To think a dishwasher will change our lives?

100% life changing but here’s a tip… teach the kids from young to scrape and place ALL their dishes straight into the dishwasher. That way no one ever needs to load. Switch it on after dinner, unload it before bed or while making breakfast and dishes and kitchen are always clean.

I agree with everyone who says the best bit is your kitchen stays clean and tidy. It's not even time saved on doing dishes, it's that they're not all piled up waiting for you to find time to do them.

Our current dishwasher we got for £40 on Facebook marketplace. A decent one that was as new really but the seller was doing out her kitchen and the colour didn't go with the new units. Might be worth keeping an eye out to see if you can get a bargain - once you've had one I bet he won't want to go back..

Our dishwasher broke about three weeks ago and we got a new one delivered on Friday. 'Life changing' is perhaps a bit strong, but gosh I'm grateful to have a dishwasher again and it felt like a real chore not having one!

The cost of running it isn't really an issue. You were paying for hot water and washing-up liquid anyway. Energy and tablets for the dishwasher won't cost significantly more, and depending on the amount of hot water used in washing up, a modern dishwasher on an eco cycle may very well be more energy efficient.

We also like our dishwashers (so much, we have two!) but disagree about the cutlery tray. Our cutlery drawer is a distance away from the dishwasher so we like being able to carry the basket over to the drawer. Plus we occasionally find things like serving platters and stemmed glasses are too tall to fit in the dishwasher as it is and a cutlery tray would reduce the height further.

I think to describe it as "life changing" is probably taking it a bit far.

It is time saving. The price you pay is the cost of buying it, the cost of running it and the space it takes up.

It depends how valuable your time is to you and whether there is something you would prefer to do with it instead of washing dishes.

We just bought a Hotpoint Hydroforce one to replace our old one which broke after 12 years faithful service. It was about £400 from a large online appliances retailer and loving it - massive inside and has 3 racks where our old one only had 2. Also opens itself after the cycle to let the dishes dry - genuinely (and sadly) thrilled by that! 😂

We didn’t have one in our first house (and neither parents had one), so when we moved and they offered to leave the dishwasher, I was over the moon! I wouldn’t want to be without one again unless it was unavoidable.
Maybe sell it your DH that quickly loading a dishwasher means spending more time together?!

Another advocate for one. Dirty dishes go straight in so kitchen is tidy. I would recommend extra teaspoons, I have enough now, in fact probably too many😂

As a newbie you may not know this to start off with but empty the bottom tray first, sometimes there is water in the top and then it goes over your nice clean dishes. Yes there are some things we still wash by hand, red mugs - colour fades, special glasses and DH won't put the pans in and hand washes those (I put them in when he goes away)

For a household of three it still goes off every other day

Life changing but he’ll have to find a different time out chore

I have had a dishwasher for 20 years and wouldn't be without one now. I only have a small 12 piece setting as my kitchen is tiny and there is just me and DD.

DD mostly does the loading and unloading as one of her chores, but I do it as well, and it takes minutes to load or unload and I don't have to stand at the sink with my bad back, washing dishes.

Make sure that you put a regular cleaner through it to avoid it getting blocked by grease. You can get ones that go in with a wash, or ones that you put in an empty dishwasher.

I never prewash anything, and mostly use the 45 minute cycle and everything comes out spotless.

I love ours. If it broke I'd get it replaced immediately. It saves so much time and like PP have said the kitchen looks cleaner because the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher instead of on the side.

Yeah spend extra. The extra £150 felt too extravagant at a time when we had lots of outlays moving in... But I regret it every day!

im in my 50’s and we lived in a tiny flat all 4 of us for 15 years with no room for one. I always dreamed of getting one, so when we moved last year, we got one for the new kitchen. At first I was in love with it! I used it all the time. But we didn’t really fill it until the evening by which time I’d already had to remove certain items to wash as we didn’t have enough dishes or cutlery etc.
I do use it but maybe once a week - usually weekends when we eat together a lot etc. But generally I still wash up in the sink and I’ve not really got used to or I suppose adapted to having one.
It’s my personal take, maybe you generate more dishes than us, maybe you have more stuff available to be able to fill it up without needing to wash certain things. I mean, if you hate doing dishes then yes, get one. But emptying it is a pain, and the kids still dump their dirty dishes on the side next to the sink in the sink because they’re not used to having a dishwasher.
I know people who can’t live without one. Personally my washing machine is my one essential, I could be fine without the dishwasher.

A dishwasher is my most favourite appliance. I’ve had one for years and years. Definitely a game changer.

Oh definitely get one if you’ve got the space. As for brands/models, I always thought a dishwasher is a dishwasher is a dishwasher. So when we did the kitchen we replaced the existing Miele one (previous owners choice) which was very old with a new fitted Ikea one. Well, turns out that all dishwashers are not equal. The new one is shit. Doesn’t always clean properly and half the stuff is wet and drippy when it’s finished. Next time I won’t be a cheapskate.

We do still have to wash all our glasses by hand, except for the cheapy ones from the supermarket. But that's okay.

If I had a DH who was happy to take responsibility for washing up by hand, then I wouldn't be overly bothered either way. If I didn't, I'd have a Miele.

It gets things much cleaner than hand washing ... I don't know how people can wash glasses properly without a dishwasher.

It is life changing for me, because it means the “washing up” chore can be done in a few minutes here and there instead of needing a 15 mins block of time with wet hands!

I load and unload the dishwasher while doing other jobs. In the morning I am making coffee, tying ties, clearing the breakfast table, packing bags etc and also unloading the dishwasher. In the evening I load the dishwasher while I cook/set the table/help with homework/wipe faces/change batteries in toys etc etc.

During both loading and unloading I am available to do other things without drying hands and the washing up water going cold!

Converted DH to dishwashers about 15 years ago. The first time you put drinking glasses through one you’ll never go back.

I don’t remember a time without one. I’m 34 and through high school maybe even earlier we had one growing up and as soon as I got my own place we’ve had one. Non negotiable for me

Yes, I think this is key. It’s not even just that you don’t need to handwash your dishes, it’s that they aren’t piled up visibly by the sink waiting to be washed.

A dishwasher was our "congrats on the new baby" present from my grandmother (ie the new Great grandmother). Definitely recommended.

In contrast to the PP, avoid cutlery trays at all costs. It means you can't get glasses and plates in at the sane time - or at least not our plates and glasses. Drove me to distraction when we ended up in a rental with that configuration for a while.

Same. My dishwasher just makes dirty dishes disappear, the kitchen is always tidy. If it broke tomorrow I’d order a new one immediately.