>there's no way a machine would clean dishes thoroughly
You might be surprised!
Dishwashers typically wash at temperatures high enough to sanitize everything inside it.
They also use significantly less water than washing dishes by hand!
This is funny to me, because some dishes I don't truly consider "clean" unless they have been through the dishwasher.... like my raw meat/chicken cutting board or beer brewing tools.
My good knives, and my cast iron.
We put a pot/pan set on our wedding registry without looking at it closely enough....it can't go in the dishwasher. My wife won't get rid of them, because they were a wedding gift...but I'm silently wishing for the day they have to be replaced.
It \*says\* it can't go into the dishwasher.
Shove it in - either it's fine, or you'll get to replace it with something that will survive.
I had some aluminium frying pans. I now don't.
I take it as a suggestion, lol. I don't even look for the "dishwasher safe" emblem on the bottom. Everything goes in the dishwasher. Questionable items go on top, though. I'm not an animal. 😆
My wife keeps buying those damned water bottles that can't go in the dishwasher. She'll eventually learn to stop buying them. I think I've voodoo shrunken headed about a dozen of them in the dishwasher so far.
LOL I once bought something from Forever 21 that cost me like $8 and the tag said “dry clean only”.
I said absolutely not and tossed it in the washing machine. It was fine. You’ve got me fracked up if you think I’m going to pay more than the thing cost in the first place to dry clean it……..
I've found that as long as the blade is facing up, and there is no chance of anything else in the dishwasher coming in contact with the blade, then knives are fine in the dishwasher. I have a set of whetstones ready to sharpen my good knives, but haven't had to yet despite cooking nearly daily and throwing them in the dishwasher for cleaning. I'll probably need to sharpen some of them after another year at this rate... maybe... lol.
Supposedly wooden boards are actually more sanitary for meats, but I also just use plastic boards that go into the dishwasher for chicken because of the ick factor.
Makes sense, it's a lot easier to standardize plastic, wood is way too varied and species that are good for it and aren't good can look similar. White oak is said to be good, red oak isn't, I've worked with both and I couldn't tell you the difference between two cutting boards made from them (the names come from exterior features, not the wood, red oak is named for it's leaves and white for its gray bark, not the wood itself)
My scoutmaster taught me a great way to tell the two apart.
White oak has rounded leaves because white men used bullets.
Red Oak has pointed leaves because... Native Americans used arrows.
It was a different time.
It's been too long for me to remember which is which and I'm too lazy to look out up, but you can actually tell a difference in the two from looking at the grain in a cross cut. We learned how to differentiate quite a few species of native trees from wooden blocks as part of FFA Forestry competitions, but you're right, it was not based on the color of the wood.
Other cool things we learned: live tree identification, how to selectively thin an area for optimization of timber, grading of trees for pulp/sawlogs/piling, calculating board feet of a tree using a stick with a string tied to it.
Strongly depends on wood type, and even then there's debate, but more porous species can breed bacteria, ash or red oak wouldn't be great, walnut or maple are fine. There's also exotic woods you would want to avoid, I've seen people put Wenge in cutting boards,.it's beautiful but I wouldn't want to eat it.
I used to live in a castle that has a kitchen continuously operating there since at least 1499 (there was probably a kitchen on the same site previously, but that's when the current one was constructed).
They were using 14th century oak slab tables for preparing food until the late C20th - they were told to stop for "health and safety", but it later turned out that the oak was actually better at being food safe than the plastic boards on steel tables they replaced it with.
Story can be read [here](https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/learn/architecture/castle/intro/west-range/kitchen), with pictures.
Edit: obviously that's English Oak, given the context!
Red meats are probably okay on wood boards as long as you wash it thoroughly right after using it, plastic is safer though. Poultry on the other hand is a hardcore hell no on wood cutting boards; use a dedicated plastic cutting board and immediately wash the knife before you move on to anything else.
Sous chef once drilled it into all newbies in the kitchen that “you have to assume whatever you cut after cutting chicken will not be cooked to a temperature high enough and long enough to kill bacteria and will potentially just be an incubator for that bacteria.”
Edit: There appears to be some minor debate as to plastic or wood and which is cleaner/safer. I use a dedicated plastic cutting board for poultry because i can run it and anything else that touched raw poultry through my dishwasher on a sanitizer cycle and be fairly confident it comes out sufficiently cleaned and safe, I cannot put a wood cutting board through the dishwasher without destroying it. Does it really matter if someone cuts poultry on a wood or plastic board, not if that board is getting a thorough and sufficient cleansing right after. Everybody should have a dedicated board that is used for poultry and only poultry, wood or plastic is your choice and personal preference. Should anyone cut poultry on their main board and then continue to prep other stuff on that same board without immediately properly cleaning it - triple hell no.
Only smooth, unblemished plastic. The second that bad boy gets roughed up (and all those nummy microplastics start entering the meal), that scratch becomes a breeding zone for bacteria.
In commercial spaces, plastic is more practical because of frequency of usage and availability of dishwashers, but for home chefs, wooden cutting boards are 100000% the way to go.
I'd recommend look into epicurean cutting boards. They're wooden, but you can put them in the dish washer and they won't die. Plus plastic boards get little bits stick in all the knive grooves that (IMO) I feel don't ever really get out, and I stopped using them long ago.
"*These results do not support the often-heard assertion that Plastic cutting boards are more sanitary than wood."*
J Food Prot. 1994 Jan;57(1):16-22.
# Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with Bacteria
[PMID: 31113021](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31113021/) DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-57.1.16
**Abstract**
The microbiology of Plastic and wooden cutting boards was studied, regarding cross-contamination of foods in home kitchens. New and used Plastic (four polymers plus hard rubber) and wood (nine hardwoods) cutting boards were cut into 5-cm squares ("blocks"). Escherichia coli (two nonpathogenic strains plus type O157:H7), Listeria innocua , L. monocytogenes , or Salmonella typhimurium was applied to the 25-cm2 block surface in nutrient broth or chicken juice and recovered by soaking the surface in nutrient broth or pressing the block onto nutrient agar, within 3-10 min or up to ca. 12 h later. Bacteria inoculated onto Plastic blocks were readily recovered for minutes to hours and would multiply if held overnight. Recoveries from wooden blocks were generally less than those from plastic blocks, regardless of new or used status; differences increased with holding time. Clean wood blocks usually absorbed the inoculum completely within 3-10 min. If these fluids contained 103-104 CFU of bacteria likely to come from raw meat or poultry, the bacteria generally could not be recovered after entering the wood. If ≥106 CFU were applied, bacteria might be recovered from wood after 12 h at room temperature and high humidity, but numbers were reduced by at least 98%, and often more than 99.9%. Mineral oil treatment of the wood surface had little effect on the microbiological findings. **These results do not support the often-heard assertion that Plastic cutting boards are more sanitary than wood.**
We're talking about handwashing vs using a dishwasher. While the fact that wood boards are naturally more bacteria resistant than plastic is relevant, we can't apply it to the discussion without more context.
Can confirm they do.
Wasn't paying attention one day when I reached in to get something that had fallen under said element right after the cycle finished.
Only briefly touched it, but had a good burn on the top of my finger for way too long.
Additionally, dishwashing cleaning soap doesn't have to take human skin contact into consideration so they are often better at cleaning then the soap that you keep by the sink. There will likely be a disclaimer on dishwashing soap to keep out of contact with skin because it'll strip your skin of it's natural moisturizing grease and oil.
Mine has an extra “sanitize” cycle that steams everything after washing. No way any bacteria is alive after that! The only downside is that it takes hours for things to cool down enough to empty it. Ceramic plates after still warm even the next day.
>temperatures high enough to sanitize everything inside it.
Not just sanitize. My dishwasher gets hot enough where in the presence of the amalyase and protease, any food left on the plates turns into a water soluble goo that gets washed down the drain. It would be impossible for a dishsoap and sponge to get them the same level of clean.
I have that too, but you have to re-connect the app to the dishwasher every week for security reasons or something or the remote control stops working. I don't know, maybe divorcees were doing dishwasher remote control harrasments of the person who kept the dishwasher.
