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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Dishwasher: Luxury or Essential?

40 replies

peggy0062 · 28/04/2011 17:48

We don't have a dishwasher so I've always washed all the dishes (family of 4).
Considering getting one.

Can you do without one? Or do you think it's unnecessary?
Is it costly to run?

Do you run yours everyday?
Are you concerned about its impact of the environment - Does it use much water/energy?

OP posts:

LadyLapsang · 01/05/2011 17:52

Somewhere between the two. I never really wanted one or had much experience of them until I visited a friend for the weekend, then I was converted. I vividly remember the first evening, after dinner there was nothing to do - fantastic! Think we are now on a third dishwasher & I would never be without one, even when I here alone I run it once a day. However, DS can't remember not having one so was shocked to go into halls without one....

LolaAnn · 04/05/2011 20:12

absolutely essential. I come from New Zealand and would hazard a guess at 90% of households+ have one, it's just normal not even seen as a luxury I guess. Then we arrived here and spent one year without one, oh my life. It was just 2 of us as well. I guess we were just not used to doing dishes and really suck at doing them as well. Never again will we live without!!

ipredicttrouble · 20/05/2011 21:18

I really want one, but DH is against the idea.

His main argument is that they ruin glasses. Is this true?
Also, he reckons you can't put pans etc in them so you'd end up running a bowl of water to wash things like that anyway!

2cats2many · 20/05/2011 21:26

I thought it was a luxury...until I got one. Now I think it's essential.

StayClassy · 20/05/2011 22:05

I love mine. I honestly love it. At Christmas and after dinner parties i have been known to hug it (in fairness some wine may have been taken). We moved our washing machine and tumble dryer into a cuoboard to fit it into our smallish kitchen

Pictish · 20/05/2011 22:06

I love mine like a member of the family. I call it Dinah and thank it every day.

Pictish · 20/05/2011 22:06

They do ruin glasses in the long run, but who cares?

Pictish · 20/05/2011 22:09

We only got our first 2 years ago - a slimline eco friendly energy saving Bosch job. I'd always fancied one....but now we have it I think of it as essential.

I used to spend anything up to 2 hours a day washing dishes, with the washing, drying, putting away.....

What a time saver - the whole house is tidier and runs more smoothly as a result of having it.

Beamur · 20/05/2011 22:11

Not essential, but the day mine broke I went to Currys on the way home from work and brought a new one back in the car! Make like so much easier, get everything nice and clean, use less water than handwashing too. Lidl sell v cheap and excellent tabs too, so not much to pay to run it.
It can ruin glasses - I wouldn't wash expensive glasses in it as they eventually get small scratches and foggy patches on them. Buy cheap ones and replace them when they get manky.
You can wash pans in them, but they usually come cleaner (if really dirty) if you soak them a bit first.

K8ster · 21/05/2011 04:26

Essential....life is too short!

DaisySteiner · 21/05/2011 07:47

Essential IMO. I hate washing up, really loathe it. I'd rather clean the toilet than stand at a sink washing a huge pile of dirty plates. I find that really dirty saucepans need soaking first to get the tough bits off (but then I'd soak them even if washing by hand) but then they come out much cleaner and shinier than if I do them myself.

BecauseImWorthIt · 21/05/2011 07:50

Essential

0131trojan1 · 21/05/2011 07:54

Get one- it's like a freezer. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it!

SparkyToo · 23/05/2011 08:04

I consider it an essential!

It's got to be healthier too as can wash dishes on a really hot setting to kill off germs etc.

BiscuitNibbler · 23/05/2011 08:22

I use mine every day and consider it essential, but the times I love it most are Christmas or when making meals for guests. I grew up without one and always remember the huge piles of dirty dishes after Christmas dinner.

As I do the prep and cooking I load the dishwasher as I go, and then put it on as I serve the food. When clearing the table I know that the kitchen is clear, I can unload the dishwasher and put the clean items away and load it immediately with the plates etc and get it going again, leaving a clean and tidy kitchen.

I usually use the rapid cycle, so the dishes are done in 30 minutes. I also love the fact that everything comes out dry and ready to put away. I'd really hate to be without one now.

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