Dishwasher - luxury or necessity?

motherearth31

hi i have had a dishwasher for a long time now there are 5 people in my house but not much goes in the dishwasher if you have to rinse you might as well wash up i dont put any pots or pans in it makes the silver on spoons etc tarnish dont ever put anything that has had mash in it gets all over everything and all need to be washed by hand to get off so does weabix and poridge i am getting rid of my dishwasher to get a bigger cooker this is only my advise

buxtonrabbitgreen

I also would rather do without just about anything else than my dishwasher. I am on the 3rd one now which is Bosch. It has lights to remind me to put in salt and riseaid which is really useful as I live in a hard water area and I think forgetting to put the salt in caused the death of the last couple.
I took out 1 of my 2 cupboards to put in the dishwasher as I have a very small kitchen.
I do a lot of baking and when finished just stick it all in and it's out of the way.
Yes you do need more cutlery crockery and mixing bowls but I have bought mine in sales.
I rarely rinse anything first. It just goes in again if not that clean.
I also put the cooker burner grids in and all the other bits that come off the cooker, and it makes it a lot easier to clean the chip pan too.
neccessity for me.

moneypanicker

Very disappointed! I went to order my new dishwasher yesterday and they are out of stock of the one i wanted! I had hopes of it being here next week so no more washing-up! Oh well i'll have to wait.

susank

What have you decided to buy then?

mysterybadger

moneypanicker wrote: »

out of stock of the one i wanted!

I hope you're getting the cheapest one.

Cheap dishwashers run on clockwork dials and don't have flashing lights on the front. Expensive ones use microprocessors to run all the programmmes--but you'll never use anything other than "full wash" and possibly "rinse and hold".

Clockwork lasts forever--microprocessors burn out and can cost £100+ to replace (our "quality brand" machine needed this after 7 years and is now ill again. My dad's clockwork machine lasted for 20).

I'm also darkly suspicious of the effect these modern 5-in-1 tabs and dissolving wrapper thingies have on the machines. Cheap powder does the job, but you will need an additive to protect your glasses.

But do get one--years ago I chucked out a washing machine to fit one in a small flat. The money I spent on service washes I saved because I was more likely to cook than get takeaways or ready meals, and the place was no longer littered with socks on the radiators and dishes in the sink.

moneypanicker

Just to keep you all up-to-date, my new dishwasher is coming on Friday!! Very, very, very exciting (how sad is that!) I just have to work out what tablets to use. Costco do finish powerball, 150 for £15 is that good? Are the finish ones worth paying the extra money for?

Thanks all for your input helping me make a decision.

PasturesNew

I moved into a houseshare for a couple of months until last week ... and for the first time came across a dishwasher.
Housemate said it was a good one, much better than ones she'd used before.
So I used it. Once.
It wrecked my new Tesco dinky measuring jug (plastic) and the plates had a most peculiar "squeaky/rubbery" feel to them.
I stopped using it and it was a pain as housemate used it still and we'd run out of cutlery etc as everything was dirty in the dishwasher. So you really DO need more of everything if you are going to get one.

I also found that it was splattered with food when it had finished... didn't fill me with confidence stuff was clean.

In a self-contained bedsit now - bought 2 plates (who knows, maybe one day I will have a guest) ... washing up's a doddle!

But I'd never want a dishwasher again. You need the space/money for it - and space/money for all the extra plates etc you'd have to buy. Then there's the tablets and maintenance.

moneypanicker

Pasturesnew - Thanks for your comments but I have weighed up pros and cons and decided as a busy working mum that it will help me out a great deal and reduce my stress levels. I know they are not cheap but I have saved up! Washing up is the hate of my life and I agree if it was just me, i would definately not require one.

shelly

I'm intrigued by some of you who have had to buy extra of everything. I've never had to buy extra plates/glasses/cutlery etc and our dishwasher only goes on every few days. I've only got 8 large plates, small plates and bowls, have got about 15 decent sized glasses that we use everyday and I think we have got about 10 pairs of knives and forks. I never run out. Maybe you should all put the DW on more often

BARGAINADDICT_4

Looking for a new dishwasher as mine is on the blink!!:eek: read this thread with intrest. Any suggestions where is the best place to get a reasonably priced decent one? Don't know how I'm going to cope without one.