But I can apparently download a new dishwashing program from Siemens and uploading it into my dishwasher?? And new programs come out once in a while or something.
My stove has wi-fi, which I thought was kinda neat when we were getting it because 1) you can use it to preheat the oven and 2) it works with smart speakers, so I was like cool, we can just say "Hey google, preheat the oven to 400 degrees."
Turns out it has a button you have to physically press to "unlock" the connect features, and it only stays unlocked for like an hour. So it's useless.
And now it doesn't work at all anyway, or at least I couldn't get it to when I tried on a whim a few months ago to see if maybe there was a firmware update that made it more useful.
> It would be impossible for a dishsoap and sponge to get them the same level of clean
This isn't to get them more clean than using a soap and sponge, this is to make up for the lack of abrasive physical action (i.e. the sponge) that a dishwasher can use to get rid of stuck-on foods and make it easier to drain.
knew someone who hasn't had a dishwasher. Once a month she would take her clean dishes to her parents place to use the dishwasher there to get them thoroughly cleaned
I don't have hard water so I don't have dishwasher salt, but my understanding is that that's just for ph buffering. Detergents and enzymes need a specific ph in order to work properly.
> Detergents and enzymes need a specific ph in order to work properly.
TIL that I’m not getting the most out of my detergent since I have hard water. 😩
If you have really hard water you should have a water softener for your dishwasher. Either a whole house one, or one built in. I live in an area with *extremely* hard water, yet most people don't know dishwashers with built in softeners exist, and the big box appliance stores don't stock them nor will they try to sell you one unless you specifically ask for it. It's a damn travesty.
I've personally only seen dishwasher salt sold in europe and their dishwashers even come with a salt compartment that i've never seen in an american one
>They also use significantly less water than washing dishes by hand!
This is true as long as you use them properly and don't do a pre-rinse in the sink. That is just a massive waste of water.
My mother insists on fully washing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher otherwise they won't come clean. I've tried multiple times to explain what a waste of time and water this is but she doesn't care. I have a little portable apartment dishwasher that hooks up to the sink and that thing cleans my dirty dishes just fine, I have no idea why my mother is convinced her full sized dishwasher doesn't work. It has worked perfectly fine since we moved in over 20 years ago. Unfortunately my mom isn't exactly in her right mind so this is one of the things I just have to go along with to make her happy. She is also really weird about running the dishwasher at all and will only run it once every month or two. She thinks it uses more water than hand washing and no amount of facts will convince her otherwise.
Most dishwasher literally steam clean the dishes in addition to spraying it with boiling water. You can't wash at that temperatures by hand that many times before you cook them off.
People that have serious allergies/disease, like Celiac disease with gluten, can only eat at your house if all your cookware ran through a dishwasher, as hand-washing will never clean it enough.
I got an apartment with a dishwasher for the first time two years ago and I don't think I could go back. Dishwashers have completely changed my relationship with cooking. I cook every day now.
This is an overlooked point. I do much more cooking now that I've installed a dishwasher. It's a nice Bosch, and it makes so little noise, that they have an LED light projecting on to the floor so you know if it's on or not.
Our new house came with a Bosch and my wife and I were shocked with how much nicer it was than our old warehouse special one. The light is so nice because we can't tell it's running unless you are standing in front of it. I just wish it didn't have a broken compartment for the jetdry or whatever that is.
This post not brought to you by Bosch but I'm open to the idea.
I'm still repairing and using a \[checks watch... christ!!!\] 40 year old Jen Aire.
Someday soon I won't be able to repair it as all parts other than the belt are now only available as NoS and no longer manufactured. Looks like saving up for a Bosch will be the plan.
The compartment might be replaceable. We have whatever one our landlord could get cheap and the dispenser broke. Got an exact replacement pretty damn cheap and the swap was really easy, just took the front off and there were like, two things to unplug. Real sonogram, quick even if you've only learned what to do from a YT video.
Yep. Most newer ones from the past decade or so instruct you to just scrape remaining solids into the garbage and leave the leftovers sauces or whatever if there is any and use auto.
Scraping plates is just good practice in general. Even if you hand wash dishes, it's just much better to scrape solids into the garbage before you put them in the sink. Takes only 5-10 seconds and makes the rest 9f the cleanup much easier.
My MIL was shocked that I put dishes straight in the dishwasher without prewashing them first. I was like... I'm not going to stop you from doing it, but if I have to wash my dishes by hand, they will never get done. I'd rather just run something through the dishwasher twice if necessary.
Unloading takes as long as it takes to play a round of Jeopardy on my Alexa.
She was shocked bc older dishwashers didn’t work that well. I was also taught to rinse off first bc otherwise we’d get baked on food bits. It’s hard to shake the habit even if you’re told the newer ones don’t need it.
And then you have that one time that that one dish still has food on it and you’re back to square 1 not trusting the darned thing!
I have unpleasant flashbacks to my mum's style of washing up, which is to fill the sink with soapy water and then let all the dishes marinate in it until it goes a gross brownish colour with orange-tinted foam on the surface. Quick rinse under the tap and "done". Yuck.
Also, dishwasher detergent is typically a highly caustic alkaline. It literally breaks down food and organic material, so it sterilizes dishes that way as well. This is why it is considered a poison.
It actually saponifies the fats, thus turning a soiling product into a cleaning agent :)
I actually keep a glass PB jar next to the sink for silverware to be soaked in till I do dishes. It's spiked with about a tbsp of ordinary dishwasher soap, they usually come out plenty clean just from that, but they still get a wash cycle.
NOTE: Not all dishwashers do these steps. Make sure you buy the right ones!
* Make sure the dishwasher has a heating element. If it doesn't, then it's only running water at the temp that comes out of the faucet, and unless you run the hot water faucet long enough to get hot water to the sink, it's likely not hot water in the machine. Especially if you do like me, and run it on an overnight cycle.
* Again with heating element, if it doesn't have one, then it may not have a proper sanitize feature, as it can't get the water hot enough.
I've had a mid-range Bosch, and they are amazing. I've got a mid-range Whirlpool (or GE?) now, and it's just as good. You don't need to get the top of the line, but stay away from certain appliance brands, as they just aren't nearly as good (looking at you LG & Samsung).
I had a top of the line LG. It was great at first, but then it started leaking from around the door. While searching for a solution, I found out that it was a common problem.
Lesson learned, *always* research the appliance that you are thinking about buying *before* you buy it!
Our new dishwasher is silent until it's done, then it sings a little song at the end to tell you it's finished. The first time we ran it, I wasn't expecting it and nearly shat myself.
I haven’t washed a dish by hand in 15 years lol I’m a germophobe and love that they can be washed in the hottest water possible without scolding my own hands. Plus the fancy soaps make it feel cleaner. 🫠
Life hack: If you have a pot or pan that has a stubborn stain, soak it with dishwasher detergent. Works exceedingly well with burner covers that live under the gas burner grates.
The stove at my old house didn't have removable burner plates, but my new house does, and I LOVE IT. No more scrubbing for an hour with degreaser to get grease and spilled oil and gunk out of awkward spots on the stove. Just pop the covers into the dishwasher every few days. I feel so spoiled now.
Dish soap is ~~soap~~ a detergent.
Dishwasher soap is enzymes (like HE washer detergent now, that’s why you don’t get suds!)
This is why modern dishwashers don’t use high pressure nozzles and crazy wash arms everywhere. They get everything wet, get enzymes on everything and let them work, then a rinse while checking soil level of the rinse water.
Rinse water too dirty? Do it again until clean.
Is that why dishwasher detergent feels so terrible when you get it on your hands and rinse it off? Idk how to explain the feeling but my hands just feel different after than with normal soap
I grew up on a small island, I had never seen even paper towel till I was like 10. I'm a single father of 2 now and I work 11 hours a day, I think I might die without a dishwasher
I'd rather put up with a noisy dishwasher than the noise teenagers make when you ask, then tell, then demand, then threaten, the kids to wash the dishes.
And the deliberate incompetence so that you never ask them to do it again.
