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Original poster

Dig licking plates before going into dishwasher - ick or not

907 replies

Happyspendingthedayinthegarden · 21/04/2025 15:11

Have have hosted a lovely Easter BH Monday for all 7 GC, 3 step children, partners & children. We had an Easter egg hunt in garden, had breakfast in local farm shop & walked my lovely little dog around, petted animals etc.

For context I need to say that DSS & DIL are both British, but live in USA.

After a roast dinner I put the plates & general pots & pans down for the dog to lick. My DIL lost the plot saying that was so unhygienic I assured her that they would be going into the dishwasher on a high temperature - about 90c so would be sterilised. I always let the dog pre-wash my plates as consider it's going into the dishwasher at high temp to be sterilised so no problem.

DIL saying she will never let her children eat at my house again & gone-taken her DH & DC off in an huff.

DH has had a text from his son apologising but saying what can he do as has to support his wife. I totally get that. But....

My question is - is it OK to let dog lick out the plates etc when they are going into dishwasher at a high temp? WWUD?

OP posts:
OhWhistle · 21/04/2025 17:34

Happyspendingthedayinthegarden · 21/04/2025 17:15

Just leaving for 6:00pm Mass now - only a short way from us. Must confess am totally insulted that you think that I should stay on MN to prevent you from becoming bored rather than pray for the soul of a very humble man who was an example to us all. No apologies am going to my devotions now.

Edited
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Peace and all good.

Zone2NorthLondon · 21/04/2025 17:34

Namechangean · 21/04/2025 17:33

Ovulation tests!

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Ahh, ok
i was imagining all the urology crew getting merry in your kitchen

EllieEllie25 · 21/04/2025 17:34

I might do this sometimes if nobody was watching, but it's really grim in front of guests.

ilovesushi · 21/04/2025 17:34

In theory it's fine. I am sure that the dishwasher is hot enough to get rid of any germs. But a lot of people are going to feel put off by people and animals sharing plates. I am pretty lax around the house, but I do keep people and animal crockery separate.

KnickerFolder · 21/04/2025 17:34

shuggles · 21/04/2025 16:45

@Happyspendingthedayinthegarden That's absolutely disgusting OP.

My DIL lost the plot saying that was so unhygienic I assured her that they would be going into the dishwasher on a high temperature - about 90c so would be sterilised.

You cannot "sterilise" cutlery in a dishwasher.

Further reading for the poorly informed: https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20180816/qa-bacteria-in-dog-and-cat-saliva-can-makes-humans-sick

Edited

As you are so well informed, could you explain to the more poorly informed what the known modes of transmission of Capnocytophaga canimorsus are, @shuggles?

I am fairly sure the primary mode of transmission from dogs to humans is bites or contact of dog saliva with broken skin… There has never been a case of a human becoming infected after eating from a plate that has been washed after a dog licked it 🙄

TheCurious0range · 21/04/2025 17:33

Bonniethetiler · 21/04/2025 17:31

I'm in the UK. My dishwasher defaults to whatever program the dial is set to. However, the highest temperature is 70'C.

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I'm in the UK too mine does have a 90 degree setting but that's called deep clean and has a picture of a saucepan, the standard cycle is 60 and the eco 50.

I wouldn't put a toilet brush in the dishwasher so I wouldn't like to eat from plates dogs have licked either given where their tongues have been

Createausername1970 · 21/04/2025 17:33

I let my dog lick my morning bowl of yoghurt and berries after I have finished.

But I wouldn't let her lick dinner plates, or give her any leftovers. We often cook with onions and garlic which can make dogs ill. Her dinner is her dog food, out of her bowl.

And I probably wouldn't give her my breakfast bowl in front of guests either.

So I don't have an issue in principle, but I do understand that others do.

IridiumSky · 21/04/2025 17:33

Oldandcobwebby · 21/04/2025 17:30

Grim as a grim thing. I wouldn't want to eat in your house, either.

Yup.

Grimmer than a grim thing, on a grim day.

In Grimsby.

Namechangean · 21/04/2025 17:33

Zone2NorthLondon · 21/04/2025 17:32

Digression,but why are you routinely collecting urine samples? Is there a urology department do in your kitchen

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Ovulation tests!

OuchyEars · 21/04/2025 17:32

ZepherinDrouhin · 21/04/2025 15:35

If you know how your dog cleans her bits then why are you letting her lick your crockery?

