Talk to me about a dishwasher, pros and cons?

[Lilacbluewaters]

Really debating a dishwasher after just making cottage pie and the pure amount of dishes it has resulted in. Are they worth it? Can you put everything in a dishwasher? I hear you have to rinse them beforehand, is this literally just run under a tap or? Feeling overwhelmed!!
we are a family of 5 and have lots of dishes to wash daily it is exhausting me having to cook for an hour and then cleaning the dishes and the rest of the kitchen for another hour!! How do people have time for this on a school night 🤯

Cheaper than a divorce lawyer.

What a faff. You’re not a good advert for having a dishwasher with all that prep.

Our stuff goes straight in and comes out gleaming.

white vinegar 35p Tesco or Sainsbury, liberally splashed, works a treat

Yes, I have a dishwasher, but what on earth are you doing to need so many pans?

Maybe splurge on a single cast iron casserole dish (if budget is tight, try eBay)

You need 1 cast iron/hob-friendly casserole dish and perhaps another pan for mash?

If you have a freezer, bulk cook soffritto and freeze it in chunks or cubes (or buy it frozen from Waitrose or somewhere).

DH and I didn't have one until about 5 years ago. Our kitchen was small so we didn't want to lose cupboard space. I'd previously had one but whenever I suggested it as a possibility DH (who had never had one) was adamant that it would just be a waste of space and money and he was happy to do the majority of the washing up. When we moved in to our current house it had a built in dishwasher and we were amazed at the difference it made to the time spent cleaning up after a family meal and the ease of dealing with the odd cup/plate without having to be constantly washing up. It's not just the time though, it's the fact that when making a meal you can just put dirty pots in as you go then after a big meal everyone just puts their own dishes in the dishwasher.

Having previously been convinced that a dishwasher was a rather frivolous and unnecessary gadget DH is also a convert and when the one we 'inherited' died the other year there was a new one in it's place as soon as we could get it delivered.

2 dishwashers here. I wouldn’t be without either of them. The only thing that doesn’t go in it is DH’s beloved cast iron skillet. Even the wine glasses, which I buy from IKEA because life is too short to hand wash or stress about breaking expensive ones.

Cons?!

My DH who did all the cooking said no to a dishwasher when we had the kitchen redone.

A couple of years later when we had some spare cash I added a few units and a dishwasher. I told him it was happening whether he agreed or not. He protested 'I do all the washing go, it's not needed. It's a waste of money etc".

I went ahead anyway. Dishwasher installed. 2 weeks later DH: "I'm going to say this once. You were right. It's changed my life". 😂😂😂😂😂

Get the dishwasher 😆😬

Had a good laugh at all your responses, thank you! I am sold on a dishwasher now.
is it a get what you pay for situation or can you go for the cheaper ones? I would want it intergrated in the cupboard next to the sink, does the door have to be taken off? How does it work?

Another vote here for a dishwasher. Had one for the past 30 years now, not the same one mind. I’d never give mine up 🤗

I've just about been able to afford a new dishwasher after my last one broke 2 years ago. Got it last week. God the difference! The kitchen just looks immaculate as no dirty plates on side or washed up stuff drying. There's only me and 1 child so it's on once a day or even every other day and I'm so happy!

Couldn't be without my dishwasher. Do your research and look at reviews. The only thing I would say, after years of integrated ones coming loose from their cabinet doors, we opted for a freestanding one in black to match our kitchen. We have brought it to our rental house and have fitted it in the laundry room as the kitchen is too small - I'd rather go back and forth than be without!

We are building a house and I might get 2 in my new kitchen, after reading on Mumsnet it is recommended. I put everything in. Top tips are - an extra cutlery tray at the very top - which slides/lifts on and off is a bonus; keep it topped up with rinse aid (rinse aid ensures dishes come out dry) and most have an adjustable top shelf, so if you find your dinner plates are too big and knock off the cleaning arm, or you want to fit tall stemmed glasses in, you can.

No cons.
no scrapping- watch WITCH Guide to dishwashing, you’ll save water and arguably better for environment.