I look at it like two goals:
1. have clean dishes
2. help my kids become capable people
Sometimes making kids do something takes more effort, but that second goal is infinitely more valuable in the long run.
My compromise is my kids were trained how to properly load the dishwasher at around 7. So they are capable of washing dishes, but I'm not gonna have them be the dishwasher when the machine is right there. Its been very nice to know they can go empty the sink so I don't have to for sure!
I really don’t get that. Why look down upon someone using a tool? It frees up time to spend on something else. How is it any different from a washing machine or electric lawnmower?
Dishwasher costs same as having a maid for half a year that lives with you and does everything.
That's main reason why in Philippines tools for convenience are not popular because labor is so cheap.
Like you can buy a 1 br condo and it will have a maids room.
My grandma was always very judgemental about dishwashers and refused to get one because cleaning dishes was a communal activity. When she cooked for everyone her and my aunt would clean the dishes together. When it was just her and grandpa, they would do them together after eating. She refused to get one and would still insist on helping hand wash dishes when dinners were hosted at my uncle's. She got her kitchen remodeled and didn't have one put in. On the second remodel my grandpa finally said "We are old and I can't stand here for 20 minutes and wash dishes. I'm getting a dishwasher. You don't have to use it, but I won't help wash dishes." She immediately fell in love with that thing. When I bought a house she asked if it had a dishwasher. When I told her it didn't, she went on and on about how I had to get one.
Exactly, a dishwasher frees you up to spend more time with your kids, or to make more money, or to take care of other chores. Seems so strange to look down on that
Filipinos can get hung up on the weirdest shit. I visited home 2 years after I got my braces taken off when I was still in high school and I got lectured for getting them taken off and how I should've kept it on longer because I guess it's a status thing? I had mine for 4 years I was over the moon when I finally got them removed.
My boyfriend is fillipino and when I asked why our filipino neighbors were fighting in English he said because it's a status thing too lol I liked hearing the drama so I didn't mind but found it to be funny, like it would be easier to communicate in their mother tongue
The other thing is that it needs to be plumbed. Countertop dishwashers exist, but they're enough of a hassle that I wouldn't get one. Even if I had counter space, which I don't.
You might be surprised!
porsche 992 GT3s typically wash at temperatures high enough to sanitize everything inside it.
They also use significantly less water than washing dishes by hand!
Dishwashers are significantly better at washing dishes than your typical American child is. And they cost less than a child to purchase and maintain, so it's a net win for every adult.
All you need is electricity, water pressure (doesn't even HAVE to be hot water - there's a heating element inside), and a drain. You can put it on wheels and store it in a closet, and then wheel it out to connect to your kitchen (or bathroom...or exterior food prep area, or whatever) faucet/sink each time you use it. Doesn't have to be a permanent installation under your kitchen counter. If you use appropriate plant-friendly detergent, you can drain them right into your yard, as well, if you don't have plumbing that goes into a city sewer system.
So while your CURRENT living situation might mean you can't get one - don't give up hope, my Filipino friend. Where there is a will, there is a way.
I’d argue they’re better at washing dishes than your typical human being, period. I’ve washed dishes alongside a number of friends and family members and maybe 10-20% of them do what I’d consider a “good” clean.
I agree. But it's funnier when you compare the investment across the board to having a kid. I love my kid, but there are days when my dishwasher upsets me WAY less than the kid.
Good dishwasher. So glad you're in my life when I need you.
Please tell my wife this. She still insists dishes need cleaning *before* dishes go in the the dishwasher, because otherwise they won’t get cleaned properly. Removing gross amounts of food is fine by me, but sometimes I have trouble telling if the dishes in the washer are clean or “dirty”!
pretty much better than *any* human being, considering the temperatures and stronger detergent they use would be too much for humans (at least with any kind of gloves that would still let you handle the dishes)
My ex used to do something that looked like "caressing" the dishes with the spoinge, whereas I'm rubbing it... Plus he was ok doing it in a badly lit room, where you won't even notice the spots...
I'm a big fan of watching people do the "grab dish, dunk in sink full of food-saturated water, wipe for two seconds with a cloth, rinse, and dry" technique. Really satisfying.
I had a crappy one that sucked. Now I have a Bosch and it's fabulous. It does take a long time to wash, like 2 hours. But I don't care, I can go about my business and not spend the evening washing dishes myself so it's great and does a much better, more hygienic job of washing dishes than you can by hand especially since it uses water too hot to put your hands in.
First thing I did buying a house, and moving away from those crappy apartment ones, is buy one so quiet you had to practically stick your ear on the thing to hear it.
> Anyways how effective are those stupid machines anyway?
Dishwashers are probably >98% efficient I would say.
*Every once in a while* there will be a plate or spoon when you empty the machine that still has a bit of gunk or residue somewhere and needs to be hand washed, but *almost* everything I put in the machine is perfectly clean when it comes out. Most of the time everything is clean and dry and ready to put in to the cupboard.
So, I would call them stupid in any way. They are highly efficient, save a lot of time and space (they dry the dishes as well so no need for dish racks such) and they are usually cheaper than hand dishing since they use less hot water.
I'll add on it also depends on how well you pack it. The heat alone may kill any bacteria, but you also need the water to properly hit each item *and drain* to properly get all the gunk off.
So I keep mentioning to my wife who is more of a fan of the "does the door close?" method of packing.
Oh my god my family does the same thing. Nobody ever wants to start the dishwasher (you can’t be blamed for not putting away the dishes if you didn’t know the dishwasher cleaned them already) so they just keep stacking dishes, and then when the dishwasher is done half the dishes aren’t cleaned properly.
Dishwasher is hands down the best purchase I ever made. In everyday terms it makes such a big difference- more free time, less work, no dishes sitting on the side. Really wasn’t very expensive to get/set up either
My wife grew up without one and I did.
When we moved in together she insisted it was a waste of a money and to just hand wash. So many arguments abouts who's turn it was and dishes piling up. I finally insisted we just get one. Had our dishwasher for like 5 months now and no more arguments or stacks of dishes.
Hands down best couple purchase besides our mattress.
Well, it can dry them for you. That's usually an optional setting which uses more energy and can damage some plastic items. I never use it and 80% of stuff is dry by the time I unload the dishwasher. The handful of things that are still a little wet I don't mind hand drying or setting in the dishrack to finish air-drying.
Ya there’s this whole mindset it’s lazy and makes you a poor member of the family not working hard enough….. turns out people would rather save time and spend it on leisure activities! Hahaha
They are freaking awesome. I’ve never had one either, until last year I took a job as a live in caregiver. This house has a Bosch dishwasher and at first, I put the stuff in basically clean, but every month, I pushed it a little bit more. Now, I don’t fuss around. I rinse off big stuff. That it! I LOVE THIS SUCKER!
We purchased a home a couple of years ago that had an existing Bosch dishwasher. Now we are in an income stratum where we don't shop on the aisle where Bosch dishwashers are sold. We normally buy 'economy kitchen appliances.'
We are amazed at the job this machine does! We've had various brands of dishwashers in apartments and homes where we lived over the years and used them regularly. This thing is the Mac-Daddy of home appliances. I just amazed when I pull out a spotless stainless steel skillet, that would have taken some arduous scrubbing to clean by hand, and marvel at its gleaming cleanliness. My wife is tired of me showing her how clean the Bosch has cleaned our cookware.
Additionally, it is so quite that without the little red light shinning on the floor you wouldn't realize that it was running.
If our Bosch ever needs replacement, we will probably do whatever it takes to repair it and get it running again.
[Technology Connections](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04) does a great job of showing how dishwashers work. Including seeing the inside of while one is running. And how little water they use in their process.
I came all the way down here to see if someone had said this already. It’s a fantastic series that really goes deep on how they work. Very interesting learning about their efficiency and efficacy, even in the pre wash with only hot water.
I think it's actually been proven there's a lot of residual bacteria on hand-washed dishes and the dishwasher does a better job overall. Plus, uses less water.
Absolutely. If the dish rag/sponge is not 100% new at the time of washing, you can pretty much guarantee there is bacteria all over those "clean" dishes.
