To think a dishwasher will change our lives?

[Question285]

Never had a dishwasher before and never thought I needed one. But now, with two small DC, I think it would make a world of difference. DH, who does most of the washing up, disagrees.

So, does anyone have any input? Does having a dishwasher make life better? Is it worth the investment? Will it be so life changing that even my reluctant DH will be persuaded? 😄

Also, any brand suggestions? Is it better to spend more for a top brand? I’ve narrowed it down to two models, a Hisense and an AEG. It’s about £250 difference between them.

life changing purchase. and whilst your DH will no longer be washing up, he can do something else with the children 😉 all i would say is get one where you can alter the top shelf. good luck

In my opinion, from having no dishwasher for many years, to then having several different dishwashers in different rented houses, to then buying one in our own house, that 1) A Dishwasher of any type is a game changer and 2)the Miele in particular is well worth the extra price. I guess that maybe because we had older models before- but our Miele gets everything properly, sparklingly clean, AND dry, every time. I love it!

I realise I'm an outlier on this thread, but we have no dishwasher and no intention to get one. The main reasons are that none of our crockery and cutlery is dishwasher safe - we collected it over years from various second hand shops and hand-me-downs in the family. We like it. Then if we wanted to install one we would have to reorganise the whole kitchen at great expense, because there really is nowhere it would fit at the moment. We seem to get by and since the children were nine or ten they understand they have to pitch in. It's good for them. But I do recognise that we would save a lot of time if we had one and there are other chores we could find for the kids to help with.

Mine isn't good enough to actually help. It sanitizes but doesn't clean, so I have to do them all by hand and then put in the dishwasher just to sanitize. My wife is incapable of rinsing either her or our toddlers dishes so I get to even do that when I get home at 9 at night. If he does all the dishes, he gets to decide if it will help him, your opinion doesn't really matter at that point if you aren't doing them, nor does ours. It comes to wether he wants it.

You are allowed to buy a new dishwasher instead of being a martyr

Everyone I know who said they didn’t need a dishwasher and they were happy to wash by hand, completely changed their tune when they finally got a dishwasher.

Conversely the few times our dishwasher has been broken has been a few days of feeling like you are constantly washing up and there are constantly dirty dishes on the side. Washing up takes bloody ages, and the dishwasher also effectively creates a cupboard for most of your dirty dishes.

I wouldn’t be without one.

Your dishwasher is either shit or broken. There’s no point to a dishwasher that doesn’t actually wash anything. You don’t need to rinse (and certainly not wash) the plates in a dishwasher that works. Just get a new one. And in the meantime, just hand wash, your plates don’t need to be “sanitised”, you are just creating work for yourself.

If I didn’t have space for a dishwasher? I would get rid of my oven to make room. Mine is brilliant, washes everything, saves me or DH from a very boring job. I will never live without one.

Life completely changed! I would never not have one again, I can fill it as I go along when I'm cooking. DH always did the washing up, but not in a timely fashion and he'd never put it away so there was always dishes draining on the rack the next time you needed to wash up.

It’s not unreasonable to want a dishwasher. When we moved into our current home the kitchen already had one and with three young children it was certainly one of the positives that made us buy it ( although there were lots of others). I was tired of piles of dirty dishes and pans piled up on the draining board.

You're not supposed to rinse dishes beforehand - the detergent needs something to cling to in order to clean effectively. Scrape off big bits leaving the rest. This could actually be why your dishwasher isn't working well.

Not when you have no money. Then you do what you have to.

Oh yes absolutely dishwashers are amazing. I have never not had a dishwasher. I grew up with one and I am 55 years old! When mine breaks down as they occasionally do I am beside myself. Plus they are so hygienic everything is cleaned properly at a high temperature. It's a life saver go for it.

The dishwasher tablets are full of unpleasant chemicals and most dishwashers harbour mould in the pipes.

That said I do use ours for big gatherings.

Yes the chemicals do worry me to be honest. I keep meaning to look up how to make my own.

The thing I like most is that nothing at all is out waiting to be washed, so even a teaspoon goes straight from hand to dishwasher and it's much tidier!

@ImaniMumsneti had a Hisense and didn’t like it. Also had to buy replacement roller bits for the top shelf/runner as they went all crusty and wouldn’t roll, then weren’t in stock for months. I think our new one might be a hot point or Bosch or Aeg but I can’t remember. Unlike a previous poster I hate cutlery drawers, I’m team basket. I recommend you go help load and unload some friends dishwashers 🤣 and see which type you prefer.

my in laws have space for a dishwasher but don’t want one. They seem to believe that you have to wash dishes before you put them in the dw, so don’t see the point.

we previously had a tiny flat and squeezed in a slimline one - that was good, but there was only the two of us then.

I did the washing up for 15 years and never thought I needed one - got on when we moved to a new flat 3 months ago and am a total convert. Absolutely love it. Not sure about brands - don't think one needs to go to the top of the range to get lots of satisfaction

Would you actually or are you being tongue in cheek?

Couldn't do without one. If you get one, your husband will instantly be persuaded. Mine was, and he did a lot of the washing up. When the last one packed in, we were falling over ourselves to replace it. You'll also save money.

Wouldn’t be without one, especially in a smaller kitchen. When we knock through in the future I plan to have two! So much easier when bulk cooking and keeps the sink clear

I'm really confused by all the posters saying it makes their kitchen look tidier because there isn't a sink and side full of dishes waiting to be washed. Do people not wash things as they use them or straight after eating?

In the 70s Shirley Conran wrote that if you had a dishwasher you would always have a tidy kitchen. That alone makes it worth getting one.

I have a Siemens and my daughter a Neff, which we are pleased with. They and Bosch are made by the same company but with a different badge.

get one, its more environmentally friendly than washing by hand, plates are cleaner, buy the cheapest tablets that you can find that do the job but always put salt and rinse aid in. you do loose a cupboard space and need more plates etc but for us its great. We had may be 5 dishwashers in 37 years, get a full size one and if you can the ones with a tray separate for cutlery, you get more in that way. tThe other top tip is when turned on put your sink clothes and sponges in the dishwasher to be cleaned to.

Buy a Bosch one, super reliable, use less water etc and save time.