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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU not to want a dishwasher?

450 replies

ChloeCC · 19/03/2021 21:22

My DP and I are currently planning our kitchen. We don't have dishwasher in our current kitchen and I'm not too bothered. He thinks it's an essential, and it'll become more essential as our kids grow - they're tiny atm. The new kitchen doesn't have a huge amount of cupboard space so I think we should save the space and go without. What do people with slightly older kids think? Is it something that would put you off buying a place if there wasn't a dishwasher? We might sell the house in a few years. I'm a bit torn - I don't mind washing up - sometimes it feels like a break!

OP posts:
Mariposa123 · 19/03/2021 22:32

We were put off buying a house last year because it had a brand new kitchen but with only a slimline dishwasher. No dishwasher at all and we wouldn’t have even viewed!

JustDespair · 19/03/2021 22:36

Definitely essential and I would never buy a house that didn't have space for one.

mrsdavegrohl · 19/03/2021 22:38

Wouldn't be without a dishwasher. I have 2, my kitchen isn't particularly large either. Can't stand dirty dishes hanging about waiting to be washed and don't want to be a slave to the kitchen sink either.

caoraich · 19/03/2021 22:39

I use mine for all sorts of stuff. Duplo, bath toys, soap dishes, flip flops, the shelves from the fridge. Basically anything that needs washed my first thought is "can I dishwasher it?"
It's also good for silicone stuff like trivets and oven mitts, and for plastic kitchen sponges.
I wouldn't buy a house without a dishwasher or at least space and plumbing for one

HelloDoris · 19/03/2021 22:40

Definitely have to have a dishwasher. Washing up by hand is just awful, plus people never wash up things properly. Ours barely needs cleaning, although I run a clean cycle once a quarter and top up the salt and rinse aid every couple of weeks. Takes 10mins to unload/load. Ours is filled daily and I don't buy any kitchen stuff unless it is dishwasher safe.

MrsJBaptiste · 19/03/2021 22:42

OP I was adamant we didn't need a dishwasher... we were used to washing up by hand, i wasn't that much of a job... then we got one. Total gamechanger. Now we go Eurocamping and won't book a mobile home without one 😮

Heathcliff27 · 19/03/2021 22:42

We had one when we moved in, it broke, we didnt replace it. Theres 5 of us, plenty pairs of hands to do the dishes. Apart from me, I cook so I don't do the dishes Grin

jackstini · 19/03/2021 22:43

Would definitely be put off a house with no dishwasher
Won't even go on a self catering holiday without one!
Get a dish drawer if you are really desperate for space. How big is your kitchen?

minniemoll · 19/03/2021 22:44

@TeaTimeReader

I wouldn’t buy a house without a dishwasher or space for one
This x 1000
C152 · 19/03/2021 22:45

I don't think you're being unreasonable. I've never lived in a house with a dishwasher and if I moved into a house with one, I'd just rip it out and put something more useful (to me) in.

minniemoll · 19/03/2021 22:47

Would never be without one now. I particularly like that it hides all the dirty dishes rather than then stacking up by the sink during the day.

Oh yes! I call mine the magic cupboard - not only does it hide all the dirty pots as they accumulate, at the press of a button it washes and dries them. What's not to love?

EnglishGirlApproximately · 19/03/2021 22:48

I'm obviously in the minority here. We have one and never use it. It was in the house when we moved in and haven't bothered removing it but it probably hasn't been switched on for two years. I just find it extends the washing up over a few more hours. We don't have a sink full of stuff and glasses on the side etc. We just keep tidy throughout the day.

waitingpatientlyforspring · 19/03/2021 22:49

I wouldn't be without mine now.

PickAChew · 19/03/2021 22:49

We were fine without one until a few years ago but when the one in this house broke, we missed it so much.

PickAChew · 19/03/2021 22:51

@EnglishGirlApproximately

I'm obviously in the minority here. We have one and never use it. It was in the house when we moved in and haven't bothered removing it but it probably hasn't been switched on for two years. I just find it extends the washing up over a few more hours. We don't have a sink full of stuff and glasses on the side etc. We just keep tidy throughout the day.
You know you can do other stuff while it runs, right? You don't have to stand and watch it.
campion · 19/03/2021 22:51

When we had our kitchen more or less demolished our builder worked it so that the dishwasher was still able to function through nearly all of it. I can't tell you how wonderful that was.

Of course you need a dishwasher. Washing up is a colossal waste of time when a machine can do it much better.

SchrodingersImmigrant · 19/03/2021 22:55

I feel like bombing this thread a little.

It's pwrfect if you or your pet like to lick the plates as it sanitises the dishes😂😂😂

Boom
runs away hidden by the smoke

NCjune20 · 19/03/2021 22:55

When we didnt have a dishwasher, it heavily dictated what I would cook because I cba with a lot of washing up.

DennisTMenace · 19/03/2021 22:56

I didn't want a dishwasher when we got the kitchen done. Hadn't had one my whole adult life, but he insisted we had to get one. God I love the dishwasher! It's a slimline one, so not too much going in before it goes on. Keeps everything fresh, I hate the thought of it being loaded a few days before it is full.

Aposterhasnoname · 19/03/2021 22:58

To the posters on here saying they’ve never had a dishwasher and don’t want one. I remember my mother insisting she didn’t want a washing machine as you had to sort the washing into loads according to colour, if you only had a small load it wasn’t worth it, stuff got creased if you didn’t unload immediately etc.

Trust me. You want a dishwasher.

Chloemol · 19/03/2021 23:00

I don’t have one, when I bought the house they did, the plumbing is still there, if the next lot want one they just have to remove one cupboard

Could you do something similar

toconclude · 19/03/2021 23:00

@anniegun

Its an essential appliance for most people. It is also a more environmentally responsible way of washing up. I am not sure I could face the aftermath of a full Sunday lunch without one! Also baking seems to create an amazing amount of washing up
It's not more environmentally responsible. That claim has been debunked. And yes, I do have one.
EnglishGirlApproximately · 19/03/2021 23:00

@PickAChew yes I am aware of that thanks. When the kitchen is tidy and I've got my PJs on and a cup of tea the last thing I want is to go back into the kitchen. I don't want to wake up to the job either. I'd rather get it all done and forget it.

Aposterhasnoname · 19/03/2021 23:03

It's not more environmentally responsible. That claim has been debunked. And yes, I do have one.

Do you have a link for that?

ChampionOfTheSun · 19/03/2021 23:04

I didn't realise how much I relied on our dishwasher until we self catered without one! So yes, absolutely essential for us. We are lucky as we didn't have to choose between cupboard space or dishwasher but I would choose dishwasher every time if I had to make that call.

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