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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think dishwasher fans are part of a cult

311 replies

Peachpicklepie · 24/11/2023 15:37

I look at people who like dishwashers the same way as I might someone who lives isolated from society, wearing a tin foil hat, while hanging on the every word of madman - with a mix of confusion and pity. Why do people like them? You still have to scrape the waste food off, rinse the plate, then put it in the rack. With hand washing this is where it ends. With a dishwasher you then have to put up with the horrible wafts of smell that come out every time you add a utensil until you finally have a full load/have run out of everything when you can turn it on. Then you have to unload the bastard. Don't get me started on the slops of cold or hot water you get from upside down mugs. So what is the appeal?!

OP posts:
Takethehintandfuckoff · 24/11/2023 16:35

What kind of minger are you if your washing up only consists of scraping and rinsing? Not sure you’re in a position to slate the dishwasher users when you’re washing up wrong.

I use a dishwasher and hand wash what can’t go in, and all of it’s cleaner and more hygienic than your gopping washing up.

FluffyDiplodocus · 24/11/2023 16:36

I bloody LOVE our dishwasher. When the old one that came with the house broke I hated it all piling up on the side. There’s no need to rinse and it goes on at least once a day here (family of 4) so no stale smell or anything.

My Mum made similar comments about not wanting a dishwasher and didn’t see the point in them as I gather early ones did need plates rinsing and it felt a bit pointless, but after she saw us using ours she’s fully come over to the dark side and now she owns one! Everything just gets chucked in, pans, plates, baking trays (I have the Pyrex ones so they don’t go rusty), air fryer trays etc. I only ever need to pre-soak pans if they’ve had something like scrambled egg or porridge in.

WeFancyLike · 24/11/2023 16:37

When we extend the kitchen I’m having two.

We have two. I think I must be one of the cult leaders. 😅

caringcarer · 24/11/2023 16:37

ShirleyPhallus · 24/11/2023 15:39

You’re not using a dishwasher properly babes

You dont scrape or rinse the plates. You put them in, turn it on, forget about it.

best of all, no one is forcing you to use one. So if you want to put your hands in soapy food water multiple times a day you can do!

This. I never burn things so I don't have to scrape bits off cooking pans. I don't rinse plates. Everyone eats their meal and puts their plate in the dishwasher. DH empties and puts away the dishes when he gets up and makes my tea in bed.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 24/11/2023 16:37

Best thing about ours, is that dh loads it and unloads it in the morning. Not that I’m smug about it or anything. 😉

ginasevern · 24/11/2023 16:38

I resisted having a dishwasher until 2005. I thought it was all hype and another "keeping up with the Joneses" bit of technology but I really wouldn't be without one now. Mind you, I was the same about microwaves in the early 80's. Everyone joined that cult but I laughed in their faces feeling quite superior until I bought one in 1986!

CharlotteRumpling · 24/11/2023 16:38

Oxfrog · 24/11/2023 16:17

Strange no one has mentioned the key function of a dishwasher.. The gentle humming and swishing is the most soporific sound known to humanity. Listening to the dishwasher as I fall asleep gives me a sense of complete peace and rightness of the universe.

This!

Colette88 · 24/11/2023 16:38

Peachpicklepie · 24/11/2023 15:37

I look at people who like dishwashers the same way as I might someone who lives isolated from society, wearing a tin foil hat, while hanging on the every word of madman - with a mix of confusion and pity. Why do people like them? You still have to scrape the waste food off, rinse the plate, then put it in the rack. With hand washing this is where it ends. With a dishwasher you then have to put up with the horrible wafts of smell that come out every time you add a utensil until you finally have a full load/have run out of everything when you can turn it on. Then you have to unload the bastard. Don't get me started on the slops of cold or hot water you get from upside down mugs. So what is the appeal?!

@Peachpicklepie If you are scraping food off and rinsing before putting a load on, you are doing it wrong.