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But she is fine with the dog licking her children's faces, and they are not being washed at high temperatures, or for over an hour, or even at all before fingers go to eyes and mouths.
If she's ok with that, how can she have a problem with the plates? It's completely illogical.

Zone2NorthLondon · 21/04/2025 17:32

Namechangean · 21/04/2025 17:26

We have a wee jug for collecting samples, it gets washed and is kept separately from the kitchen. Maybe will start putting it in the dishwasher and then serve some guests out of it….

Digression,but why are you routinely collecting urine samples? Is there a urology department do in your kitchen

Bonniethetiler · 21/04/2025 17:31

TheCurious0range · 21/04/2025 17:29

Why is everyone using the 90* setting on their dishwasher most of them default to eco don't they?
I only use the 90 setting for crusty pans if I've made a roast etc

I'm in the UK. My dishwasher defaults to whatever program the dial is set to. However, the highest temperature is 70'C.

elfendom · 21/04/2025 17:31

Delatron · 21/04/2025 15:36

Ooh we do this. Common sense tells you that any germs will be killed in the dishwasher.

However, I do remember before getting a dog a friend wanted to use one of my bowls for her dogs water and I found that disgusting! So things do change a lot when you get dogs.

No not any germs, not all bacteria at all. Several types of bacteria won't be killed at 90 degrees and some of those that won't be killed are particularly relevant if a dog has been sniffing around shit.

Namechangean · 21/04/2025 17:30

This thread and a substantial amount of replies are why I don’t join in on shared lunches at work

Oldandcobwebby · 21/04/2025 17:30

Grim as a grim thing. I wouldn't want to eat in your house, either.

housethatbuiltme · 21/04/2025 17:30

Why do people think dogs are dirtier or more dangerous than other random humans?

I think twice about cutlery and glasses etc... in restaurants, its often very badly hand washed (you can often still see dirt or bits or missed food or even lipstick) in some places and its been in/on countless strangers mouths (that have human communicable diseases) but a pet dog, on something in a house thats then been thoroughly washed at a high temperature I honestly couldn't be bothered about at all.

It's far less of a risk and I say that as someone with a very week immune system who gets ill very easily and has spent my life in and out of hospitals.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 21/04/2025 17:29

badgermushroomm · 21/04/2025 16:00

She sounds v OTT about made-up hygiene issues (why would sheets on a line cause allergies?! Changing your bed linen every day – insanity!).

Are you sure you didn’t do the dog-plate licking thing in front of her on purpose? Wink You must have known she’d freak out!

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According to a DSis who’s lived in the US for 40 years, hanging washing out on a line is seen by your average Yank as a sign of either poverty or madness.

TheCurious0range · 21/04/2025 17:29

Why is everyone using the 90* setting on their dishwasher most of them default to eco don't they?
I only use the 90 setting for crusty pans if I've made a roast etc

Goldusty · 21/04/2025 17:29

Just as much as you wouldn't wash your used toilet brush in the dishwasher ..both dog saliva and brush likely harbour faecal particles. I don't swear normally but this post has pushed me to those limits! Are you not the slightest bit embarrassed?!

XenoBitch · 21/04/2025 17:28

Smallmercies · 21/04/2025 17:27

Fair point 😅. But would you eat off the plate once it had been cleaned?

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If I did, then I would need that chat too!

IridiumSky · 21/04/2025 17:27

Mothership4two · 21/04/2025 17:01

Not after he's used it to clean his and other people's bums, rubbed it in (any old) poo, meat and insects and generally stuck it in some pretty unsavoury places. I have my standards.

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Of course.

Presumably, after each time he’s done all that, you suggest he washes it first?

😀

Miyagi99 · 21/04/2025 17:27

lovemycbf · 21/04/2025 15:38

No I love dogs but that’s so disgusting
I wouldn’t eat at your house again knowing that either.
dogs lick their bums 🤢🤢

You’ll be appalled at what humans do then and you’re sharing their cutlery.

Smallmercies · 21/04/2025 17:27

XenoBitch · 21/04/2025 17:26

I would be calling for a social worker and psychiatrist to have a chat with you.

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Fair point 😅. But would you eat off the plate once it had been cleaned?

Namechangean · 21/04/2025 17:26

We have a wee jug for collecting samples, it gets washed and is kept separately from the kitchen. Maybe will start putting it in the dishwasher and then serve some guests out of it….

fredrikaflowers · 21/04/2025 17:26

Absolutely disgusting