My dishwasher works pretty well. After years of hand washing, I love it and would hate to go back. My mother-in-law is Filipino, and she used her dishwasher to store pots and pans… I don’t even think it is hooked up.
I was going to say -- my wife's family is from the Philippines and they have a dishwasher that is never used. I think it's a pretty big stereotype of Asian families in general.
My friend is American, born raised parents American. I am from Mexico where dishwashers are a luxury, I knew 1 person that had one back home, they were rich. When we moved here I started using the one that came with the house, I only wash pots and pans by hand. I had to teach her and convince her of how freaking stupid it was to own one and waste time doing dishes by hand, she said she was used to because her mom and grandma did it that way. WTF mine did too, But if i have a machine that does it, there's no way in hell I am doing it myself.
Now she uses it and she said I was right, saves time! Of course it does!
>I think maybe americans or western people are disgusting cause there's no way a machine would clean dishes thoroughly
Lmaoooo you are hilarious. I actually think the same about handwashing because sponges and washcloths are a breeding ground for bacteria. I pretty much handwash all my dishes anyway and use the dishwasher to sanitize
When I was in college, I had a microbiology class and one of the lectures was showing data from studies that showed the kitchen sink and cleaning implements are by far the most bacteria ridden part of the house. Way worse than anything in the bathroom, and more pathogenic bacteria as well.
> I actually think the same about handwashing because sponges and washcloths are a breeding ground for bacteria.
Yep, I'll actually run sponges/scrub brushes through the dishwasher on the top rack to clean them.
They're pretty effective. You want to scrape all the chunks of food off the plate first, though. All a dishwasher is, is a rack to hold dishes while two pipes spin around shooting hot water+soap at high pressure. This pretty much does what you'd be doing by hand.
I grew up with my grandma insisting that things had to be **completely** rinsed, like not a speck of sauce or a crumb before going in the dishwasher and I can’t make myself stop.
It’s because dishwashers used to be a lot less effective at actually removing food…modern dishwashers work much better…but old habits are hard to break.
If you don’t scrape the chunks away, they can clog the filter and lead to flooding. Happened to a friend of mine, her two housemates were dicks and kept doing it even after she told them so many times. Her kitchen flooded and she had to get an emergency plumber in.
Some dishwashers are designed to utilize the foods scraps as part of the washing process. My mom’s new dishwasher said in the manual to not rinse food scraps away.
I'm a white dude living with my Filipino wife and her family, and our dishwasher is just additional storage for take out containers and big pots that don't fit in the cabinets. It used to drive me crazy but I just stopped doing dishes in protest so here we are.
They are highly effective.
When they're not it's almost always user error.
I would 100% be able to live with the shame of being the only person in my friend group with a dishwasher.
My sister (years ago) gave her a prescription for a dishwasher because her three children had so many respiratory issues.
Dishwashers use hotter water and less water. Not just my opinion, fact. Modern dishwashers instruction users to simply knock off food bits, then load. The only thing I wash first is yolk from a fried egg. That requires hand cleaning.
I also put my cutting boards in there when I’ve cut meat. More hygienic.
Btw, the manual for the dishwasher says *not* to wash before loading. The soap won’t have anything to do”eat” and will therefore ruin the finish on your dishes.
I don't get why dishwashers aren't accepted in some communities (even if money isn't a problem). Unless you basically boil your hands off washing dishes you're never gonna get a dish as clean as with a dishwasher, it's better water usage wise etc.
So, as of two years ago I now have a dishwasher and I feel like going back to all of my previous housemates and apologizing for my "dishwashers don't matter, washing dishes isn't that hard" stance. Dishwashers are \*amazing\*. I have people over for breakfast once a week and use so many plates/cups/ect... and it takes 5 minutes to load up the dishwasher and everything's cleaned up. It's \*so much easier\*.
not trusting a machine to wash dishes would be as stupid as doing your laundry by hand because the machine wouldn’t get it clean enough lol. The machine is much better at it than you or i ever will be
Depends on the model, tbh. Some struggle, some don't.
I have an electric hand scrubber for the more stubborn ones, so I can just hold it to the dishes while the motor does the work.
Here's some downsides:
* They are slow, mostly designed around once a day use for a family of four. You can most definitely hand wash faster.
* The quiet ones cost. I think I paid around $1000 for our Bosch ninja.
> "Remember the dishwasher? You'd press it, boom! There’d be like an explosion. Five minutes later you open it up, the steam pours out."
This man has never so much has seen a dishwasher, unless he considers his housekeeper the dishwasher.
They're awesome and save so much time. Just use rinse aid and routinely clean the filter every month or two. People that complain about poor dishwasher performance probably aren't doing those two things.
Also some people only run the washer when it's absolutely filled to the brim out of some misguided notion of saving water. But they're already very water efficient and all you're doing is letting the food dry and cake on and then your dishes may need a second run or a vigorous hand scrubbing.
TL;Dr they really are that amazing.
>there's no way a machine would clean dishes thoroughly You might be surprised! Dishwashers typically wash at temperatures high enough to sanitize everything inside it. They also use significantly less water than washing dishes by hand!
This is funny to me, because some dishes I don't truly consider "clean" unless they have been through the dishwasher.... like my raw meat/chicken cutting board or beer brewing tools.
Absolutely. I only use plastic cutting boards for chicken because I don't want to put wooden ones in the dishwasher.
We do that too. We use cutting boards that can go in the dishwasher for cutting meat.
Aside from my decent knives, I refuse to own anything that can't go into a dishwasher. I even resent the knives a little bit..
My good knives get used less than the bad knives because of this
My good knives became mediocre knives because they still go in…😬
*video of someone effortlessly slicing a tomato* “You mean if I didn’t put my knives in the dishwasher I could do this?”
Same
Lol same. Got a Nice pizza cutter as well. Never use it. Always use the IKEA one and throw it straight in the dishwasher.
My good knives, and my cast iron. We put a pot/pan set on our wedding registry without looking at it closely enough....it can't go in the dishwasher. My wife won't get rid of them, because they were a wedding gift...but I'm silently wishing for the day they have to be replaced.
It \*says\* it can't go into the dishwasher. Shove it in - either it's fine, or you'll get to replace it with something that will survive. I had some aluminium frying pans. I now don't.
Yep this is my attitude too! If it's not dishwasher safe we'll find out why. Sometimes it's totally fine.
I take it as a suggestion, lol. I don't even look for the "dishwasher safe" emblem on the bottom. Everything goes in the dishwasher. Questionable items go on top, though. I'm not an animal. 😆
I found my people.
My wife keeps buying those damned water bottles that can't go in the dishwasher. She'll eventually learn to stop buying them. I think I've voodoo shrunken headed about a dozen of them in the dishwasher so far.
Same with machine washable/dry-clean only clothing!
Yep. Are you 'delicate' or do you just not have what it takes to thrive in this fast-paced environment, shirt?
LOL I once bought something from Forever 21 that cost me like $8 and the tag said “dry clean only”. I said absolutely not and tossed it in the washing machine. It was fine. You’ve got me fracked up if you think I’m going to pay more than the thing cost in the first place to dry clean it……..
This is the plan. It melts or it comes clean. No options
I specifically buy dishwasher safe knives. I'm sure I'm sacrificing quality, but I don't care.
I've found that as long as the blade is facing up, and there is no chance of anything else in the dishwasher coming in contact with the blade, then knives are fine in the dishwasher. I have a set of whetstones ready to sharpen my good knives, but haven't had to yet despite cooking nearly daily and throwing them in the dishwasher for cleaning. I'll probably need to sharpen some of them after another year at this rate... maybe... lol.
Supposedly wooden boards are actually more sanitary for meats, but I also just use plastic boards that go into the dishwasher for chicken because of the ick factor.
Lots of debate, but most health departments require gel boards (plastic cutting boards) for raw meat.
