AIBU to think that most people who have a dishwasher run it once a day?

[SomethingNastyInTheBallPool]

We bought a new dishwasher recently. It was heavily promoted as coming with six months' supply of Fairy dishwasher tablets. The tablets arrived yesterday and there are 120 of them. That's not six months' supply in this household, as we run the dishwasher every day. AIBU to think that wouldn't be half a year's worth in most other households?

I rang the manufacturer to query it and was told that it was six months' worth based on "data and surveys". Hmmmm. I'm not going to take this to the highest court in the land, obviously, but it does seem a bit crap. AIBU?

I don't have a dishwasher, they use too much water, and the simple issue of washing up is too long winded, as in loading it up, then emptying it and putting things away.

@FiveShelties mine are definitely dishwasher safe, I checked - le Creuset toughened non-stick. I would imagine most are.

It depends. Theres 2 of us so we have a slimline dishwasher. We run that once a day. If we had a full sized one we wouldn't. We gave to handwash our copper pans too

Usually twice a day.

You only need one person to dine out every night and run their dishwasher once every third or fourth day to totally skew the figures. Another singleton that’s only home once a month and suddenly 120 days is sufficient for six months.

That’s how averages work. Is 120 days worth Of free dishwasher tablets so awful that you’ve had to take time to bitch about your shortfall? Sorry but “get a grip” or “first world problems” really does spring to mind.

2 - 3x a day. Three kids, two adults working from home, two teen boys.

It is always full. We empty it to reload and immediately run.

I'm putting in a new kitchen. I'm torn whether to put one in or not.
Yes yes yes! Even if you mainly use it to keep it tidy unless you want to be washing things up immediately after using each mug, glass etc. It drives me nuts when people put cups in the sink or on the side!

@BestOption

I'm putting in a new kitchen.

I'm torn whether to put one in or not.

I live alone. I'm a lot bit precious about my mugs/glasses/knives/some bowls etc and I'm not sure how much new style dishwashers 'ruin' them these days?! But on the other hand I am utterly fed up of having dishes permanently on the side or washing up every 5 bloody minutes

I need to replace my pans anyway as I'll be getting ones suitable for induction cooking, so I can look for ones that are 'dishwasher safe'.

If I get one it'll be going on daily as I cannot stand playing dishwasher Tetris and it will still use less water than I use washing up by hand.

I've never had anything ruined by a dishwasher. They may slightly reduce the lifespan of non stick, but they'll still last a good few years and it's absolutely worth it not having to do it by hand. We never wash frying pans anyway, just wipe them out.

For non stick stir fry pans etc, can I recommend Scoville sold at Asda or Argos. Very hard wearing and cheap as chips, especially if you find them on a deal at Asda, which they do several times a year. I have a deep lidded cooking pot that I use once or twice a week and therefore goes in the dishwasher once or twice a week. It's a few years old and is like new. Cost about £10-20.

I don't have a dishwasher, they use too much water, and the simple issue of washing up is too long winded, as in loading it up, then emptying it and putting things away

Fun fact. Dishwashers use far less water than washing the same amount by hand.

10-12 place settings, breakfast and lunch plates/bowls, pans or casserole dishes, serving spoons, mugs. Takes about half a sink full of water. Not possible or quicker to do it by hand with that amount of water.

@1forAll74 you are wrong there. You may think you are saving water by wash by hand, but it's actually more wasteful: You use up to 27 gallons of water per load by hand versus as little as 3 gallons with an ENERGY STAR-rated dishwasher. And just scrape off the food scraps instead of rinsing each dish before you load it. Dishwashers are more hygienic. To kill most of the germs on your dirty dishes, you need water that's around 60°C or greater. which dishwasher can reach but it's nearly impossible to reach via hand-washing
Once every two days here in our house , but there is only the two of us. I don't put pans in as they take up far too much space in mince and we normally only use one or two swell so washed by hand, plus I like mash spud a lot and find that this sticks to the dishes when I put in the dishwasher. But I have thrown them in sometimes when I ma tired etc and just want the kitchen tidy, Also throw in the dog bowls and lunchboxes to good a good clean. Yes I found I need to buy more teaspoons and bowls but that about it. My MIL has one too, only her in the house and it goes on every two or three days. Growing up we were one of the few who had a dishwasher in the house, once we moved to a rented house and didn't have the room for it , my mother said never again, its the quickest way to tidy a kitchen. The constant dishes in the sink drove us all wrong and you couldn't sit down and relax after dinner till it was done . Life is too short I think, with regards to the tablets I di prefer the fairy ones and always stock up on the big packs when they are on offer

