Using a dishwasher in a one-person household?

poppasmurf_bewdley

It would cost me a fortune just to buy enough plates, pots, pans, cutlery, etc to fill a dish washer. As I now live on my own, I've got six of everything, which would only fill a dishwasher a third of the way.

Don't get me wrong - when I was married with two young kids, the dishwasher was the most treasured item in the kitchen.

basill

Two person household here with a compact 40CM wide dishwasher. We just load it as we go and run when its full. Usually about 5 times per week. If there are pans in there they take up lots of space so just bring forward the wash cycle.

We use detergent tablets bought in bulk when Grabbit or HUKD identifies a good offer so 10p per tablet or less. There are also plenty of tips on here about using 1/2 tablets or reduced amounts of detergent to reduce running cost.

There is no way it can produce clean dishes faster than a handwash but we feel the fairly low running cost is worth it for sparkling clean dishes and no slaving over the sink. Dirty plates no longer fill the sink either they are neatly hidden from view in the machine.

B

zaax

Mines a slim line. After I put the meals plates etc in I put it on rinse, and then when it gets full I put it on wash.

Farway

zaax wrote: »

Mines a slim line. After I put the meals plates etc in I put it on rinse, and then when it gets full I put it on wash.

Same here, just me, put on rinse when dirty plates etc added. Wash when either run out of stuff or full, whichever comes first

bellaboo86

I agree with that washing up by hand isn't always more economical. If you look online at different dishwashers they tell you how much water they use. I always use mine on the eco setting as it uses less water (everything is still cleaned though).

I also agree a slimline one would be better for you as you will fill that up quicker.

Also I just don't think you can get glass items as sparkly by hand.

Cardew

As far as hygiene is concerned, as stated in post#6, a dishwasher operates with water at a far higher temperature than would be used in manual washing up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/energy-bills/11250403/Dishwasher-vs-washing-up-which-is-cheaper.html

badmemory

I would definitely go for the dishwasher. Now I only buy pots & pans & crockery & cutlery that go in the dishwasher. There is no way a hand wash could ever be as clean. I don't know why I didn't get one sooner.

Sosumi

Cardew wrote: »

As far as hygiene is concerned, as stated in post#6, a dishwasher operates with water at a far higher temperature than would be used in manual washing up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/energy-bills/11250403/Dishwasher-vs-washing-up-which-is-cheaper.html

I don't think anyone has denied that or claimed otherwise, here. Have they?

Smodlet

It is, of course, personal choice but, if you are trying to justify the expense of a DW to yourself and the whole hygiene argument has not convinced you, the dishwasherless among us apparently spend an average of three years of their lives washing up... do you really need any more convincing?

As for leaving items unwashed until they grow fur and you have to name them, it's called soaking! Soak stuff overnight, wipe/scrub off as much as you can, then put them in the dishwasher. You cannot expect it to wash off encrusted crud. If you think of it more as a sanitiser which cuts down three-quarters of handwashing time rather than all of it, you will get the best results and the least likelihood of being poisoned. Your call.

rach_k

We currently have a slimline dishwasher for a family of four and it's usually on twice a day so I'd expect to wash every other day for just me. I think most people would have enough pans for that but if not you can always quickly hand wash the one you need.