Titusgroan · 24/11/2023 16:41

Gosh
I pressed YANBU and realised I am definitely in the minority here, along with you OP

I don’t get it either though
Although I moved into a house once with two dishwashers and my dh revelled in the fact he didn’t have to unload and put away. He just used the dishwasher as a crockery store. Use what’s in one while loading the other, wash and repeat.

Ive never understood the fascination.
We’ve moved again and don’t have one and when we put a kitchen in ( moving it’s location ) we won’t be putting one in. Although if we plan to move again I will. Just because most people seem to want one these days.

JanefromLondon1 · 24/11/2023 16:41

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn due to privacy concerns.

ThelmaBorden · 24/11/2023 16:41

lead crystal, bone handled knives, good kitchen knives, granny’s porcelain, silver,
best French stainless steel pans, cast iron pans do not go in the dishwasher, or anything fragile, gold edged or which might rust, as le Crueset lids
needless to say, the above are little used, high days and holidays only, because

first of the month or thereabouts we remove the blades and run hot tap water through them, scour the filter, run a hot wash with dw cleaner or half a bottle of white vinegar, 29p Tesco or Asda, squirt of same in a washload, never had an unpleasant smell yet.
Should we be away for a few days I prop the door open, same with the washer,
the soap dispenser of which will be in the dw for its monthly rub down, basic housekeeping, maintenance, keeping the machines primed.

btw, we buy dw gel from Sainsbury when they have it, as now not so easy to come by, its excellent for glasses, (we have a glasses wash on our dw) or less robust china, non scratchy, can recommend

cheap tablets just do not cut it - I bought them once and had to use 2/3, a false economy, Fairy are the best imo, on offer

OP , when I moved and bought this dw, my own daughter who was brought up with a dw - in fact it was her chore to empty it, challenged me declaring “why do you need a dishwasher when there is only you!”
I didn’t feel any need to justify this decision

its on daily, once at least
love it
out of my cold arthritic fingers,
here take my jewels,
leave me my Bosch

RubyGemStone · 24/11/2023 16:42

Sort of agree as a fully signed up cult member. My red line is I will not live or stay (where I'm expected to cook) anywhere without a dishwasher.

Loathe washing up so much.

Takes no time at all either. Children all trained from young to put crockery in dishwasher after use or a meal. Ours has broken down once in 12 years and I empty most mornings in the 3 minutes it takes for my espresso machine to heat up and get going. For very baked on things, I will soak overnight in the sink then put through on a quick cycle in the morning.

Xmasbaby11 · 24/11/2023 16:42

I love the dishwasher. It goes on at least once a day, twice a day at weekends, and when we have people staying, it can be 3-4 times a day. It saves so much time and effort. We're a family of 4 - everyone either has lunch at home or a packed lunch, breakfast at home, dinner at home every evening pretty much. It generates a lot of washing up.

Ponderingwindow · 24/11/2023 16:43

I have never encountered a dishwasher with a bad smell. If it has one, something is wrong.

dishwashers use less water. It’s also easier on my back. Both excellent reasons to use an appliance.

Titusgroan · 24/11/2023 16:43

CharlotteRumpling · 24/11/2023 16:38

This!

It’s also quite good at sending a baby off to sleep.
Put them next to a dishwasher….job done

YourNameGoesHere · 24/11/2023 16:45

Titusgroan · 24/11/2023 16:41

Gosh
I pressed YANBU and realised I am definitely in the minority here, along with you OP

I don’t get it either though
Although I moved into a house once with two dishwashers and my dh revelled in the fact he didn’t have to unload and put away. He just used the dishwasher as a crockery store. Use what’s in one while loading the other, wash and repeat.

Ive never understood the fascination.
We’ve moved again and don’t have one and when we put a kitchen in ( moving it’s location ) we won’t be putting one in. Although if we plan to move again I will. Just because most people seem to want one these days.

What is there to get though? It cleans the dishes so you don't have to do it by hand in the same way a washing machine cleans your clothes so you don't have to do it by hand?

