So I live in Singapore, and it’s not customary for people to have dishwashers here. Still, we have 2 children, and really, it would be nice to not have to wash dishes ever again. However, nobody I know of has a dishwasher, and I don’t know the first thing about them, except that they wash my dishes. Tips?
A few questions to start off - is it true that you can’t wash non-stick stuff in them? I just got a non-stick rice cooker, and I would be slightly sad if I had to hand wash only that thing.
Do I have to use the proprietary tablet dishwashing soap, or can I use something else? I’m probably getting a Bosch dishwasher, and they sales guy said to use their tablets. Can I just use the loose powder instead? Seems a lot cheaper.
In addition to non-stick coatings, cast iron cookware and quality cutlery are hand-wash only (IMHO).
They require 24" wide space for under-cabinet models.
They require a hard-plumed hot water inlet.
The discharge can contain food particles, for which reason that, in the US, the discharge is typically routed into the garbage disposal. YMMV.
Detergent is detergent, unless Bosch has actually come up with a proprietary chemical and made a machine that requires it. Ummm… I’m guessing they haven’t.
Non-stick pans often have a soft surface, and it’s OK to wash them in a dishwasher as long as nothing rubs against the soft surface. Sometimes it’s hard to avoid that, so I rarely put those kind of pans in the dishwasher.
There are several kinds of dishwashing soap, from gels to powders to tablets. As long as it’s designed for a mechanical device, it should be OK (low suds).
usedtobe, what’s a hard-plumed hot water inlet? I don’t have one of those.
It’s the hot water line that comes out of the wall behind the dishwasher. Unless you install one yourself, you will never see it.
There should be a shut-off valve under your sink which is not on the sink faucet. That is the shut-off for the dishwasher line.
The other thing about detergents for dishwasher is: they are nasty. Since nobody is sticking their hands in it, ic can be (and is) quite caustic.
That causticity is the reason you don’t put nice things in the dishwasher.
And: you cannot simply take the plate off the table and stick it in the dishwasher - no bones, no large chunks of anything.
The early dishwasher did little except sanitize the dishes with hot, caustic chemistry - you had to remove all crud first, as in “Washing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher”.
And they were surprised when their kids started questioning the status quo…
Some plastics (harder ones, basically) are “top drawer” items - the upper drawer is (at least traditionally) cooler than the lower.
I have no idea what a baby bottle is these days, but I would suggest caution if the “milk” comes in contact with the bottle. If it isn’t glass, I’d worry if there was some reaction between the bottle and the detergent.
When I run the cat’s fountain through the dishwasher, I do not use detergent for just this reason - I want it sterile, but not subject to caustic chemistry.
Plastic items are hard to wash in a dishwasher; they can fly around, fall in the bottom, and get melted on the heating element. For that reason, I never use the heated dry option, and try to arrange plastic items so they don’t move around. Some units have clips for that purpose or baskets with snap-on covers.
In my experience, the caustic and abrasive nature of DW detergents will ruin non-stick coatings.
Plastic you do have to anchor down somehow.
Some older china – the kind with painted-on decorative surface – must be hand-washed.
You can put silver in, but don’t put it in contact with stainless steel or other metal implements.
We don’t have a garbage disposal in our dishwasher and it’s a real pain. There are several screens and filters to catch debris, and these must be cleaned regularly. About once a month I have to take the various filters and screens out and scrub them by hand.
There’s two different widths, although for a family of four I expect a full-sizer would be better than a half-width (or you’d just have to do the dishes twice a day).
They take some getting used to. You will learn what will get clean and what wont. Those that dont you might have to scrape or do some cleaning ahead of time. Also practice on loading your dishes. Some fit quite well, some dont.
My son uses an occasional bottle (glass) and we always put them in the DW. The nipples go in, too, in the tiny top third rack my model has for silverware, but I generally rinse them afterward just in case there’s any residual detergent.
If I put more than one big pots/pans in, I usually don’t put anything else in the DW for that load–the large surfaces tend to block the spray.
I think this is my model: Bosch, or close enough. It kicks ass compared to all the dishwashers I’ve had before. The only drawback is that the standard cycles are like 2.5 hours long.
I strongly considered getting a commercial kitchen dishwasher, however, and probably would have if we were not renting this house (you need extra space for detergent tubing, even for the under-cabinet models). Plus servicing would be more of a pain. Something likethis one. A used/refurbished one doesn’t cost any more than a high-end home DW, and the cycles are only like 5 minutes long!
I don’t have a garbage disposal, but I do have a dishwasher. I wash almost everything in it. Shiny aluminum such as aluminum pans will lose its shine in a dishwasher. Dishwasher detergent is corrosive, and may cause non-stick coatings to wear away faster. My bread machine pan with non-stick coating isn’t supposed to be washed in a dishwasher for this reason. I still wash non-stick pans in it, though.
Yeah, mine’s the type that is hinged on the bottom. The washing machine is a front loader, so there’s no problem there, and it’s not that high off the ground. Not any worse than a dryer on a washing machine, at least.
We installed a Bosch dishwasher over the weekend! It did not require plumbing into a hot water inlet, it takes in cold water and heats it.
We use our dishwasher for:
glasses
mugs & cups
plates and bowls
everyday cutlery
silicone utensils
cat food dishes
We wash our pots and pans and everything else by hand.
One thing I would check on is the availability of dishwasher tablets. If dishwashers are rare, then you may have a hard time getting tablets!
Another consideration is the quality of your water. Our water is soft, which means we don’t need to use dishwasher salt. We use ‘all in one’ dishwasher tablets which include a rinse aid. But if you are in a medium or hard water area, you will probably need both salt and rinse aid. Again, these are dishwasher specific items so you’ll need to check availability.
Miele are pretty much the best but priced to match; Bosch are pretty good. It uses the cold-water inlet. You can use tablets from anyone; here in the U.K. there are many brands.
With regard to salt, if you put salt in your dishwasher, don’t use the dishwasher to wash silver (solid or plate) as the two will react.
Water is super soft here so no worries about water quality. We’re actually planning to get dishwashing powder from iherb.com or similar, so that should be fine. That, or go to one of the larger supermarkets - should be fine.
The nipples go in, too, in the tiny top third rack my model has for silverware, but I generally rinse them afterward just in case there’s any residual detergent.