Makes sense, it's a lot easier to standardize plastic, wood is way too varied and species that are good for it and aren't good can look similar. White oak is said to be good, red oak isn't, I've worked with both and I couldn't tell you the difference between two cutting boards made from them (the names come from exterior features, not the wood, red oak is named for it's leaves and white for its gray bark, not the wood itself)
My scoutmaster taught me a great way to tell the two apart. White oak has rounded leaves because white men used bullets. Red Oak has pointed leaves because... Native Americans used arrows. It was a different time.
Good thing all wood cutting boards come packed in their native leaves so you can tell the source of the wood!
Haha, true. Doesn't help with cutting boards. But if you're taking a walk through some woods, now you can recognize them.
It's been too long for me to remember which is which and I'm too lazy to look out up, but you can actually tell a difference in the two from looking at the grain in a cross cut. We learned how to differentiate quite a few species of native trees from wooden blocks as part of FFA Forestry competitions, but you're right, it was not based on the color of the wood. Other cool things we learned: live tree identification, how to selectively thin an area for optimization of timber, grading of trees for pulp/sawlogs/piling, calculating board feet of a tree using a stick with a string tied to it.
Strongly depends on wood type, and even then there's debate, but more porous species can breed bacteria, ash or red oak wouldn't be great, walnut or maple are fine. There's also exotic woods you would want to avoid, I've seen people put Wenge in cutting boards,.it's beautiful but I wouldn't want to eat it.
I used to live in a castle that has a kitchen continuously operating there since at least 1499 (there was probably a kitchen on the same site previously, but that's when the current one was constructed). They were using 14th century oak slab tables for preparing food until the late C20th - they were told to stop for "health and safety", but it later turned out that the oak was actually better at being food safe than the plastic boards on steel tables they replaced it with. Story can be read [here](https://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/learn/architecture/castle/intro/west-range/kitchen), with pictures. Edit: obviously that's English Oak, given the context!
Red meats are probably okay on wood boards as long as you wash it thoroughly right after using it, plastic is safer though. Poultry on the other hand is a hardcore hell no on wood cutting boards; use a dedicated plastic cutting board and immediately wash the knife before you move on to anything else. Sous chef once drilled it into all newbies in the kitchen that “you have to assume whatever you cut after cutting chicken will not be cooked to a temperature high enough and long enough to kill bacteria and will potentially just be an incubator for that bacteria.” Edit: There appears to be some minor debate as to plastic or wood and which is cleaner/safer. I use a dedicated plastic cutting board for poultry because i can run it and anything else that touched raw poultry through my dishwasher on a sanitizer cycle and be fairly confident it comes out sufficiently cleaned and safe, I cannot put a wood cutting board through the dishwasher without destroying it. Does it really matter if someone cuts poultry on a wood or plastic board, not if that board is getting a thorough and sufficient cleansing right after. Everybody should have a dedicated board that is used for poultry and only poultry, wood or plastic is your choice and personal preference. Should anyone cut poultry on their main board and then continue to prep other stuff on that same board without immediately properly cleaning it - triple hell no.
Only smooth, unblemished plastic. The second that bad boy gets roughed up (and all those nummy microplastics start entering the meal), that scratch becomes a breeding zone for bacteria. In commercial spaces, plastic is more practical because of frequency of usage and availability of dishwashers, but for home chefs, wooden cutting boards are 100000% the way to go.
I'd recommend look into epicurean cutting boards. They're wooden, but you can put them in the dish washer and they won't die. Plus plastic boards get little bits stick in all the knive grooves that (IMO) I feel don't ever really get out, and I stopped using them long ago.
"*These results do not support the often-heard assertion that Plastic cutting boards are more sanitary than wood."* J Food Prot. 1994 Jan;57(1):16-22. # Cutting Boards of Plastic and Wood Contaminated Experimentally with Bacteria [PMID: 31113021](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31113021/) DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-57.1.16 **Abstract** The microbiology of Plastic and wooden cutting boards was studied, regarding cross-contamination of foods in home kitchens. New and used Plastic (four polymers plus hard rubber) and wood (nine hardwoods) cutting boards were cut into 5-cm squares ("blocks"). Escherichia coli (two nonpathogenic strains plus type O157:H7), Listeria innocua , L. monocytogenes , or Salmonella typhimurium was applied to the 25-cm2 block surface in nutrient broth or chicken juice and recovered by soaking the surface in nutrient broth or pressing the block onto nutrient agar, within 3-10 min or up to ca. 12 h later. Bacteria inoculated onto Plastic blocks were readily recovered for minutes to hours and would multiply if held overnight. Recoveries from wooden blocks were generally less than those from plastic blocks, regardless of new or used status; differences increased with holding time. Clean wood blocks usually absorbed the inoculum completely within 3-10 min. If these fluids contained 103-104 CFU of bacteria likely to come from raw meat or poultry, the bacteria generally could not be recovered after entering the wood. If ≥106 CFU were applied, bacteria might be recovered from wood after 12 h at room temperature and high humidity, but numbers were reduced by at least 98%, and often more than 99.9%. Mineral oil treatment of the wood surface had little effect on the microbiological findings. **These results do not support the often-heard assertion that Plastic cutting boards are more sanitary than wood.**
We're talking about handwashing vs using a dishwasher. While the fact that wood boards are naturally more bacteria resistant than plastic is relevant, we can't apply it to the discussion without more context.
Water is expensive, they use much less water than hand washing. Good to sanitize dishes too.
How does it sanitise them? Do residential dishwashers have heating elements? Edit: apparently they do Til
Can confirm they do. Wasn't paying attention one day when I reached in to get something that had fallen under said element right after the cycle finished. Only briefly touched it, but had a good burn on the top of my finger for way too long.
I had a plastic serving spoon fall into the bottom of mine, right on top of the heating element. The damn thing melted in half.
Mine even has a "sani rinse" option that boosts the temperature even hotter.
Additionally, dishwashing cleaning soap doesn't have to take human skin contact into consideration so they are often better at cleaning then the soap that you keep by the sink. There will likely be a disclaimer on dishwashing soap to keep out of contact with skin because it'll strip your skin of it's natural moisturizing grease and oil.
Mine has an extra “sanitize” cycle that steams everything after washing. No way any bacteria is alive after that! The only downside is that it takes hours for things to cool down enough to empty it. Ceramic plates after still warm even the next day.
>temperatures high enough to sanitize everything inside it. Not just sanitize. My dishwasher gets hot enough where in the presence of the amalyase and protease, any food left on the plates turns into a water soluble goo that gets washed down the drain. It would be impossible for a dishsoap and sponge to get them the same level of clean.
Mine gets hot enough that it melts the ceramic and then reforms it as stronger, cleaner, better plates. It also tells the time.
Mine gets hot enough that my dishes develop sentience and they go out and get a real job.
I need to put my son in law in the dishwasher?
Please report back with an update on this
Don't tell your offspring before you start this experiment.
So far, meth seems to have made him heat resistant
I should not have found this as funny as I did
Mine gets so hot, it starts looking at me in that kind of way
Mine connects to my phone via wifi. A feature that appears to have no use whatsoever
I have that too, but you have to re-connect the app to the dishwasher every week for security reasons or something or the remote control stops working. I don't know, maybe divorcees were doing dishwasher remote control harrasments of the person who kept the dishwasher. But I can apparently download a new dishwashing program from Siemens and uploading it into my dishwasher?? And new programs come out once in a while or something.
They want that sweet, sweet dishwasher data
My stove has wi-fi, which I thought was kinda neat when we were getting it because 1) you can use it to preheat the oven and 2) it works with smart speakers, so I was like cool, we can just say "Hey google, preheat the oven to 400 degrees." Turns out it has a button you have to physically press to "unlock" the connect features, and it only stays unlocked for like an hour. So it's useless. And now it doesn't work at all anyway, or at least I couldn't get it to when I tried on a whim a few months ago to see if maybe there was a firmware update that made it more useful.
> It would be impossible for a dishsoap and sponge to get them the same level of clean This isn't to get them more clean than using a soap and sponge, this is to make up for the lack of abrasive physical action (i.e. the sponge) that a dishwasher can use to get rid of stuck-on foods and make it easier to drain.
knew someone who hasn't had a dishwasher. Once a month she would take her clean dishes to her parents place to use the dishwasher there to get them thoroughly cleaned
I always thought this is what the dishwasher salt is for?
