Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I’m clearly a pig for washing dogs bowls in the dishwasher

203 replies

Coolingdown · 26/08/2023 22:07

My SIL has just expressed absolute shock and disgust at the fact I use ordinary China bowls for the pets that we also use) and put them in the dishwasher afterwards? Maybe I’m missing the point but they are WASHED thoroughly?? AIBU??

OP posts:
tinkerbellvspredator · 26/08/2023 23:21

Cat bowls go in the dishwasher, as would dog bowls if I had any. Wouldn't eat with them, but I know that is purely psychological not because I believe they are dirty.

FunnysInLaJardin · 26/08/2023 23:23

our cat has her own bowls that go in the dishwasher with our stuff

Womblegreen · 26/08/2023 23:26

You need to watch Ladbaby’s latest vlog - loo brush in the dishwasher!

HangingOver · 26/08/2023 23:27

How do people square having a separate washing up sponge for their dish when cats literally put their bare arsehole on your bedding and clothes 😂

NotAsAnonymousAsYouThinkYouAre · 26/08/2023 23:27

When I saw my SIL taking the dog bowls out of the dishwasher, then the plates she planned to dish our breakfast up on, I decided that was the last time we stayed.
I wash my pets bowls every day but I do it in the sink and they have their own sponge.

BMW6 · 26/08/2023 23:28

Surely a human child's mouth has at least as many bacteria than a dogs, so why the angst?

NotAsAnonymousAsYouThinkYouAre · 26/08/2023 23:28

@HangingOver I don’t lick my bedding or clothes though.

StrawBeretMoose · 26/08/2023 23:30

We don't have pets and I think it's gross. Some of my family members have dogs and wash the bowls separately. MIL lets the dog lick the plates and cutlery, it gives me the ick really. I don't think anything will happen per se, I just don't want to be using crockery that has been used by animals. Same with a friend with a cat, I try not to think about it when eating in her house.

moomoosaka · 26/08/2023 23:32

Delphigirl · 26/08/2023 22:55

You don’t have to buy a bottle steriliser if you have a dishwasher. A dishwasher is a massive steam steriliser.. the clue is in the clouds of steam and boiling hot plates it produces. There is no such thing as a bottle steriliser in the US and Canada where every house has had a dishwasher for 60 years. The UK was much more backwards with dishwashers being less common and bottle sterilisers are as a hangover of that.

A dishwasher is a perfectly good way of cleaning dog bowls and gets rid of almost all likely pathogens. I accept a dishwasher is not an autoclave (for the PP who said it doesn’t kill EVERYTHING) but nobody is going to use a dog bowl in surgery, are they.

Show quote history

Would you wash a babies bottles and dog bowls in the same dishwasher run?!!!

moomoosaka · 26/08/2023 23:33

BMW6 · 26/08/2023 23:28

Surely a human child's mouth has at least as many bacteria than a dogs, so why the angst?

Different germs?
Worms?

Missingmyusername · 26/08/2023 23:34

@moomoosaka Are you under 7 months old? If not, you’ll survive! 😜

moomoosaka · 26/08/2023 23:34

hennaoj · 26/08/2023 23:17

I suspect my 9 year old son is much more disgusting than my dog, especially when I look at the screen on his ipad! My 12 year old son has to be reminded to wash his hands after using the loo. Putting the dog bowls in the dishwasher will be fine.

This is how disease makes the leap from animal to mankind

LittleBearPad · 26/08/2023 23:35

NotAsAnonymousAsYouThinkYouAre · 26/08/2023 23:28

@HangingOver I don’t lick my bedding or clothes though.

I don’t lick my plates…

Deathbyfluffy · 26/08/2023 23:36

user76541055773 · 26/08/2023 22:10

Yeah, SIL is right. That’s really gross.

Can you give a scientific reason why?
I’ll save you the bother - no, no you can’t

moomoosaka · 26/08/2023 23:36

Missingmyusername · 26/08/2023 23:34

@moomoosaka Are you under 7 months old? If not, you’ll survive! 😜

Of course I'm not (stupid emoji) but some people are.

RhymesWithTangerine · 26/08/2023 23:37

NotAsAnonymousAsYouThinkYouAre · 26/08/2023 23:27

When I saw my SIL taking the dog bowls out of the dishwasher, then the plates she planned to dish our breakfast up on, I decided that was the last time we stayed.
I wash my pets bowls every day but I do it in the sink and they have their own sponge.

Tell me you know nothing about chemistry, without telling me you know nothing about chemistry.

Trailerswift · 26/08/2023 23:37

BMW6 · 26/08/2023 23:28

Surely a human child's mouth has at least as many bacteria than a dogs, so why the angst?

Exactly- no logic is there and lord knows what diseases some humans have yet we eat off their plates in a restaurant. Dishwasher is fine.

Trailerswift · 26/08/2023 23:39

NotAsAnonymousAsYouThinkYouAre · 26/08/2023 23:30

The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) found pet bowls to be the fourth most germ-filled place in the home. 67% of pet bowls still have Salmonella bacteria even after dishwasher cleaning, because dishwashers don't get hot enough to kill that and several other types of bacteria.
https://iheartdogs.com/the-surprising-and-dangerous-truth-about-your-pets-bowls/#:~:text=The%20National%20Sanitation%20Foundation%20(NSF,several%20other%20types%20of%20bacteria.

‘So what can you do to protect your pets and family from these germs? Dr. Vogelsang has teamed up with Clorox Bleach to answer all your questions about keeping your furry friends healthy and safe’ This is a paid for advertisement…

SunshineAndFizz · 26/08/2023 23:41

Cat has its own bowls and separate sponge for washing by hand everyday.

Sorry but I wouldn't want to share bowls with the animals.

LittleBearPad · 26/08/2023 23:43

Trailerswift · 26/08/2023 23:39

‘So what can you do to protect your pets and family from these germs? Dr. Vogelsang has teamed up with Clorox Bleach to answer all your questions about keeping your furry friends healthy and safe’ This is a paid for advertisement…

Show quote history

But says

Washing pet bowls by hand can leave some germs behind. To sanitize high heat is required or you can disinfect with an EPA-registered disinfectant like Clorox® Bleach. Water hot enough to sanitize would burn your hands, so when we hand wash dishes at lower temperatures than a dishwasher, this can leave behind germs like Salmonella and E. coli. (Theatlantic.com) Even then, it’s possible that even dishwashers can leave behind bacteria. (Kinninc.com)

Seems dishwashers are preferable to hand washing - or Clorox obvs

It's Settled: Dishwashers Beat the Lowly Hand, Almost Every Time

The secret is scalding water that's too hot for the human touch.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/06/its-settled-dishwashers-beat-the-lowly-hand-almost-every-time/258784/

wowthatsharsh · 26/08/2023 23:43

I put my dog's bowls in the dishwasher.

However I don't allow my dog to eat out of the same bowls as us! That seems a step too far!

SgtPercyTwentyman · 26/08/2023 23:44

If your dishwasher can't clean dog bowls to a hygenic standard get a new dishwasher. YANBU.

Daysafter · 26/08/2023 23:55

A dog bowl cleaned in the dishwasher is the least of our problems if we share a bed or sofa with them and their bums and willies.

A8888 · 27/08/2023 00:01

It's not weird whatsoever OP & unless SIL is vegan she puts much grosser stuff in her mouth.