everything has to be rinsed before going in (food particles, so they don't clog the thing up), and to be honest, my boyfriend and I, when helping out with the dishes, found it was JUST as quick to wash each item in the bowl of hot soapy water, as to rinse it and put it in the dishwasher.

Also, because they let it fill up before putting a wash on, for environmental reasons, they use every dish in the house on a regular basis, so when it comes to putting away, there are LOADS of dishes!!!! Rather than the few I wash and wipe each night.

I honestly found it SUCH a false time economy, a real white elephant. I will tell him about using soap powder though!

But some people swear by them. My brother says it's the ONLY appliance he wouldn't be without. I find that so odd, but there you go! No criticism on anyone who has one, but it just wouldn't help me out at all.

Chris25

blue-kat wrote:

Cathy:
what powder do you put in the DW- clothes washing powder?
or do you mean soap flakes (don't know where to buy these from)?
-thanks !

I think there was another thread about this last year but I'm sure Cathy (and many others) used ordinary bio-clothes washing powder, I don't remember anyone using soap flakes.

badgermonkey

I don't rinse anything - just get rid of any big bits of food. I put all pans and cooking utensils in, all plastics, and even my crystal glasses! (Before you all faint they were 99p for 4 :j so I can afford to be cavaliar with them.)

And I HATE WASHING UP. I hate the way your hands get all dry and wrinkled, or feel gross after wearing rubber gloves. I hate fishing around in lukewarm water for things. I hate washing-up liquid smell. I hate the bits of food floating on the top of the water and I hate having to keep changing the water if you want any chance at all that it'll actually be clean. We used to both detest it so much we'd leave it for 3 days rather than buckle and do it! Imagine the state of the kitchen...now everything's so damn clean. Brilliant.

Badgergal

Do you really have to rinse everything before you put it in? Aren't filters there for that reason (I accept you have to scrape plates to get rid of any large amounts of food) or have I got it wrong?

Badgergal

badgermonkey wrote:

I don't rinse anything - just get rid of any big bits of food. I put all pans and cooking utensils in, all plastics, and even my crystal glasses! (Before you all faint they were 99p for 4 :j so I can afford to be cavaliar with them.)

And I HATE WASHING UP. I hate the way your hands get all dry and wrinkled, or feel gross after wearing rubber gloves. I hate fishing around in lukewarm water for things. I hate washing-up liquid smell. I hate the bits of food floating on the top of the water and I hate having to keep changing the water if you want any chance at all that it'll actually be clean. We used to both detest it so much we'd leave it for 3 days rather than buckle and do it! Imagine the state of the kitchen...now everything's so damn clean. Brilliant.

Are you sure you're not me, that sounds like exactly the way I feel about washing up?!

I don't think I own much that isn't DW safe...my crockery is all the handmedown stuff I was given when I moved out of home anyway so who cares as long as its clean!