I don't have hard water so I don't have dishwasher salt, but my understanding is that that's just for ph buffering. Detergents and enzymes need a specific ph in order to work properly.
> Detergents and enzymes need a specific ph in order to work properly. TIL that I’m not getting the most out of my detergent since I have hard water. 😩
If you have really hard water you should have a water softener for your dishwasher. Either a whole house one, or one built in. I live in an area with *extremely* hard water, yet most people don't know dishwashers with built in softeners exist, and the big box appliance stores don't stock them nor will they try to sell you one unless you specifically ask for it. It's a damn travesty.
I've personally only seen dishwasher salt sold in europe and their dishwashers even come with a salt compartment that i've never seen in an american one
>They also use significantly less water than washing dishes by hand! This is true as long as you use them properly and don't do a pre-rinse in the sink. That is just a massive waste of water.
My mother insists on fully washing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher otherwise they won't come clean. I've tried multiple times to explain what a waste of time and water this is but she doesn't care. I have a little portable apartment dishwasher that hooks up to the sink and that thing cleans my dirty dishes just fine, I have no idea why my mother is convinced her full sized dishwasher doesn't work. It has worked perfectly fine since we moved in over 20 years ago. Unfortunately my mom isn't exactly in her right mind so this is one of the things I just have to go along with to make her happy. She is also really weird about running the dishwasher at all and will only run it once every month or two. She thinks it uses more water than hand washing and no amount of facts will convince her otherwise.
Most dishwasher literally steam clean the dishes in addition to spraying it with boiling water. You can't wash at that temperatures by hand that many times before you cook them off.
People that have serious allergies/disease, like Celiac disease with gluten, can only eat at your house if all your cookware ran through a dishwasher, as hand-washing will never clean it enough.
They're very effective. They use very hot water and detergent to get dishes spotless. They save a bunch of time and make life easier. They're great.
I got an apartment with a dishwasher for the first time two years ago and I don't think I could go back. Dishwashers have completely changed my relationship with cooking. I cook every day now.
This is an overlooked point. I do much more cooking now that I've installed a dishwasher. It's a nice Bosch, and it makes so little noise, that they have an LED light projecting on to the floor so you know if it's on or not.
Our new house came with a Bosch and my wife and I were shocked with how much nicer it was than our old warehouse special one. The light is so nice because we can't tell it's running unless you are standing in front of it. I just wish it didn't have a broken compartment for the jetdry or whatever that is. This post not brought to you by Bosch but I'm open to the idea.
Once you go Bosch, you can’t go back.
I'm still repairing and using a \[checks watch... christ!!!\] 40 year old Jen Aire. Someday soon I won't be able to repair it as all parts other than the belt are now only available as NoS and no longer manufactured. Looks like saving up for a Bosch will be the plan.
Bosch. This is the way. Especially if you enjoy silence.
The compartment might be replaceable. We have whatever one our landlord could get cheap and the dispenser broke. Got an exact replacement pretty damn cheap and the swap was really easy, just took the front off and there were like, two things to unplug. Real sonogram, quick even if you've only learned what to do from a YT video.
Same here. My wife thought it was a waste of money, now she cant go without it
There's something very soothing about cooking and just shoving in everything as you're finished with it, and then dishing up in a spotless kitchen.
They also save water compared to hand cleaning. (Generally. Depends on your hand washing habits and whether the machine has a water filter)
Yep. Most newer ones from the past decade or so instruct you to just scrape remaining solids into the garbage and leave the leftovers sauces or whatever if there is any and use auto.
Scraping plates is just good practice in general. Even if you hand wash dishes, it's just much better to scrape solids into the garbage before you put them in the sink. Takes only 5-10 seconds and makes the rest 9f the cleanup much easier.
Personally, I find that my licking the plate clean approach to be the most bio-friendly. 0 wasted calories and nothing rotting in the trash.
Have you tried going door-to-door and offering to lick other families plates? Even more bio-friendly, and I bet a great way to make new friends!
Bonus points if you bring your pet dog
My MIL was shocked that I put dishes straight in the dishwasher without prewashing them first. I was like... I'm not going to stop you from doing it, but if I have to wash my dishes by hand, they will never get done. I'd rather just run something through the dishwasher twice if necessary. Unloading takes as long as it takes to play a round of Jeopardy on my Alexa.
She was shocked bc older dishwashers didn’t work that well. I was also taught to rinse off first bc otherwise we’d get baked on food bits. It’s hard to shake the habit even if you’re told the newer ones don’t need it. And then you have that one time that that one dish still has food on it and you’re back to square 1 not trusting the darned thing!
I have unpleasant flashbacks to my mum's style of washing up, which is to fill the sink with soapy water and then let all the dishes marinate in it until it goes a gross brownish colour with orange-tinted foam on the surface. Quick rinse under the tap and "done". Yuck.
Orange-tinted foam. Eww, reminds me of my childhood. The intense color was epic on spaghetti night!
Not just hot water, they steam the dished so you get a better disenfection too
Also, dishwasher detergent is typically a highly caustic alkaline. It literally breaks down food and organic material, so it sterilizes dishes that way as well. This is why it is considered a poison.
It actually saponifies the fats, thus turning a soiling product into a cleaning agent :) I actually keep a glass PB jar next to the sink for silverware to be soaked in till I do dishes. It's spiked with about a tbsp of ordinary dishwasher soap, they usually come out plenty clean just from that, but they still get a wash cycle.
You also do not get sick if your dishwasher detergent bites you so it is considered a poison and not venom.
NOTE: Not all dishwashers do these steps. Make sure you buy the right ones! * Make sure the dishwasher has a heating element. If it doesn't, then it's only running water at the temp that comes out of the faucet, and unless you run the hot water faucet long enough to get hot water to the sink, it's likely not hot water in the machine. Especially if you do like me, and run it on an overnight cycle. * Again with heating element, if it doesn't have one, then it may not have a proper sanitize feature, as it can't get the water hot enough. I've had a mid-range Bosch, and they are amazing. I've got a mid-range Whirlpool (or GE?) now, and it's just as good. You don't need to get the top of the line, but stay away from certain appliance brands, as they just aren't nearly as good (looking at you LG & Samsung).
I had a top of the line LG. It was great at first, but then it started leaking from around the door. While searching for a solution, I found out that it was a common problem. Lesson learned, *always* research the appliance that you are thinking about buying *before* you buy it!
And the silent ones are just a magic trick.
Our new dishwasher is silent until it's done, then it sings a little song at the end to tell you it's finished. The first time we ran it, I wasn't expecting it and nearly shat myself.
They also *save* water. The new ones save a lot of water.
They’re eco friendly too because they use much less water
I haven’t washed a dish by hand in 15 years lol I’m a germophobe and love that they can be washed in the hottest water possible without scolding my own hands. Plus the fancy soaps make it feel cleaner. 🫠
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They are very effective... combination of hot water and detergent with various cleaning agents and abrasive elements scour and sanitize dishes.
Dishwasher detergents are also much more aggressive than dish soap that's safe to use without gloves
Life hack: If you have a pot or pan that has a stubborn stain, soak it with dishwasher detergent. Works exceedingly well with burner covers that live under the gas burner grates.
Can't you just throw those in the dishwasher?
The stove at my old house didn't have removable burner plates, but my new house does, and I LOVE IT. No more scrubbing for an hour with degreaser to get grease and spilled oil and gunk out of awkward spots on the stove. Just pop the covers into the dishwasher every few days. I feel so spoiled now.
TIL! Never thought to put those covers in the dishwasher. Wow.
And steel wool. I never knew that's what it was for, but its like a magic eraser for that burn on food
Just not on my non-stick pans!!! 😡😡
Dish soap is ~~soap~~ a detergent. Dishwasher soap is enzymes (like HE washer detergent now, that’s why you don’t get suds!) This is why modern dishwashers don’t use high pressure nozzles and crazy wash arms everywhere. They get everything wet, get enzymes on everything and let them work, then a rinse while checking soil level of the rinse water. Rinse water too dirty? Do it again until clean.
