Why Dishwashers Are Quietly Disappearing from American Homes
Why Dishwashers Are Quietly Disappearing from American Homes
www.gadgetreview.com
Why Dishwashers Are Quietly Disappearing From American Homes
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For anyone with dishwasher challenges (or just curious how they work), check out Technology Connections. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBO8neWw04
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Yeah, I used to be exactly like many of the commenters below who saw it as an expensive dishrack. I watched the TC video when it dropped, just because I wanted to learn more about how they work. I ended up changing my approach based on what he showed and it works great now. Almost no rewashing or residue, even though I just chuck in dishes without rinsing.
The big changes for those who don't want to watch a half hour video about dishwashers:
- Preheat your sink water. Most dishwashers are hooked up to the hot pipe, expect to be hooked up to it, and do not adaquately heat it for the prewash cycle. This was the biggest one for me, as it meant no more timed starts to have it run overnight. Night and day change in effectiveness, though. Just turn the hot water on in your kitchen sink, wait until it is actually hot, then start the dishwasher.
- Experiment with the amount of detergent and rinse aid for the main cycle (the little hatch on the inside of the door). Powdered citric acid works great as a rinse aid. I use about 1.5 tablespoons Lemishine, but the brand isn't important. For the detergent, basically all powdered detergents are indistinguishable so just buy the cheapest. I use about a 1:1 ratio of rinse aid to detergent, so 1.5 tablespoons again. Too much and you get cloudy dishes; too little and you'll need to rewash more often.
- After shutting the soap compartment, add more detergent (not rinse aid!) to the outer compartment, or just dump it in the bottom. Go hog wild, as this soap is used for the prewash and gets flushed before the real cycle. If I didn't rinse anything I'll put up to 3 tablespoons in there. If everything is basically clean already then I'll just do a tiny sprinkle. The prewash should be getting the majority of the gunk off, so adjust according to the level of gunk.
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Yea, because of him I experimented with detergents and volume (and the different cycles).
I now use Walmart powder ($5/box), 1 tbsp in prewash, 1 in wash, and the light cycle. Most of the time this is fine, and I cook a lot, have some stuff that doesn't clean easily. This with a 20 year old dishwasher.
I've learned when I need to use more detergent or use a longer cycle.
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I have never been a huge fan of the giant machine that is supposedly for cleaning things that, if you load in those things while they actually need cleaned it just makes everything worse.
I understand it sanitizes, which is particularly important in a restaurant setting, but my home isn't a restaurant. What do I need this "washing" device that can't handle anything that isn't already washed for?
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I never got why people keep prewashing things they put into their dishwasher. I just remove leftover food which could get stuck in the filter and put it in. No prewashing required, things come out clean 99% of the time. Done this with very old and very new machines. Not sure why this is not working for everyone.
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That has literally never worked for me with any unit I've ever had, but I also rent so maybe the units I've been provided all suck.
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A dishwasher should be able to clean things on its own with proper detergent and loading (not blocking soiled areas).
If it doesn't, it needs maintenance.
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If it's not actually cleaning it without pre-wash, then something is wrong. I think a lot of people don't realize they have filters that need to be cleaned. The second I spot and unclean dish I pull the filter out and clean it.
I only end up rinsing out some, not most, dishes cause I know they'll be sitting in there a few days. I don't want to deal with the smell of stuff going bad.
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This article is propaganda to normalize the enshittification of the houses. Ask any family with kids if they find the dishwasher useful.
Dishwashers use less water then hand washing. They are a net gain to any household.
...Until you need an app to use them...
I'm single and I find the dishwasher useful. I probably only run it about once a week too. Also, it cost me less than $600.
I still do a lot of washing by hand though because I don't put wood or plastic in there.
I don't have kids, washing by hand isn't an option, as this tiny place lacks the counter space for it.
I find that it's mainly useful as extra drying rack space. Washing dishes by hand barely takes any longer than loading up a dishwasher and sometimes having to rewash dishes that don't come out clean.