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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

What do you wash up?

35 replies

Ieswe · 09/01/2026 07:10

Inspired by the another thread where lots of people are asking why the op is washing up when she has a dishwasher.

I have a dishwasher but still have a load of washing up every day. I wash up:
water bottles
insulated coffee cups
lunchboxes (technically they can go in the dishwasher but there isn’t usually room and they’re barely dirty)
tall wine glasses
special glasses
some hand painted egg cups
bread board
wooden chopping boards
sharp knives
the lid and seal of the instant pot
air fryer drawers
anything silicone as it smells of dishwasher if it goes in there
wooden handled frying pans
seasoned stoneware cooking dishes
anything else that doesn’t fit in the dishwasher at the end of the day

Not all of that every day but there’s always washing up!

OP posts:
Kitchenbattle · 09/01/2026 07:15

I will put anything in the dishwasher given the opportunity tbh but if a have a few bits laying around I’ll wash them. So the answer is anything but what to I always ONLY handwashing?…nothing tbf.

Sgtmajormummy · 09/01/2026 07:34

Generally just pans.

RampantIvy · 09/01/2026 07:37

I wash loads by hand.
Pans
Sharp knives
Wine glasses
Wooden chopping boards
Large glass mixing bowls
Plastic storage boxes

Astra53 · 09/01/2026 07:39

Nothing. If it goes in the dishwasher and dies then I shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

TeamToeBeans · 09/01/2026 07:41

Similar to you @Ieswe except that the air fryer drawers are definitely going in the dishwasher. I tend to mostly wash things by hand, as there isn’t usually enough to warrant running the dishwasher, but greasy things usually go in there.

TeenToTwenties · 09/01/2026 07:41

Everything, as we don't have or want a dishwasher.

Chasingsquirrels · 09/01/2026 07:41

Air fryer drawers (but the grids go in the dishwasher).
Pans which have only been used for boiling stuff, messier ones go in the dishwasher.
Potato peeler, I'm already rinsing whatever veg it was so I rinse the peeler at the same time.
Sunday roast serving dishes which have only had veg in, as they are generally cumbersome and easily cleaned, and the dishwasher is so full.

dementedpixie · 09/01/2026 07:42

Sharp knives, baking trays (i find oil bakes on if i use the dishwasher), plastic pots used for fruit, chopping boards, plastic smoothie shaker.

Sweetiedarling7 · 09/01/2026 07:42

TeenToTwenties · 09/01/2026 07:41

Everything, as we don't have or want a dishwasher.

Me too.

bumphousebump · 09/01/2026 07:46

We don’t put baking trays in, well that’s not quite true, I do if DH isn’t around. He’s convinced the non stick will be ruined and kill us. I think there’s so many other things are going to get us….

ChaToilLeam · 09/01/2026 07:52

Everything gets done by hand. No space for a dishwasher in our tiny kitchen - I'd get one if we had room.

Ohthatsabitshit · 09/01/2026 07:53

Anything that doesn’t got in the dishwasher, which is loads really because we’re a big family.

RampantIvy · 09/01/2026 07:55

I forgot to add baking trays and roasting tins.

rightoguvnor · 09/01/2026 07:57

Many’s the time I’ve put ‘wrong sort of plastic’ water bottles into the dishwasher and they’ve come out all mutant. I look at them and wonder if I’ve taken LSD 😀
i tend to soak and hand wash my roasting tins and baking trays. They are mirror finish and I’m doing really well keeping them that way. If the dishwasher wasn’t able to clean them properly then they went through the drying process then the marks would be virtually welded on.

PhantomAfternoonTea · 09/01/2026 07:59

I wash wooden chopping boards and my special mugs from the fancy pottery, that's it.

I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want a dishwasher if there's space for one. I'm stuck washing everything by hand just now as mine broke and the new one isn't being delivered until next week. It's so tedious!

ErrolTheDragon · 09/01/2026 08:09

a few knives with wooden handles. Pans and sieve from veg cooking if they won’t fit. Wine glasses, but we don’t use those often; our tumblers go in the dishwasher.

Things like baking trays and roasting tins may want a bit of a soak first but they go in the dishwasher. The frying/saute pans are stainless steel and it’s keeping them in perfect nick. Just one non-stick omelette pan which needs handwashing but that’s easy.

squashyhat · 09/01/2026 08:13

Anything which is too big to fit in (obviously), kitchen knives, hand-made pottery bowls, delicate glasses, my travel mug and water bottle. On the other hand cat bowls, mesh cooker hood filters, silicone drainage/heat mats and washing up brushes are all fair game.

unsync · 09/01/2026 08:13

If it doesn't go in a dishwasher, I don't use it. If the dishwasher kills it, I don't replace it.

I spent my childhood washing up. I choose not to do that now I'm an adult. Same for holidays, if a property doesn't have a dishwasher, I will not be staying there.

Saisong · 09/01/2026 08:20

We only have a slimline dishwasher, so it mainly handles crockery and cutlery/utensils, some pans/dishes.
So we hand wash all the bigger stuff like baking trays and casseroles. I don't like to put non stick in the washer either. Then delicate stuff like wine glasses, wooden things, special knives etc.
And all the cat bowls get hand washed (seperate wash)

RampantIvy · 09/01/2026 08:23

Saisong · 09/01/2026 08:20

We only have a slimline dishwasher, so it mainly handles crockery and cutlery/utensils, some pans/dishes.
So we hand wash all the bigger stuff like baking trays and casseroles. I don't like to put non stick in the washer either. Then delicate stuff like wine glasses, wooden things, special knives etc.
And all the cat bowls get hand washed (seperate wash)

We only have a slimline dishwasher as well. Cupboard space is a higher priority for me. I never washed pans and roasting tins in the dishwasher anyway. I'm quite precious about my kitchen stuff.

NeedForSpeedyGonzales · 09/01/2026 08:26

All of those go on the dishwasher here. Especially the air fryer drawers and liners.

I sharpen my knives so I don't care about that. I don't have wooden chopping boards. I bought stemless wine glasses.

Dog bowls go in. Le Creuset type casserole goes in. Water bottles, coffee travel mugs, the lot.

The only things I do by hand are my cast iron grill pan, my wok and champagne flutes.

LiveLuvLaugh · 09/01/2026 08:26

The only things that are hand washed are mugs that the kids hand painted, bread machine bread pan and wooden bread board. Everything else in the dishwasher.

beezlebubnicky · 09/01/2026 08:28

Everything unless it's made of wood goes in the dishwasher.

It makes wine glasses sparkle, I could never do them by hand.

Iloveeverycat · 09/01/2026 08:30

beezlebubnicky · 09/01/2026 08:28

Everything unless it's made of wood goes in the dishwasher.

It makes wine glasses sparkle, I could never do them by hand.

This

EnchantedDays · 09/01/2026 08:42

We do put wood in ours (we have small wooden chopping boards that are dishwasher safe and it doesn't seem to harm wooden spoons either). I wouldn't put wooden handled things in though in case they came loose but we don't have any. The main things we hand wash are water bottles and plastic storage/lunch boxes, which we use a lot of for fridge storage, packed lunches etc. Also parts for the stick blender and mini chopper (the clear plastic bowls/jugs) as these get damaged by the dishwasher and tall wine glasses.

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