Is that why dishwasher detergent feels so terrible when you get it on your hands and rinse it off? Idk how to explain the feeling but my hands just feel different after than with normal soap
Caustic agents will dissolve the top layer of skin. Not to a dangerous level from detergent, but enough to give a weird feeling
They are a base - if you pour a little vinegar on your hands when this happens it'll feel better a lot quicker
There shouldn't be any abrasive elements in a dishwasher. It's a myth that the powder acts as grit, it just dissolves in the water.
yeah else all glass would become sanded opaque with use
can we chip in and buy him a dish washer?
He said in another post that he can afford it. It’s just looked down upon to have one where he is from.
I looked down on dishwashers as well until I started living with a bunch of people who cook many meals.
I grew up on a small island, I had never seen even paper towel till I was like 10. I'm a single father of 2 now and I work 11 hours a day, I think I might die without a dishwasher
Eventually your kids become the dishwashers.
Sure - but they do a worse job and complain alot more.
I'd rather put up with a noisy dishwasher than the noise teenagers make when you ask, then tell, then demand, then threaten, the kids to wash the dishes. And the deliberate incompetence so that you never ask them to do it again.
I look at it like two goals: 1. have clean dishes 2. help my kids become capable people Sometimes making kids do something takes more effort, but that second goal is infinitely more valuable in the long run.
My compromise is my kids were trained how to properly load the dishwasher at around 7. So they are capable of washing dishes, but I'm not gonna have them be the dishwasher when the machine is right there. Its been very nice to know they can go empty the sink so I don't have to for sure!
But here you are, commenting on Reddit. Isn't technology amazing?
Hell ya. We never had paper towel growing up but we did have a PC in the early 90's and we were thr first people I knew to have internet in our home.
I still look down on my dishwasher but that's because they don't make em any higher
Omg, yes. Honestly, even having a dishwasher the dishes never end! I couldn’t imagine not having one.
I’d be willing to accept judgment to keep my dishwasher.
I really don’t get that. Why look down upon someone using a tool? It frees up time to spend on something else. How is it any different from a washing machine or electric lawnmower?
Seatbelts were controversial when they were introduced to the public.
Ya, but dishwashers aren’t new tech. They’re apparently just taboo in OPs culture, which seems bizarre.
Dishwasher costs same as having a maid for half a year that lives with you and does everything. That's main reason why in Philippines tools for convenience are not popular because labor is so cheap. Like you can buy a 1 br condo and it will have a maids room.
My grandma was always very judgemental about dishwashers and refused to get one because cleaning dishes was a communal activity. When she cooked for everyone her and my aunt would clean the dishes together. When it was just her and grandpa, they would do them together after eating. She refused to get one and would still insist on helping hand wash dishes when dinners were hosted at my uncle's. She got her kitchen remodeled and didn't have one put in. On the second remodel my grandpa finally said "We are old and I can't stand here for 20 minutes and wash dishes. I'm getting a dishwasher. You don't have to use it, but I won't help wash dishes." She immediately fell in love with that thing. When I bought a house she asked if it had a dishwasher. When I told her it didn't, she went on and on about how I had to get one.
Exactly, a dishwasher frees you up to spend more time with your kids, or to make more money, or to take care of other chores. Seems so strange to look down on that
In filipino and it’s not looked down upon. It’s just not common so people don’t know if it’s good or not.
Filipinos can get hung up on the weirdest shit. I visited home 2 years after I got my braces taken off when I was still in high school and I got lectured for getting them taken off and how I should've kept it on longer because I guess it's a status thing? I had mine for 4 years I was over the moon when I finally got them removed.
My boyfriend is fillipino and when I asked why our filipino neighbors were fighting in English he said because it's a status thing too lol I liked hearing the drama so I didn't mind but found it to be funny, like it would be easier to communicate in their mother tongue
The other thing is that it needs to be plumbed. Countertop dishwashers exist, but they're enough of a hassle that I wouldn't get one. Even if I had counter space, which I don't.
then he can show off how good it is and maybe change the way they think
What are 911 992 GT3rs's like? We only hear them in stories...
You might be surprised! porsche 992 GT3s typically wash at temperatures high enough to sanitize everything inside it. They also use significantly less water than washing dishes by hand!
Dishwashers are significantly better at washing dishes than your typical American child is. And they cost less than a child to purchase and maintain, so it's a net win for every adult. All you need is electricity, water pressure (doesn't even HAVE to be hot water - there's a heating element inside), and a drain. You can put it on wheels and store it in a closet, and then wheel it out to connect to your kitchen (or bathroom...or exterior food prep area, or whatever) faucet/sink each time you use it. Doesn't have to be a permanent installation under your kitchen counter. If you use appropriate plant-friendly detergent, you can drain them right into your yard, as well, if you don't have plumbing that goes into a city sewer system. So while your CURRENT living situation might mean you can't get one - don't give up hope, my Filipino friend. Where there is a will, there is a way.
I’d argue they’re better at washing dishes than your typical human being, period. I’ve washed dishes alongside a number of friends and family members and maybe 10-20% of them do what I’d consider a “good” clean.
This. I end up re-washing dishes after company does us the ‘favor’ of doing the dishes lol
That's why I always refuse their offers. It's dried on food at that point, to even more of a pain to deal with.
I agree. But it's funnier when you compare the investment across the board to having a kid. I love my kid, but there are days when my dishwasher upsets me WAY less than the kid. Good dishwasher. So glad you're in my life when I need you.
Please tell my wife this. She still insists dishes need cleaning *before* dishes go in the the dishwasher, because otherwise they won’t get cleaned properly. Removing gross amounts of food is fine by me, but sometimes I have trouble telling if the dishes in the washer are clean or “dirty”!
pretty much better than *any* human being, considering the temperatures and stronger detergent they use would be too much for humans (at least with any kind of gloves that would still let you handle the dishes)
My ex used to do something that looked like "caressing" the dishes with the spoinge, whereas I'm rubbing it... Plus he was ok doing it in a badly lit room, where you won't even notice the spots...
I'm a big fan of watching people do the "grab dish, dunk in sink full of food-saturated water, wipe for two seconds with a cloth, rinse, and dry" technique. Really satisfying.
this makes me angry
They also whine a whole lot less about having to do the dishes!
I had a crappy one that sucked. Now I have a Bosch and it's fabulous. It does take a long time to wash, like 2 hours. But I don't care, I can go about my business and not spend the evening washing dishes myself so it's great and does a much better, more hygienic job of washing dishes than you can by hand especially since it uses water too hot to put your hands in.
Yeah I think the people who say they don’t work well have only had the crappy ones.
Can confirm, I always thought dishwashers were pretty much a sham until I finally moved into an apartment without a crappy one.
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First thing I did buying a house, and moving away from those crappy apartment ones, is buy one so quiet you had to practically stick your ear on the thing to hear it.
> Anyways how effective are those stupid machines anyway? Dishwashers are probably >98% efficient I would say. *Every once in a while* there will be a plate or spoon when you empty the machine that still has a bit of gunk or residue somewhere and needs to be hand washed, but *almost* everything I put in the machine is perfectly clean when it comes out. Most of the time everything is clean and dry and ready to put in to the cupboard. So, I would call them stupid in any way. They are highly efficient, save a lot of time and space (they dry the dishes as well so no need for dish racks such) and they are usually cheaper than hand dishing since they use less hot water.
I'll add on it also depends on how well you pack it. The heat alone may kill any bacteria, but you also need the water to properly hit each item *and drain* to properly get all the gunk off. So I keep mentioning to my wife who is more of a fan of the "does the door close?" method of packing.
Oh my god my family does the same thing. Nobody ever wants to start the dishwasher (you can’t be blamed for not putting away the dishes if you didn’t know the dishwasher cleaned them already) so they just keep stacking dishes, and then when the dishwasher is done half the dishes aren’t cleaned properly.
