Dishwasher vs manual

Ian_iD

Thanks very much everyone! I think I try and save a bit and get one. It will have to be a compact one though as I really don't have much space. Thinking of putting it in a cupboard under the worktop, perhaps something like this...
http://www.365electrical.com/ICD661.html?gclid=COqCj-KVu60CFVGKfAodMXdhCQ

sunshinetours

Whilst I can't see your link (filters) do ensure that if putting it "in" a cupboard you look at integrated machines and you will need a matching door front. Much better if you can to remove a cupboard and get a freestanding one as much more choice and generally cheaper to buy

ic

The problem with a dishwasher that size is you'll wind up doing two washes for every meal - one to wash the cookware, and another to wash the plates. I can only see that being useful if you're only eating cold meals or ready meals. I struggle with a slimline - once I was able to cook good proper meals without the burden of washing up afterwards, I found myself washing using more pots and pans. As above, see if you can lose a cupboard and put one in its place. My parents did this, they removed a whole corner cupboard (it was full of rubbish anyway), and put in a slimline - they wouldn't look back now. Only thing is, because its slimline and there's two of them, they still have to do the odd bit of washing up as it doesn't all fit in the slimline.

Also bare in mind, that at £200 you can get a full size dishwasher - so you're paying a lot for a machine that has a third of the capacity.

dizziblonde

By the time I'd put the immersion on or boiled a kettle to heat the water, and fiddled about procrastinating about washing up for hours, plus having a husband who can use ten plates to make beans on toast (seriously why do men do the using every dish in the kitchen possible to make a meal thing) - dishwasher saves my sanity and didn't bump the bills up when we got one.

Tablets pop up on BOGOF relatively frequently (we tend to stick to Finish cos we know they work well - despite them being slightly pricier) - we tend to have to buy tablets about twice a year, and the machine's on every 2-3 days depending on how much we've been cooking. Just for the convenience though I wouldn't be without ours now - but dishwashing is one chore both of us loathed anyway so it tended to be a battle as to who'd crack first when we ran low on plates.

Also reduces clumsy hubby breaking crockery and my flipping wine glasses!

foxymum1977_2

we've had a dishwasher for nearly 4 years when we re fitted out kitchen,its a built in one so looks good but i just dont have enough crockery/cutlery to use it all the time! i only seem to use it if we have guests and i use a lot of crockery/cutlery,fill it up and use it straight away and empty when dry, for day to day i wash up which is mad really especially the way i have the tap on constantly and rinse everyting while washing up!
think i need to invest in some more crockery! my heart sinks when ive run out of spoons/knives then i realise they are dirty in the dishwasher :-(

loracan1

I had to manage without one for 3 months or so a couple of years ago, I hate washing up, avoided cooking anything that required a multitude of pots, always ended up running 2 or 3 sinks of water if doing much (hate washing in even mildly dirty water and always ended up having to run a sinkful of hot water to rinse everything afterward. (I've never bothered rinsing anything before I put it in unless it's burned on)

Fred_Bear_2

Ian_iD wrote: »

I am vaguely thinking about getting a dishwasher but trying to work out how cost effective they are against manual washing. I have always through they are too expensive to run with electric and water etc so have never really thought about it before, but recently a few people have said they are not as expensive as you might think.

Has anyone done any research into this at all please or have any info that might help?

I have read about some extensive research on this and the conclusion was that the amount of hot water used during manual washing up varies greatly from person to person. If you are very economical you could wash up cheaper than an A-rated dishwasher but probably not. Of course it is important to do full loads only.

I use (gas heated) hot water to fill my machine to save a little energy but whether it is worth it depends on how far the machine is from the hot water cylinder (if you have one) or boiler. The (Bosch) manual says this is ok BTW.

SuzieSue

foxymum1977 wrote: »

we've had a dishwasher for nearly 4 years when we re fitted out kitchen,its a built in one so looks good but i just dont have enough crockery/cutlery to use it all the time! i only seem to use it if we have guests and i use a lot of crockery/cutlery,fill it up and use it straight away and empty when dry, for day to day i wash up which is mad really especially the way i have the tap on constantly and rinse everyting while washing up!
think i need to invest in some more crockery! my heart sinks when ive run out of spoons/knives then i realise they are dirty in the dishwasher :-(

Yes, I had to buy more crockery and cutlery when I got my dishwasher so that I had enough for 3 or 4 days.

A.Penny.Saved

Jonesya wrote: »

As other posters have mentioned - make sure you don't over-pay for the detergent tablets. Homebargains sells some standard ones ('Clean & Fresh' - basic generic tablets) for less than 6p/tablet, if you you go in the supermarkets some of the Finish range are priced at almost 40p each.

So are those HomeBargains tabs any cheaper than the Aldi Classic 50 pack for £2.79? That's 5.5p each, so there doesn''t sound much difference. Any tabs with salt in are a bit of a waste IMO, being in a soft water area. Much better having that taken up with cleaner.

I recently discovered Homebargains myself, their Kitchen rolls are pretty cheap compared with anywhere else at 89p a large roll. I didn't check the dishwasher tabs while I was in there, so don't know how much they are.

Ian_iD

Thnaks again everyone. Sounds like the full size really is the way to go but I'm going to have trouble finding any room for it!? How much plumbing in do they need? (sorry pretty ignorant about that side of things)