Dishwasher - luxury or necessity?

meanmarie

I regard my dishwasher as a necessity...in a way because you can get rid of the dishes as Paddy's Mum says, but mainly because I hate washing up, they are wonderful with pyrex/glass, most are large enough for normal pots. Most brands are good, some quieter than others. Each will have its own advice on salt and powder/tablets, its one of the things you will sort out for yourself when you use one daily.

Would say to those wanting...go get it, but do buy the extra dishes and cutlery, no point in having a dishwasher if you have to take things out to handwash because you have run out.

Marie

tanith

I bought my dishwasher when I was working full-time and as others say I could live without it but wouldn't want to....My kitchen stays neat and tidy and I too only put it on when its full , which is mostly every other day... it gets everything sparkling although I always wash my nonstick pans in the sink.... its great at Christmas time when there is so much washing up to be done... and I too think there are more important things to be done than washing up.....

Stompa

There are only 2 of us, so dishwashing probably takes a maximum of 10 mins per day - seems little point in having a dishwasher.

paddy's_mum

... and don't forget that it will give a darned good clean to other bits and pieces around the home too. I regularly put the dogs' combs in (not with food dishes I hasten to add!) the stainless steel waste bins in kitchen and bathroom, grubby dustpans, glass lampshades (on a cool wash or they may crack) shower head and chrome hose - pretty much anything you might wash in the sink in hot soapy water can be given a quick whizz through the d/w. Keeps your hands soft as Nanette Newman's and saves hours of fiddling about and scrubbing.

I have had Zanussi, Ariston and Bosch and prefer the layout of the Bosch. Easy way round the 'not enough cups and plates' is to grab a few extras from the charity shop and pop away in a cupboard for those odd occasions when you have a guest or two and need the extras.

When cooking a main meal, I usually fill a bowl with cold water, and as I serve, pop saucepans into it. By the time we have eaten and I'm ready to clear away, pans have been thoroughly soaked, into the d/w and then off I go for a sit down. Now is that bliss, or what?!

pigeonpie

have lived recently for 2 years without one and it was ok, but a pain. Now I have one and it's wonderful. A place to hide dirty dishes and to leave clean ones until you can be bothered to put them away! Does it make life easier - definitely. However things can go brown in them (like knives) so now I wash them up instead. I wouldn't economise on the make and warranty though as when the critters go wrong, it's bad karma and worse than 10 days of washing up
Also get one with an economy and a dirty programme. You don't need one with 5 different settings imho. And try to let them let you load it before you buy as some of them look fine empty but you just try to load them normally and nothing quite fits or it jams together and you get chipped mugs.
A good qual powder or tablet *should* avoid cloudy glass syndrome.
Last point - check that you don't have to play Twister to load the salt. You won't believe where some manufacturers put the salt container.

Pooky

We had one, the electrics went in it and we couldn't afford a new one so made do. It's been just over 2 years now and we caved in about 3 weeks ago and got a new one - it's fab - I can't believe how much I've missed ultra clean cups and glasses.

I buy the dishwasher salt - £1.09 for a large bag in our local cheapie shop, instead of rinse aid I use white vinegar and I buy the lidl powder - huge pack for 3 or 4 quid, we've been using it for 3 weeks and not even a 1/3 of the way through it yet so great value for money.

I've got stainless steel pans and they come up lovely - like everyone else, a quick scrub first if needed.......I've been through my cupboards washing everything, the food processer was best - could never get it completely clean in the sink.

A friend of mine said, after having her first dishwasher for a week - "It's better than sex and nearly even as good as chocolate!" Now that's an endorsement they should use on the adverts

Optimist

Well I always thought a dishwasher was a luxury but we are having a new kitchen put in and she who must be obeyed has declared it a necessity :eek:

Bibbitybob

Pooky wrote: »

A friend of mine said, after having her first dishwasher for a week - "It's better than sex and nearly even as good as chocolate!" Now that's an endorsement they should use on the adverts

:rotfl:

We bought a Smeg dishwasher months and months ago because of my M.E making everything feel ten times harder, hot water and washing up liquid flaring up the eczema on my hands and OH hating doing the washing up! Can't wait for it to get plumbed in, especially after hearing how much better life is with one! :T

moneypanicker

Just replyed and lost it all:eek:

Just got back from John Lewis I never new dishwashers were so exciting!!

Thank you all for your replys it will certainly give me ammunition for DH tonight! I've thought of another reason, we are thinking about baby no 3? I'd be breastfeeding but i've heard of people putting bottles, breastpump in etc. I hated washing the breastpump!!:eek: Does anyone have any experience of this?

However if a dishwasher is better than sex then maybe baby no3 won't be happening!!:rotfl:

belfastgirl23

get one, it will transform your life.

I didn't have one until I inherited one in a house move a couple of years ago. At the time I thought I'd never use it for just the 2 of us, boy was I wrong. Pretty much everything goes into it except my good chopping knives with the wooden handles and my wooden chopping board. I soak a very few items beforehand (porridge bowls and baking bowls esp) and rinse tomatoy stuff off before it goes in but apart from that everything goes into it as is.

I find it helps in OS cooking since since the thought of the dishes after a big cookup was at times enough to put me off doing it.

If you live in a soft water area you can get away with the cheapest tablets (lidl £1.99 for 30) snapped in half and not bother using the liquid or salt. And in tests dishwashers consistently come out as using less water than washing by hand.

In terms of brands my only real comment is to look for the fastest wash you can if you think you'd have three loads worth a day. Also look at low temperature options as well.