dishwasher tip

badgermonkey

I must admit I keep doing a double-take at your username and thinking "Hey, I didn't write that!".

We have had our dishwasher for a year and still look at it sometimes and say "that's the best thing we ever bought."

It's like a child to us. A big, square, plastic child. That plugs into the mains.

MATH

I tried to live without a dishwasher once and after a week of standing at the sink for three hours a day and having to drink from sleaky, smeary glasses I went out and bought a new machine.
If we didn't have a dishwasher there is no way we would be eating HM meals everyday. Our dishy goes on twice a day and I do one lot of handwashing which is all the school lunchboxes, flasks, and water bottles.

gooismeid

I can only add hooray for dishwashers. If you're daft enough to spend money on expensive crystal glasses and plates that can't go in a DW, then by all means wash up by hand. Don't rinse stuff, just scrape into the bin (which you should do if washing by hand anyway), put it on an eco wash if you have one, and marvel at how tidy your kitchen becomes when all your dirty pots are put into your new storage cupboard which magically washes them while they're in there! For a family of 4, we have 8 sets of everything so we can get away with filling it once every 2 days. Needless to say all glasses are from the market and plates from Ikea, so if they get a bit scuffed we're frankly not that bothered. Try and wrestle my dishwasher off me and you'll be in for the fight of your life.

elona

Well said

We are a family of six (sometimes 7 or 8) and I would never do anything but wash up if it were not for the dishwasher.

pandas66

I think I'd die without my d/washer. I used to have a 'soak it and see attitude' to washing the dishes.
How much water and soap was wasted is anyones guess but this is what used to happen
Have dinner.........pile of pans, plates cultery. (aprox 5.30pm)
Place in sink, piping hot water, soap added, walk away. (approx 6.30pm)
Empty bowl, refill with water and soap, walk away. (approx 7.30pm)
Wonder if your the only one to know its waiting to be done. (for 1 hour)
Empty bowl and refill with less than hot water and soap, walk away. (approx 8.00pm)
Seeth for another hour.
and this went on till no cups left, no spoons and it was breakfast, wash up.
I hated washing up. I hated rubber gloves. I hated it all stacked on the drainer waiting to be put away and I hated 't' towels.
It saves the blood pressure rising, it saves the underlying feeling of 'its your turn, I cooked'
Now I have turned off the central heating totally so there is no hot water 'on tap' so its got to be moneysaving/time saving/life saving here.
The dog/kids/tv/car can go before the d/washer.
E

Loadsabob

gooismeid wrote:

I can only add hooray for dishwashers. If you're daft enough to spend money on expensive crystal glasses and plates that can't go in a DW, then by all means wash up by hand. Don't rinse stuff, just scrape into the bin.

I don't think it's just expensive things that some people avoid putting in - just anything with a pattern or sheen that they don't want sand-blasted off it! But with washing powder instead, I think that would be overcome. My brother's probably going by the user's manual for rinsing food residue of the plates, I think he's worried about breaking the machine, as now they couldn't live without it.

Well, I'm totally outnumbered on dishwashers...I guess I'm just one of few people that don't mind washing up. I find it quite relaxing in small doses. And I do have a wonderful boyfriend who often beats me to it!

MATH

The American's have the best idea when it comes to dishwashers. They have a waste disposal thingy in the bottom of the machine and a special rinse 'n' grind pre-wash instead of our feeble filters. My sis tells me the only thing you have to remove from the plates are bones.

mariauk

Hi

Do you all still use dishwasher salt along with the soap powder? Also, What exactly does the salt do? Anyone know? Thanks

Maria

MATH

salt softens the water and will reduce limescale build up on plates and glasses. If I don't replenish the salt my glassware goes cloudy and and tea/coffee stains that get trapped under limescale are impossible to remove until the limescale is taken off. Salt is expensive but the results are much better with it. IMO

blue-kat

it's to soften the water

we don't bother with it, but then we live in soft water area.

see https://www.dishwasher-care.org.uk/ for lots of dishwasher tips.
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