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Original poster

If you're a family of four and have a dishwasher...

227 replies

Comedycook · 01/04/2023 22:12

How many times a day is it put on? Let's say a weekend day when you're all at home.

Because mine has been on 5 times today...and it's like this most days. Is this normal or am I going wrong somewhere?!

OP posts:
Autienotnautie · 02/04/2023 08:44

4 adults and 1 child and it goes on once or twice a day. (If once there will be a sink of pans to wash too. )

wedonttalkaboutyouno · 02/04/2023 08:45

Family of 5, and we run it once a day. Very very occasionally twice a day. And literally everything goes in, I don’t hand wash anything. Agree with others that the plate covers would be first to go! If people can’t be arsed to get up in time, they get cold food.

Caspianberg · 02/04/2023 08:46

I also hand wash pans as I don’t have 100 different pans. I have small, medium and large. Plus frying pans. So if I make porridge for breakfast in small one, I wouldn’t put it in dishwasher as I might want to put soup in it for lunch, and veg at dinner time. So pans In dishwasher don’t make sense unless you have loads of pans or don’t ever use same pan multiple times in one day.

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somethingischasingme · 02/04/2023 08:49

3 times a day during the week and 4 at weekends- but my kids like to cook! And dh works from home and uses every mug/ glass.

Andi25693 · 02/04/2023 08:55

If cooking is a big activity at the weekend, then I can see that you might even need to set it off two or three times.... but five seems excessive!

Ours usually goes off once a day but if we have a cooked meal for lunch as well as dinner then maybe twice. Very rarely more than that. For one thing, I never set it off until it's full; are you thinking "I might need that pan later so I'll run it now even though it's not full"?

wordonthestreetisthat · 02/04/2023 09:44

We are going to get a new kitchen and I'm having two dishwashers. I get fed up having lots of washing up on the side waiting to be done whilst the machine is full/running.

wordonthestreetisthat · 02/04/2023 09:46

And a dishwasher with a cutlery shelf rather than a basket is SO much better as you can get a lot more in!

elevenplusdilemma · 02/04/2023 09:52

Once a day

manontroppo · 02/04/2023 10:11

wordonthestreetisthat · 02/04/2023 09:46

And a dishwasher with a cutlery shelf rather than a basket is SO much better as you can get a lot more in!

Complete opposite for me - the cutlery drawer is an inefficient waste of space. It limits the height of stuff in the middle rack (can’t fit some of our pint glasses in) and the cutlery drawer only takes big standard knives and forks - it’s too shallow for utensils and the dividers mean you can’t put stuff in that doesn’t slot into the dividers.

derbylass81 · 02/04/2023 11:09

That's really excessive.

DinosApple · 02/04/2023 11:12

Once a day.
If we do baking or use large pots I just wash them up by hand as it's quicker and doesn't fill up the dishwasher so much.

CindersAgain · 02/04/2023 11:14

I think you need to load it and take a photo so we can critique your method. 😊

Original poster
Comedycook · 02/04/2023 11:19

CindersAgain · 02/04/2023 11:14

I think you need to load it and take a photo so we can critique your method. 😊

So it's been on once today so far. I realised that my huge baking sheet takes up 3/4 of the top shelf as i have to lie it down. It can't be stacked vertically.

OP posts:
CindersAgain · 02/04/2023 11:28

Comedycook · 02/04/2023 11:19

So it's been on once today so far. I realised that my huge baking sheet takes up 3/4 of the top shelf as i have to lie it down. It can't be stacked vertically.

Show quote history

Can you not slip it vertically right at the side of the bottom, or failing that at 45 degrees on the bottom with some plates partly under it?

Xarrie · 02/04/2023 11:29

What a waste of money! 5 times is insane.

coffeecupsandwaxmelts · 02/04/2023 11:30

Comedycook · 02/04/2023 11:19

So it's been on once today so far. I realised that my huge baking sheet takes up 3/4 of the top shelf as i have to lie it down. It can't be stacked vertically.

Show quote history

Was it completely full when you turned it on?

Tellmethespoiler · 02/04/2023 11:32

We have a slimline and there’s four adults here. It goes on once a day, very occasionally twice. We have a rule about cups and mugs -you get one outand use it all day. No getting another one out of the cupboard.

Fudgewomble · 02/04/2023 11:32

Twice a day max for family of 4 (dc 14 and 10). No snacks between meals other than fruit really so maybe that cuts down on dishes. Plus we each reuse the same glass or mug all day (just rinse under boiling water tap if switching from coffee to tea)

Fudgewomble · 02/04/2023 11:34

And a baking sheet I would use baking paper and not wash it (or certainly not use up precious dishwasher space on it!)

Theimpossiblegirl · 02/04/2023 11:36

Rinse and reuse tea cups for a start.
This must cost a fortune!

TheWildRumpyPumpus · 02/04/2023 11:37

Why would you not just wash a baking sheet by hand? I can’t imagine how much money you must spend running the dishwasher multiple times a day with barely anything in it.

Caterina99 · 02/04/2023 11:56

Family of 4. Once a day on a weekend usually. Every other day normally during the week as we aren’t home for lunch and breakfast is literally just toast or something that takes a single plate or bowl. I put it on eco on an evening as it takes about 3 hours.

Occasionally it might go on twice a day using a quick wash if I’d baked or we’d hosted a big gathering. I do usually wash things like pans and baking trays in the sink, although I’ll put them in dishwasher if there’s space.

IncyWincyGrownUp · 02/04/2023 11:56

I run it when it’s full, sometimes once a day, sometimes none, and sometimes a few loads if it’s been a shitty few days and I’ve not had the ability to do it. Always the eco setting, unless it’s pans.

Zola1 · 02/04/2023 11:57

We are a family of 6...once a day 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sgtmajormummy · 02/04/2023 12:19

Our 12 place-setting dishwasher does 4 meals, so just over a day. There’s a clear stacking system.
Lunch glasses stay out for afternoon drinks of water.
Rarely drink tea or coffee outside meals.
Utensils and kitchen knives are slotted around the top rack.
Pans are washed by hand, mixing bowls too depending on the space.

My problem is cutlery. I have twelve of everything plus steak knives, cake forks, sundae spoons and it all seems to get used…

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