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Original poster

To think washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher is ridiculous

41 replies

Anonymous2003 · 11/01/2025 17:26

Every night after dinner my boyfriend's family will fill a basin of hot soapy water and handwash the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher covered in soap suds. This drives me nuts!! Isn't the point of a dishwasher to wash dirty dishes? If you've just hand washed them why not just put them away. I only rinse my dishes before the dishwasher because that's what it's for. I don't know anyone else who does this. I'm talking plates, cutlery etc btw, not just pots and pans.

OP posts:
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Original poster
Anonymous2003 · 11/01/2025 22:21

I guess I should be grateful that the biggest problem I have with my boyfriend's family is something so trivial! (Well, quite trivial...)

OP posts:
BarbaraHoward · 11/01/2025 18:48

It's my mum's favourite fact that they're designed to work on dirty dishes and so rinsing is counter productive. Washing is pure insane.

Just scrape and load.

GoosieLucie · 11/01/2025 18:44

Anonymous2003 · 11/01/2025 17:54

@Jeeeeez but doesn't not rinsing eventually clog the filter? That's the reason behind why I rinse

That's what the filter is there for! If there were no bits for it to catch, it wouldn't be needed!

noworklifebalance · 11/01/2025 18:38

Apparently, modern dishwashers “sense” how cloudy the water is and adjust how much they clean accordingly - the clearer the water the less aggressively (for want of a better word) they clean. So it really is pointless washing them before putting them in the dishwasher. I don’t rinse either - scrape and straight in.

ETA - my pages just refreshed and I can see other PPs have already explained this much better than me!

dementedpixie · 11/01/2025 18:24

Scrape food off plates and you don't need to rinse

The dishwasher rinses them before washing anyway

Thepossibility · 11/01/2025 18:21

My PIL do this. They are quite pedantic people in general tbh.

isthismylifenow · 11/01/2025 18:19

That is bonkers. Why use the dishwasher after then?

I don't wash or rinse anything. That is what the machine is there for.

And I use the sensor wash. So it runs a bit longer for a heavier load.

ThinWomansBrain · 11/01/2025 18:13

depends how 'dirty' and how soon I am going to run the dishwasher.
Mug I'd had tea in - no - Mug that I'd had hot chocolate in, yes, because gungy froth/dried milk might not get cleaned properly. But probably only a rinse & flash of a sponge or brush; by the time you've go a bowl of soapy water, DW not required.

Calochortus · 11/01/2025 18:12

If we’ve had curry or something with garlic in it we give the plates a quick rinse under a hot tap as our dishwasher isn’t on every day. We don’t like it smelling if we open it. What’s the point of having a dishwasher if you’re going to wash dishes first?

grumpygrape · 11/01/2025 18:12

DreamW3aver · 11/01/2025 17:45

Both washing and rinsing are stupid, stop wasting your life people

...and your water

Sparklybanana · 11/01/2025 18:12

The detergent actually NEEDS dirt in order for it to be effective. As long as the large particles are scraped off then the dishwasher will be much more efficient with the dirt left on. They are effectively wasting their time AND shooting themselves in the foot. If the plates are coming out dirty then they need to clean the filter more regularly and add salt and rinse aid - not have a dog and bark themselves...

Soontobe60 · 11/01/2025 18:11

Try again!

To think washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher is ridiculous
Soontobe60 · 11/01/2025 18:10

And heres some top tips from Finish.

BuzzieLittleBee · 11/01/2025 18:09

Definitely no rinsing. That's a pointless exercise. I soak things that are baked on (lasagne dish/pie dish etc) but they still go in the DW rather than being hand washed.

Soontobe60 · 11/01/2025 18:09

Here’s a lovely video showing the inside of a dishwasher as it’s doing its job. Note the heavily soiled dishes at the beginning - its quite long so just fast forward through it!

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/wkJJSsmAdDY?si=FNZB6PlHilxkbwAE

JedRambosteen · 11/01/2025 18:06

MadMaxHasSandInHisCrack · 11/01/2025 17:29

Rincing is madness too tbh. Just scrape and put them in.

I was going to comment on this too. We don’t even rinse our dishes before we put them in. Surely that’s the point of a dishWASHER?

HPandthelastwish · 11/01/2025 18:04

The dishwasher doesn't work properly if the plates are clean already, just scrap the lumps into the bin and put it straight in. It uses sensors that judge the clarity of the water to judge which part of the cycle it should be on so will just move to the end bit without doing the beginning bit if the water is clear.

FictionalCharacter · 11/01/2025 18:04

DreamW3aver · 11/01/2025 17:45

Both washing and rinsing are stupid, stop wasting your life people

Yep! Why on earth do people do this? It’s a machine designed to wash your dishes efficiently and hygienically. I just scrape off the bits before putting them in - do you think the dishwasher doesn’t get them clean and I eat off dirty plates?! Everything comes out sparkling!

It’s such a waste of water, electricity and detergent. Really stupid.

Do you also handwash all your clothes before you put them in the washing machine?

Strictly1 · 11/01/2025 18:03

They don’t rinse at work so you find rogue rice in your cups etc. I rinse to avoid this.

SpikeGilesSandwich · 11/01/2025 18:02

The instructions on mine actually said not to pre-rinse dishes before loading. (I'm on my first dishwasher, it's very exciting!)

BIossomtoes · 11/01/2025 17:59

This is madness. Why bother having a dishwasher?

Nothatgingerpirate · 11/01/2025 17:59

I found it's faster to just wash by hand, tbh.
Just husband and me. 😊

Barneysmomma · 11/01/2025 17:58

So long as there's no.large chunks of food on the crockery/cutlery don't bother rinsing. Detergents actually work better on dirty items. Life is too short!

Soontobe60 · 11/01/2025 17:58

Anonymous2003 · 11/01/2025 17:54

@Jeeeeez but doesn't not rinsing eventually clog the filter? That's the reason behind why I rinse

No, thats why there IS a filter! Just rinse the filter out once in a while.

poshfrock · 11/01/2025 17:57

Why would it clog the filter? Presumably it doesn't clog the drain of your sink? It's a huge waste of water.

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