Dishwasher/washing Habits

[JAS_OH1]

[Mod comment: many posts moved to form a new topic (TR)]

Agreed - but I rarely do any. I simply toss everything in the dishwasher.



I've got a small galley kitchen too. The only way I cope is to keep counters clear of gadgets and other clutter as far as possible.

Do you put your pans and knives in the dishwasher?

I end up washing most everything by hand for some reason, even plates about half the time.

 

[Morning Glory]

Do you put your pans and knives in the dishwasher?

I end up washing most everything by hand for some reason, even plates about half the time.

Pans yes. I used to put chopping knives in too but was told (here on the forum) it can make them blunt. I'm not quite sure why. But anyway, I now generally rinse chopping knives under the tap or wipe clean with kitchen towel, that's all.

 

[JAS_OH1]

Hubby will come in whilst I'm cooking to make himself a drink. In those 5 minutes, he causes chaos. I have my back to the kettle and sink, so don't really notice what else's up to. I can literally move from the chopping board to the stove, turn around and walk back to the chopping/ prep area and what I left there is gone, washed and draining... luckily he doesn't throw food or spices away, but if I wanted those carrot ends for anything, forget it. He'll have chopped them and put them into the 'to the compost container' before you have even realised you need them... And as for wooden spoons, i need about 10-15 of them minimum, because if you put it down, it's gone. I have taken to balancing them on the top of the pan or skillet to stop him, but that sometimes browns them... even my do not every wash skillet isn't free from his hands.... The irony is that I still have to remind he to wash his hands when he comes home from being out (covid related nothing else, I can't use or be near hand sanitizers because of their smell, it triggers my asthma, so our rule is first thing we do, wash hands). Yet he'll happily wash the dishes, pots and pans even if they don't need it! I hate him washing one of my skillets (cast iron), the other identical one is fine to wash because that's stainless steel. (Both are same make, size and function, just different materials.) The cast iron one never every gets washed, just warmed up and wiped out (remember there's no meat, fish or dairy in those house, only veg so this isn't a hygiene issue, just a mixing a flavours issue)

Small things to worry about I guess.

My hubby will rinse his coffee cup and put it next to the sink instead of in the dishwasher every morning. He's not in a hurry because he is not going anywhere. But at night after a meal, he will put his barely rinsed plate or bowl in the dishwasher with food still stuck in it to dry and harden (we only run it every couple of days), so when I empty the dishwasher after the cycle I'll have several dishes that have dried food particles stuck in them (parmesan cheese turns to glue). I end up soaking and scrubbing them. Makes no sense.

 

[rascal]

My wife pre rinses cutlery, especially if we've had eggs. Yolks go real hard, so I'm told .
I serve up as well. She normally sets the table.

Russ

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My hubby will rinse his coffee cup and put it next to the sink instead of in the dishwasher every morning. He's not in a hurry because he is not going anywhere. But at night after a meal, he will put his barely rinsed plate or bowl in the dishwasher with food still stuck in it to dry and harden (we only run it every couple of days), so when I empty the dishwasher after the cycle I'll have several dishes that have dried food particles stuck in them (parmesan cheese turns to glue). I end up soaking and scrubbing them. Makes no sense.

Lol, my hubby is the dishwasher! But we don't wash mugs during the day, or glasses. We reuse them. Only the coffee mug and grapefruit juice glasses are used once before washing simply because we only have 1 drink of them a day. Water glasses, lemon cordial glasses, and his tea mug only get washed at the end of the day. Plates get washed as they are used, but we only ½ fill the very small washing up bowl with water when washing them.

We know we use very little water because we live off rain water only for everything and through the drought we never needed to get the tank filled from a tanker. Also when we first moved into the house, there had been a wombat problem. They are literally mobile miniature bulldozers and do colossal damage if they get under the house and this one had. But it actually took us 3 years to realise that the kitchen sink (and ½ sink to the side), the laundry room sink and thus the washing machine were not actually connected to the septic tank! They were draining directly onto the ground below the sinks concerned or would if water went down the drain! It's just that we are so careful with the water we use and recycle as much as possible in the way of grey water (and what can only be called very grey water) that even the plumber had to agree that "these Brits" were better at recycling and saving water than almost everyone else he knew! Praise indeed from the miserable bugger!

Most grey water goes over our veg & herbs. Very grey water goes over the non-edible flowers and also to keeping the grass green because green grass acts as a bush fire break whereas brown grass burns. So it's actually recommended here to keep your grass as green as possible to help stop your house catching fire in the event of a bush fire. Grass really doesn't mind how dirty the water is. The result is that very little water was actually going down the drain, so very little damage had been done in the 3 years the sinks hadn't been connected to the sewage system.

