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.

Probably not a life changer, but certainly makes life a bit easier, and may reduce your energy cost slightly.

I've had a couple of Bosch ones, that have been good, but currently have a Miele one which is much better. (Cleans better, quieter, better build, holds more.) Miele also make some with auto dosing which saves the minor hassle of adding detergent each time. (I've not used one or done a cost comparison, but I have a auto dosing Miele washing and it's very convenient )

I acknowledge they are more expensive, but in my experience are cheaper in the log run.

I prefer the cutlery rack over a basket, as it takes less space, cleans better, safer with sharp knives and easier to unload. I don't have a problem with glasses as the hight is adjustable on the cup glasses tray. (I think many people never realise it's adjustable).

I use Sainsbury's dishwasher powered, as it's much cheaper than capsules and tablets and works fine on mine.

You may want to consider one that has a delayed start, as some electricity providers have a lower rate over night, or yours may in the future.

You may find that you'll need more cutlery, cups, plates etc, in order to fill the machine efficiently.

You don't need to rinse plates before loading (this is a wasteful misconception), you may need to clean the filter occasionally and be aware how to clean the pump impeller (RTFM) as people often think their machine is broken but it's just a cherry stone etc stuck in the pump.

Fair enough.

Really? Outside of MN there are many people who don't have fully equipped kitchens.

I think pp was really just making us aware of how much she loves her dishwasher! 🙂

I don't pre-rinse things; well, maybe the very occasional very dirty thing, but I'm talking once in a blue moon. I think dishwashers have improved a lot over the years – I did used to have to pre-rinse things if I wanted them to wash properly.
I wouldn't say I fill mine precisely, either; remember that meme about how there's always one person in a relationship who stacks the dishwasher like a Scandinavian architect and one person who stacks the dishwasher like a raccoon on meth
And we put it on overnight, when we're out during the day, so we're never waiting around for it.
It also means we don't have to dry things, which is liberating, particularly as I hate tea towels; I think they're just germ factories.

EDITED for typos

We got our first dishwasher when we redid the kitchen having been without one for 25 years at that point. Can’t really say it is life changing, it only gets used when we have guests, there’s only the two of us and DH is happy to wash up by hand.

Have you tried not hanging around waiting for the dishwasher to be finished? I put mine on before I go to bed and wake up to clean, dry dishes to put away. I spend about as much time thinking about what my dishwasher is doing as I do thinking about what my fridge is doing.

Honestly, I had one once and gave up using it.

I naively thought you just put dirty plates in. I didn’t realise you had to rinse them off first. Might as well add some washing up liquid and clean it properly there and then.

Rinsing, loading, waiting for it to be done, unloading. I just wash up as I go along, a few bits at a time and leave them on the rack to dry. Less hassle.

We are getting a new kitchen soon and no way would I waste cupboard space on a dishwasher.

(Now a tumble drier, I couldn’t live without!)

When we moved in 2007 to a house that had one, we called it the Zanussi Marriage Saver. Not been without one since.

You can just put dirty dishes in them. Scrape the food off, but no need to rinse.

I was always anti dishwasher (weird thing I inherited from my mum, who was also only anti dishwasher because she was poor) and once I got one… oh wow. Definitely worth it. I got my mum one for her birthday (I also got her something fun) and now she loves it.

For me I enjoy cooking more because I’m not looking at things thinking “fuck I need to wash all this”.

When I lived on my own I thought they were a waste of time. When we moved in together there was already one in the kitchen so I used it. When it broke down I really missed it and needed a new one ASAP. As Joni said "you don't know what you got 'til it's gone".

It has changed my life, but I’ve always done all the dishes! But in other ways you can also hide all the dirty dishes and the smell when you’ve cooked something garlicky/ fishy etc.

I got rid of ours. Takes so much more effort to rinse the plates, load the dishwasher, wait for it to be full enough to switch on, wait for it to do its cycle and often stuff either still needs a wash or is still wet and all needs unloaded. Hateful. Just get it washed dried and put away and job is done in 15 minutes. Our kids take it in turns to help so it’s a good time to have a one to one catch up

I read that if you rinse the dishes off first it stops the dishwasher doing its job properly! We scrap off dishes but deffo dont rinse anything.

I would get one with an auto open door feature - ours opens slightly at the end of the cycle to help the dishes dry off.

You were doing it wrong - there’s no need to rinse and you do something else while it’s washing.

I’m still not convinced!

We don’t have a great deal of cupboard space. So it would either be a range cooker, or a smaller cooker and a dishwasher, we couldn’t have both. And dh loves cooking so the range cooker is the one thing he wants (and yes, he washes it all up himself when he’s cooking!)

@LittleBitofBreadI only put on electrical appliances if I’m at home and during the day due to risk of fire hazard.
The tea towels get washed after use. I don’t understand the germ factories.
Honestly handwashing dishes doesn’t bother me, we wash as we go when we cook and there’s only 3 of us. It’s just part of wiping down the benches and part of a meal time.
As said in my post…there’s 2 kinds of people…people who have never had a dishwasher and aren’t bothered….and people who have a dishwasher and can’t live without them.
Im just one who isn’t bothered!

Is it that much of a risk? Genuine question, not being snarky.

To me tea towels never feel like they come up properly clean after a few uses.
I also prefer to shove stuff in the dishwasher rather than have it sit on the side, although of course that's only relevant if you weren't going to wash up immediately; in our house we like to eat, and then sit and chat or flop for a bit and watch TV, and spend five minutes stacking the dishwasher just before bed.

Mine has a drying cycle, so you don't need to think about opening the door. It does seem to go on for hours on end though!

I have questions for whoever is telling people that they need to wash dishes before putting them in an appliance designed to wash them.

It used to be the case, but that was a long, long time ago.

Wouldn’t be without mine. I never pre-wash, everything just goes in the dishwasher after tea,goes on when it’s full, comes out clean and dry before bedtime and is put away then, ready for the next time!

@LittleBitofBreadwe all sit in our kitchen/dining/chill area (separate from our lounge) and it’s a social thing. Washing dishes putting away, having a chat tidying…chill etc then start getting our child ready for bed.
Yeah I had an incident with my dryer not so long ago and it was quite new where it started to smoke! It was a decent make as well.
I grew up with programmes in late 90s/early 00s such as 999 where it used to show pictures house fires etc and it just stuck with me.
Also it is recommend to not have appliances such as washers/driers/dishwashers on overnight or when out of the house due to possible electrical malfunctions.

At the ripe old age of 51 I got my first dishwasher and I’ll never NOT have one from now onwards.