If your DH liked having a dishwasher and you're not bothered either way I don't see why you wouldn't just have one?

greengreengrass25 · 24/11/2023 16:45

Love my dishwasher

Wouldn't be without it

Iloveanicegarden · 24/11/2023 16:46

I'm a recent convert to dishwashers and I love it. There were always random cups, dishes, cutlery laying around waiting for the wash, so putting it all in the (integrated) dishwasher means it is truly out of the way. As a previous poster said - cooking and baking is much less of a faff now - just shove all the bowls and spoons in there. Brilliant. Ours has a speed wash of just over an hour which is quite adequate.

Calendargirly · 24/11/2023 16:46

Peachpicklepie · 24/11/2023 16:04

Yes!!! My experience is that you can smell the musty aroma of a dishwasher washed glass! And it's cloudy! But maybe there is hope yet!

I also didn't mention pans because I didn't think they could be cleaned in a dishwasher - will it deal with casserole pots etc.?!

Gone are the days of the cloudy, whiffy glasses.

I put literally everything except wine glasses in the dishwasher - my le creuset casserole dish, the Yorkshire pudding tin, my pots and pans, carving knives. No rinsing, no drying. I don't put wine glasses in because I've broken the stem a few times- I suspect I'm ballsing it up, but don't know how!

I can't remember the last time I hand washed anything. And I've not bought washing up liquid since 2022!

Peachpicklepie · 24/11/2023 16:48

Staggersaurus · 24/11/2023 16:15

Glad you are joining the cult OP. I put pretty much everything in mine, except something that is really welded. Then I soak it in the sink and then put it in afterwards.

I’ve owned 2 dishwashers in the last 20 odd years. Never broken down (touch wood!!!)I only got rid of the first as wanted an integrated one.

Should I ask your opinion on tumble dryers? In my opinion even more game changing than dishwashers.

I felt guilty having the tumble dryer on during the heatwave, but I couldn't betray my loyal friend by using a washing line (we also don't have one). My view is that if clothes can't be tumbled they don't have a place in our house.

OP posts:
IMustDoMoreExercise · 24/11/2023 16:49

littleblackcat27 · 24/11/2023 15:44

I’m with you OP 😅

Never have wanted a dishwasher.

Friends have them and they do seem to breakdown with some regularity- and what’s the point? I can wash up a lot quicker than the dishwasher 😁

That is exaclty what I used to say until I got one. My husband had to persuade me to put one in when we re-did the kitchen (and he doesn't even do the washing up as he is disabled). Now I wouldn't be without one.

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 24/11/2023 16:49

I’ve never scraped or rinsed & my glasses aren’t cloudy. Maybe if you buy very cheap glasses <bit of mumsnet shade for you> but you can get dw safe crystal now.

greengreengrass25 · 24/11/2023 16:49

I still hand wash things as well

lesdeluges · 24/11/2023 16:49

I live on my own. I have a slimline built in d/w that takes 8 place settings. I have only used it when people are over and many mugs, glasses, plates and cutlery are used.
I have a huge tank full of hot water when the heating is on (it stays hot for hours and hours), so I use that for showering and washing up, otherwise it's wasted. I don't have to pay water rates (not in UK). A neat dishwashing rack to air dry is brilliant, and the cupboards for mugs and glasses are an arms length away from the drying rack, and the drawer for plates etc. is the same but below the countertop.
Different for a family with lots of stuff to wash. Each to their own.

ConsistentlyElectrifiedElves · 24/11/2023 16:49

I love having a dishwasher. I chuck everything in it bar the chopping boards. It's great for at least getting the worst of ingrained casserole dishes etc. If there is anything left it normally doesn't take much to finish it off by hand.

I do scrape leftovers in the bin though, though I wish DH would stop putting plates in with bits of peas left over. Next time I'm getting him to empty the waste trap at the bottom to deal with the manky squished peas.

He saw me emptying it one day and asked what it was. I told him I was cleaning the dishwasher and he said "oh - do they have to be cleaned then?" 12 years we've had a dishwasher and he's an engineer!