 

[Morning Glory]

But at night after a meal, he will put his barely rinsed plate or bowl in the dishwasher with food still stuck in it to dry and harden (we only run it every couple of days),

I have a rule that however much is in it, the dishwasher gets switched on before bed every night so everything is clean in the morning. My partner unloads it and puts stuff away early morning before I get up. Its a good system because every day I start with everything put away and clean. There are only two of us but the dishwasher is pretty full almost every day. Saucepans and the chef's pan take up quite a lot of the space. I certainly couldn't get away with only running it every few days. I'd rapidly run out of pans and other daily used items.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I have a rule that however much is in it, the dishwasher gets switched on before bed every night so everything is clean in the morning. My partner unloads it and puts stuff away early morning before I get up. Its a good system because every day I start with everything put away and clean. There are only two of us but the dishwasher is pretty full almost every day. Saucepans and the chef's pan take up quite a lot of the space. I certainly couldn't get away with only running it every few days. I'd rapidly run out of pans and other daily used items.

Living alone, running the DW once a day would be extremely water-wasteful for me. I won't do that, I don't run it unless the thing is nearly full, maybe occasionally when company would come over in advance of their presence so there would be enough of each dish type and so there'd be room for that large meal's dishes in there.

Things made with cooked cheese DO need rinsing for sure.

 

[TastyReuben]

We run our dishwasher usually every other day, but occasionally, it'll be daily.

My wife is of the classic belief that you don't run it until it's absolutely crammed full, but if we were to do that, then there'd be things in it that I need that wouldn't be available, because I don't have duplicates of many things.

 

[Mountain Cat]

We run our dishwasher usually every other day, but occasionally, it'll be daily.

My wife is of the classic belief that you don't run it until it's absolutely crammed full, but if we were to do that, then there'd be things in it that I need that wouldn't be available, because I don't have duplicates of many things.

If there's something I really really need in the un-run dishwasher - I'll pull it out and wash that item by hand!

 

[TastyReuben]

If there's something I really really need in the un-run dishwasher - I'll pull it out and wash that item by hand!

But then I feel like a chump for wasting my time putting it in the dishwasher in the first place.

It's a dark, confusing place in my brain...

 

[LissaC]

I side you TastyReuben ! I find it very annoying to have to remove stuff from the dishwasher because I need to use it. The next dishwasher cycle is just a couple days away, I don't like sticking my hand in there and if I wanted to wash stuff by hand everyday I wouldn't need a dishwasher!

 

[JAS_OH1]

I have a rule that however much is in it, the dishwasher gets switched on before bed every night so everything is clean in the morning. My partner unloads it and puts stuff away early morning before I get up. Its a good system because every day I start with everything put away and clean. There are only two of us but the dishwasher is pretty full almost every day. Saucepans and the chef's pan take up quite a lot of the space. I certainly couldn't get away with only running it every few days. I'd rapidly run out of pans and other daily used items.

I don't put my pans is the dishwasher, I use my cast iron daily. If I ran the dishwasher every night there would be 2 coffee cups, 2 drinking glasses, and a few plates, bowls and eating utensils in it. And if hubby puts things away I sometimes can't find them, lol.

 

[Morning Glory]

I don't put my pans is the dishwasher, I use my cast iron daily. If I ran the dishwasher every night there would be 2 coffee cups, 2 drinking glasses, and a few plates, bowls and eating utensils in it. And if hubby puts things away I sometimes can't find them, lol.

Ah - I understand. I don't really use cast iron. I think its great for getting a high heat and searing a steak but otherwise I don't really understand its appeal. For most of what make, I use stainless steel pans or non-stick chef's pans or frying pans. If cast iron is enamelled (like Le Creuset) I believe it can go in the dishwasher. At least, when I owned some (in a previous relationship) that is what I did and it didn't seem to suffer.

I'll take a snap or two of my full dishwasher tonight before I run it...

Oh - and I know what you mean about someone else putting stuff away. My partner has dementia so you can imagine the odd places things might be put. But I know he likes to do it and it makes him feel useful (which indeed it is). As my kitchen is so small, there is a limit to the number of places things can be put.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I don't put my pans is the dishwasher, I use my cast iron daily. If I ran the dishwasher every night there would be 2 coffee cups, 2 drinking glasses, and a few plates, bowls and eating utensils in it. And if hubby puts things away I sometimes can't find them, lol.

I only have a few pots & pans to wash, so i wash them by hand. The Baby Care cycle takes care of the dirty dishes, heating the wash & final rinse water temp to 160 degrees. Nothing can escape it!!

 

[garlichead]

I use stainless and French carbon steel fry pans. I have a couple of cast iron fry pans as well and a few Le Creuset. I also have 3 French copper pans that I bought in France 30 years ago that I really don't use much anymore. Oh, and I have a non stick commercial 8" that I use for eggs mostly. None of this goes into the dishwasher.