Why would you need to put a colander in the dishwasher? You don't eat out of it or cook in\with it. It's just for washing/peeling veg.

You only need one person to dine out every night and run their dishwasher once every third or fourth day to totally skew the figures

Indeed. And this thread is also yet another good example of how you can draw a completely different conclusion from your survey, depending on what audience you pose your question to.

Dishwashers are more hygienic. To kill most of the germs on your dirty dishes, you need water that's around 60°C or greater. which dishwasher can reach but it's nearly impossible to reach via hand-washing

We never have stomach upsets and most of our washing up is done by hand.

@BestOption my neighbor has put a new kitchen in and taken hers out. she says sure I never used it. She has a disabled child plus her own business I was shocked. I said to her how long do you take to wash up every eve, she says 20 mins , I said that's 2 hours approx. a week you will get back plus more to do other things, plus she never uses gloves so hands are ruined from washing up . PUT ONE IN, even if you use it every two days it will still be worth it

@CounsellorTroi you might not have had stomach upsets etc, but the fact is they are still more hygienic.

@CounsellorTroi

Why would you need to put a colander in the dishwasher? You don't eat out of it or cook in\with it. It's just for washing/peeling veg.

Because it gets dirty?

If I drain floury potatoes through it, it gets bits of potatoes stuck on it. If I drain pasta through it, it gets pasta residue on it.

Once every two or three days in a household of four people here. We put it on when it gets full, and any dishes with food residue that might start to smell are rinsed off before they're put in. Pots and pans are washed by hand.

We do have tons of plates and cups, though, and reuse some with just a rinse under the tap if they're not dirty (cup that's only had water in, or plate used for a sandwich).

Sorry but “get a grip” or “first world problems” really does spring to mind.

I will never understand why people coming up with these boring arguments waste their precious time on silly threads instead of concentrating on real problems.

@CounsellorTroi

Why would you need to put a colander in the dishwasher? You don't eat out of it or cook in\with it. It's just for washing/peeling veg.

My colander is the one thing I never ever wash by hand. It's such a pain to clean out the little bits of cooked veggie from when I've drained potatoes or whatever.

To be clear, the only things I routinely wash by hand are wine glasses and sharp knives, but if I'm having to choose between my colander or a frying pan due to space issues, I'll stick the colander in, every time.

@CounsellorTroi

Why would you need to put a colander in the dishwasher? You don't eat out of it or cook in\with it. It's just for washing/peeling veg.

or draining rice or pasta - so need a wash

The dishwasher would definitely be on every day and quite often twice a day! There are only two of us as well, although we do have one of the slim space saving dishwashers.

@CounsellorTroi

Dishwashers are more hygienic. To kill most of the germs on your dirty dishes, you need water that's around 60°C or greater. which dishwasher can reach but it's nearly impossible to reach via hand-washing

We never have stomach upsets and most of our washing up is done by hand.

That's true for most of us. But having spend a few weeks without one recently there's no doubt in my mind that they come out cleaner from the dishwasher.

I use the saucepan lid for draining pasta/potatoes, they have holes for that purpose, but I can see a colander would get dirty if you are using it for that.

At least once a day. At weekends twice a day. Last time we had visitors it was on 3 times a day!
I love our dishwasher!

Twice a day here.

I find if I use the lid to drain things they are still sitting in loads of water. Also it's very heavy on your wrists whereas you can balance the colander or sieve in an empty pan.