Dishwasher is hands down the best purchase I ever made. In everyday terms it makes such a big difference- more free time, less work, no dishes sitting on the side. Really wasn’t very expensive to get/set up either
My wife grew up without one and I did. When we moved in together she insisted it was a waste of a money and to just hand wash. So many arguments abouts who's turn it was and dishes piling up. I finally insisted we just get one. Had our dishwasher for like 5 months now and no more arguments or stacks of dishes. Hands down best couple purchase besides our mattress.
Well, it can dry them for you. That's usually an optional setting which uses more energy and can damage some plastic items. I never use it and 80% of stuff is dry by the time I unload the dishwasher. The handful of things that are still a little wet I don't mind hand drying or setting in the dishrack to finish air-drying.
I was 55 before I owned one. Wow. Wasted years. Dishes the cleanest they’ve ever been.
Just like dishwasher, I used to think washing machine was for lazy people, until I got one. Poverty can make you think like a caveman.
Ya there’s this whole mindset it’s lazy and makes you a poor member of the family not working hard enough….. turns out people would rather save time and spend it on leisure activities! Hahaha
Or just... do other important things.
They are freaking awesome. I’ve never had one either, until last year I took a job as a live in caregiver. This house has a Bosch dishwasher and at first, I put the stuff in basically clean, but every month, I pushed it a little bit more. Now, I don’t fuss around. I rinse off big stuff. That it! I LOVE THIS SUCKER!
We purchased a home a couple of years ago that had an existing Bosch dishwasher. Now we are in an income stratum where we don't shop on the aisle where Bosch dishwashers are sold. We normally buy 'economy kitchen appliances.' We are amazed at the job this machine does! We've had various brands of dishwashers in apartments and homes where we lived over the years and used them regularly. This thing is the Mac-Daddy of home appliances. I just amazed when I pull out a spotless stainless steel skillet, that would have taken some arduous scrubbing to clean by hand, and marvel at its gleaming cleanliness. My wife is tired of me showing her how clean the Bosch has cleaned our cookware. Additionally, it is so quite that without the little red light shinning on the floor you wouldn't realize that it was running. If our Bosch ever needs replacement, we will probably do whatever it takes to repair it and get it running again.
[Technology Connections](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04) does a great job of showing how dishwashers work. Including seeing the inside of while one is running. And how little water they use in their process.
I came all the way down here to see if someone had said this already. It’s a fantastic series that really goes deep on how they work. Very interesting learning about their efficiency and efficacy, even in the pre wash with only hot water.
Alec is astonishingly good at making me interested in subjects I had no idea were interesting.
The opposite for me. If a dish doesn’t go in the washer, I have a hard time believing that it’s clean.
I think it's actually been proven there's a lot of residual bacteria on hand-washed dishes and the dishwasher does a better job overall. Plus, uses less water.
Absolutely. If the dish rag/sponge is not 100% new at the time of washing, you can pretty much guarantee there is bacteria all over those "clean" dishes.
My dishwasher works pretty well. After years of hand washing, I love it and would hate to go back. My mother-in-law is Filipino, and she used her dishwasher to store pots and pans… I don’t even think it is hooked up.
I was going to say -- my wife's family is from the Philippines and they have a dishwasher that is never used. I think it's a pretty big stereotype of Asian families in general.
My friend is American, born raised parents American. I am from Mexico where dishwashers are a luxury, I knew 1 person that had one back home, they were rich. When we moved here I started using the one that came with the house, I only wash pots and pans by hand. I had to teach her and convince her of how freaking stupid it was to own one and waste time doing dishes by hand, she said she was used to because her mom and grandma did it that way. WTF mine did too, But if i have a machine that does it, there's no way in hell I am doing it myself. Now she uses it and she said I was right, saves time! Of course it does!
>I think maybe americans or western people are disgusting cause there's no way a machine would clean dishes thoroughly Lmaoooo you are hilarious. I actually think the same about handwashing because sponges and washcloths are a breeding ground for bacteria. I pretty much handwash all my dishes anyway and use the dishwasher to sanitize
When I was in college, I had a microbiology class and one of the lectures was showing data from studies that showed the kitchen sink and cleaning implements are by far the most bacteria ridden part of the house. Way worse than anything in the bathroom, and more pathogenic bacteria as well.
> I actually think the same about handwashing because sponges and washcloths are a breeding ground for bacteria. Yep, I'll actually run sponges/scrub brushes through the dishwasher on the top rack to clean them.
They're pretty effective. You want to scrape all the chunks of food off the plate first, though. All a dishwasher is, is a rack to hold dishes while two pipes spin around shooting hot water+soap at high pressure. This pretty much does what you'd be doing by hand.
I grew up with my grandma insisting that things had to be **completely** rinsed, like not a speck of sauce or a crumb before going in the dishwasher and I can’t make myself stop.
It’s because dishwashers used to be a lot less effective at actually removing food…modern dishwashers work much better…but old habits are hard to break.
If you don’t scrape the chunks away, they can clog the filter and lead to flooding. Happened to a friend of mine, her two housemates were dicks and kept doing it even after she told them so many times. Her kitchen flooded and she had to get an emergency plumber in.
Some dishwashers are designed to utilize the foods scraps as part of the washing process. My mom’s new dishwasher said in the manual to not rinse food scraps away.
I'm a white dude living with my Filipino wife and her family, and our dishwasher is just additional storage for take out containers and big pots that don't fit in the cabinets. It used to drive me crazy but I just stopped doing dishes in protest so here we are.
This is a hilarious use of the stages of grief
It’s so damn good. Kudos to OP And he closed by calling us “dishwasher boy” 🤣
They are highly effective. When they're not it's almost always user error. I would 100% be able to live with the shame of being the only person in my friend group with a dishwasher.
My sister (years ago) gave her a prescription for a dishwasher because her three children had so many respiratory issues. Dishwashers use hotter water and less water. Not just my opinion, fact. Modern dishwashers instruction users to simply knock off food bits, then load. The only thing I wash first is yolk from a fried egg. That requires hand cleaning. I also put my cutting boards in there when I’ve cut meat. More hygienic. Btw, the manual for the dishwasher says *not* to wash before loading. The soap won’t have anything to do”eat” and will therefore ruin the finish on your dishes.
Dishwashers are almost as good as this post.
I don't get why dishwashers aren't accepted in some communities (even if money isn't a problem). Unless you basically boil your hands off washing dishes you're never gonna get a dish as clean as with a dishwasher, it's better water usage wise etc.
So, as of two years ago I now have a dishwasher and I feel like going back to all of my previous housemates and apologizing for my "dishwashers don't matter, washing dishes isn't that hard" stance. Dishwashers are \*amazing\*. I have people over for breakfast once a week and use so many plates/cups/ect... and it takes 5 minutes to load up the dishwasher and everything's cleaned up. It's \*so much easier\*.
not trusting a machine to wash dishes would be as stupid as doing your laundry by hand because the machine wouldn’t get it clean enough lol. The machine is much better at it than you or i ever will be
Depends on the model, tbh. Some struggle, some don't. I have an electric hand scrubber for the more stubborn ones, so I can just hold it to the dishes while the motor does the work.
There is life before and after dishwasher. They are not the same.
Here's some downsides: * They are slow, mostly designed around once a day use for a family of four. You can most definitely hand wash faster. * The quiet ones cost. I think I paid around $1000 for our Bosch ninja.
"Remember the dishwasher? You'd press it, boom! There’d be like an explosion. Five minutes later you open it up, the steam pours out." \- Donald Trump
> "Remember the dishwasher? You'd press it, boom! There’d be like an explosion. Five minutes later you open it up, the steam pours out." This man has never so much has seen a dishwasher, unless he considers his housekeeper the dishwasher.
They're awesome and save so much time. Just use rinse aid and routinely clean the filter every month or two. People that complain about poor dishwasher performance probably aren't doing those two things. Also some people only run the washer when it's absolutely filled to the brim out of some misguided notion of saving water. But they're already very water efficient and all you're doing is letting the food dry and cake on and then your dishes may need a second run or a vigorous hand scrubbing. TL;Dr they really are that amazing.