I put almost all things in it. But things you can’t are non stick pans, wooden things, crystal glasses, gold plate or decor on china (like your grannies tea set🤣). And I don’t put my sharp kitchen knives in. In practice I don’t use posh glasses more than once a year, and I’ve switched to almost exclusively stainless steel due to induction hob. So, pretty much everything but sharp knives goes in.

it alwso helps with tidy kitchen s long as you train everyone to put dirty items straight in and how to load correctly. Don’t become the dishwasher martyr!

dishwasher need detergent, rinse aid and salt. That’s a cost to factor. They do have their odd “miss washes” where you’ve loaded something oddly in bottom, or not noticed you’ve run out of salt and you have a layer of messy deposit on things- yep it’s a pain to unload and find you’ve got to redo, but it doesn’t happen very often.

also, it is much more hygienic than hand washing and drying. The temperature involved in drying cycle nearly autoclaves everything 🤷🏼‍♀️.

if you have room don’t delay. I was the youngest of family of 5 growing up- I still have scars from hours spent drying up at my dad’s snail paced washing up. I’m 60 and it scarred me for life 🤣🤣

only thing with family of 5 is capacity. You’d probably need 3 loads every 2 days , but as I say it’s cheaper than washing by hand. You may need to buy some more crockery etc to keep you going through that 2 day cycling. And encourage family to use same cup and glass all day rather than fresh one for each drink. Which they should do to save washing up water anyway

life is too short to not have one.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/which-research-reveals-how-little-water-dishwashers-use-compared-to-hand-washing-aUDng9Y2iK8E

Do it. I cannot think of any cons at all. I spent about 2 years without one as wasn’t room in previous rental before buying and now (2 years later from then moving so having one) I still regularly am so glad I have one.

Have to say when mine broke I hastily bought a cheapish one which I am dying to replace.

with the cheap one it’s basket flexibility- the prongs are all rigid and I can’t lie them flat when I want to put a pan or big dish in. I just have to jam them in.

consequentially the prongs have all got a bit bent and the plates etc don’t stand properly, and rest against each other so those bits don’t clean properly.

i am looking at a Bosch or a Miele now in the hope that it won’t need replacing.

One of the world's most amazing inventions - EVER

So it sounds like you'd need a plumber to come on and get the pipework ready to connect it to your waste pipe and hook up to your water supply if there hasn't been a
Dishwasher there before.
For it to be integrated you need to check you have the space to fit in the cupboard, choose an integrated one and I'd imagine have a door made especially for it. We have integrated but had it installed as part of our kitchen refit.

I wouldn’t go integrated tbh ! We had to change ours to free standing
after a year as it kept coming loose and we had all sorts of issues with it

free standing all the way

I have a tiny kitchen and there is only myself and dd here. I’ve wanted a dishwasher for years but didn’t have the cupboard space. I bought a Cookology tabletop dishwasher this summer. It is nearly full size but fits in a wasted countertop space under my boiler in a corner. It’s fabulous and I love it. If it broke tomorrow I would buy a new one immediately!

I have never loved an appliance more, get a Miele if you can. Knocks spots off the other ones I've had, put everything in there, recommend cutlery tray that slides out rather than basket, I bloody love the thing.

In terms of getting what you pay for. We had a beko first of all which was fine, did the job, no real complaints. We now have a neff after getting out kitchen re done and feel it is a lot better. Go with what you can afford and are happy to spend.

🤣🤣👍

Depends what you class as a reasonable sized home. Housing is expensive and many are not "reasonable" in size. At least not in my circles

100% get one OP! I've always hated doing the dishes and got my first dishwasher 12 years after moving out of my childhood home and it was a dream come true 😁 I'd never lived in a house that could fit them before

OP- if you are getting an integrated one, you could find something cheaper from a factory outlet place. Often brand new products, but the box might be dented or there is a scratch on a panel. If its integrated though, its in the cupboard with a door covering it! I too found that better models have more flexibility if terms of moving drawers up down/integrated pop up bits to hold glassware etc.

Miele have a factory outlet and the products change daily. It might not within your price range, but worth a look.

application.miele.co.uk/resources/pdf/MieleOutletPricelist.pdf