Dishwashers - but don't you have to rinse/wash dishes first for them to be clean?

[extremelychocolateymilkroll]

Have never had a dishwasher but was away last week and the house we rented had one. I have been longing to get a dishwasher but was a bit disappointed. You really have to get the food off before you put the dishes in which is a bit like washing them first really, isn't it? Sometimes the dishes didn't come out clean. And if you don't rinse the dishes off straight after a meal so can't get the food off by holding them under a running tap you need to soak them before putting them in. Is it still worth longing for a dishwasher?

[poopscoop]

If you use really good quality dishwasher tabs like the quantum ones or similar then genenrally it really does clean well alone. Salt is also required and maybe the rental property was not topped up.

Obviously there are some stuck on food bits which need a clean or soak first.

Would recommend a dishwasher to anyone.

[extremelychocolateymilkroll]

Thanks poop - will continue longing until we get the kitchen done and have the option of getting one. I think I had just built up my expectations. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a super strength dishwasher which got off soaked on bits?

[CMOTdibbler]

I never rinse my plates or pans, and they are always clean.

The only things that need some help are baked on lasanga and cheese sauce pans

[peanutbutterkid]

It's not a bad idea to let grotty things soak a bit before they go in.
If you don't remove most the food muck you'll just be cleaning it out of the dishwasher filters later .

[extremelychocolateymilkroll]

Wow - and do you use the Quantum tablets CMOT? Which dishwasher do you have?

[Hulababy]

I rarely rinse stuff before putting them in the dishwasher.

I use dishwasher tablets, never sperates and have never added salt either.

Everything comes out clean.

[poopscoop]

Yes peanute you are right. Cleaning out the filter bit is totally boakworthy.

[CMOTdibbler]

I use the Finish max 4 in 1 tablets (plus salt in the dishwasher) and have a Neff dishwasher

[extremelychocolateymilkroll]

Thanks for your replies - most encouraging. Hula - what are sperates? And how often do you need to clean the filter bit?

[shinyshoes]

I got mine about 3 weeks ago, I've never had one before that, even growing up we never had such luxury. It's bloody brilliant and I don't know how I managed for so long with one. The salt is a must AFAIK, but the rinse aid is optional and most goodquality tablets have rise aid in it anyway. From what I believe the rinse aid is to dry the things after?.

I have bought Finish Quantum and I am still amazed at how the glasses sparkle, they weren't that sparkly when I bought them .
I rinse most things under the tap first and have just cooked chicken in a dish, the dish still have little bits of chicken stuck to it, that will come off in the dishwasher, I don't rinse under the tap til spotless, I might as well washup if I was going to be doing that, gravy or mint sauce is still visible on the plates when it goes in the dishwasher they come out spotlessley clean. My non stick saucepan (it was non stick when I bought it not at all now) normallly has bits of egg or onion stuck on but it goes in and it all comes off in the dishwasher. little bits of food won't make a huge difference, the filter can emptied or cleaned after if there was a huge amount of food in it.

The roasting tray on a sunday normally has bits of meat or potato stuck to the bottom, I give it a quick scrape to get mostly the big bits off, bung it in, even that comes out brilliantly.

Buy one!!! you'll regret it come christmas when your faced with all that washing up

[Buda]

I only soak things like roasting dishes etc. I scrape dishes the same as if I was handwashing. If things weren't coming clean there was probably something wrong with the dishwasher in the rented house! Things should come clean. I have had everything come clean even if I forget to put a tablet in!

[AMumInScotland]

I never rinse anything, just scrape off any lumps into the bin. It never causes any problem with the plates. Occasionally I find cutlery has been too close together and not come up perfectly clean, but that's better since I started putting them in with the handles down and the dirty end sticking up.

And I use Tesco 5 in 1 tablets, which work just fine.

[Jaquelinehyde]

I use Finish 4 in 1 tablets and haven't put salt in the dishwasher for 3 years

Everything washes fine.

I must do one of those Finish cleaning thingies again though, haven't done it since just before Xmas if I remember rightly. Doesn't seem to make any difference to the cleaning of dishes, but it offers me peace of mind about the pipes being blocked

[AMumInScotland]

I take the filters out to rinse them every few weeks - but since I scrape the plates, there's only a few small bits on them and they don't get disgusting. I also run a dishwasher cleaner through it every 3 months or so, but as someone else said that's more to be sure the drains are clearing nicely than the dishwasher itself. We've had Dynarod in a couple of times, so I'm a bit neurotic about what goes down the drains .

[chickatee]

I never rinse anything either. Sometimes baked on food, on a casserole dish for instance, doesnt come off completely unless I soak it, but mostly I just put it back with the next load . The only thing my dishwasher really can't handle is scrambled eggs. I usually have to scrub the pan to get the last bits off. I use Tesco 5 in 1 tablets and I think they are excellent, just as good as the branded ones. The dishwasher is a Bosch.

I find the little holes on the arms where the water sprays out can sometimes block up with tiny bits of food and the dishes don't get washed properly when this happens. It ocassionally happens to mine and it has been the case in every rental place with a dishwasher that I've stayed in. You need to take off the spraying arm and rinse it out to get the bits of food out. It can be quite tricky. If these are clear and the filter is clean then the dishes should be spotless coming out (but I suppose if you rinse the dsihes first the little holes wont block up with food in the first place).

[GrimmaTheNome]

Its worth not letting things like porridge dry onto bowls - but then, that applies if you're going to handwash them too.

[poopscoop]

yes grimma - porridge and dried on cornflakes are evil.

[peanutbutterkid]

If you have hard water you should use salt; violates warranty otherwise & may well ruin the DWr if hard water & no salt.
Plenty old MN threads on that.

[princessmel]

I don't rinse unless it's something really orange like beans because they stain the microwave pots.

Sometimes lasagne or similar dishes, have a bit left on and I just wipe it off after.

I scrape the left over food into the bin, but that's just common sense.

We add salt, it's a hard water area, and find the washing isn't as good when the salt is running low.

[scoutandjem]

I got my first dish washer last week, cannot believe I have survived without one for so long. Kitchen always looks spotless now. I use salt, rinse aid and a good three in one!!!

Needed to experiment on cycles to get best results. We have an intelligent one that somehow looks at water to check it is clear and thus deduces dishes are clean - better then a human??!!

[extremelychocolateymilkroll]

Thanks all for your replies. scoutandjem - your dishwasher sounds fab - what's the make?

[shouldbeironing]

I dont rinse stuff except scrape obvious large leftovers (into the bin) and it comes up fine.

Whoever said they have started putting the cutlery with the handles down and the sharp bits sticking up, please think about it again from a safety point of view. I read once about an awful accident when someone died falling onto a knife left like that.

I thought it was a bit of a freak thing but was round at a friends a couple of months ago and her DD backed into the open door of her dishwasher and fell into it and it really made me think that if a knife had been sticking out it would have been very dangerous. My cutlery comes out perfectly clean with the sharp bits pointing downwards.

[artydeb]

We got our first ever dishwasher a rew months back and its fab! Its amazing how clean and sparkly it all becomes - but my very best favourite feature is how it becomes a hiding cupboard for all the dirty crocks for a whole day so the kitchen looks tidy and there's no panic washing up to do before imminent visitors. Get one!

[ruddynorah]

i don't rinse, and we just use crappy tesco budget brand tabs..think they're called daisy.