We’ve lived in our house for almost seven years and have never had a dishwasher (or as Jake is prone to say to guests while pointing to me, “What do you mean we don’t have a dishwasher?” A laugh riot, that guy!)
In fact, now that I think about it, I have NEVER had a dishwasher in my adult life. I have only ever washed dishes by hand. Yet somehow I still find the will to live.
It’s why I occasionally break out the paper plates when guests come over because I can’t stand doing a mountain of dishes like some wretched scullery maid.
So imagine my surprise after dinner at a friend’s house last night when I opened her dishwasher to load a cup and discovered she uses her dishwasher as a snack drawer.
A snack drawer for chips.
She likes her Fritos super clean.
It took everything in my power to resist playing the poor, deserving schlub to her fancy Marie Antoinette who probably lights $20 bills on fire for fun. Thankfully, my inherent schlubby goodness and wholesome values kept me in check.
One day I will have a dishwasher. I will. I WILL. And you can bet I’m going to wash the heck out of some dishes! And probably chips too.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
We have been married 30 years this past May and we only had a dishwasher for eight of those years! My husband and I agree when our dishwasher breaks, we will immediately go and buy another one! Greg used to say the same thing Jake says about having a dishwasher . . . You know what I discovered, dishwashers are a lot less expensive than other appliances and they are worth every penny!!
So true, Lisa!
Life is short, get a dishwasher!
This may sound a little like excess, but ever since I noticed that Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) has TWO dishwashers, I’ve been coveting a second one for myself. In fact, I even have a used one sitting in the garage but no place to install it until we renovate the kitchen.
Before you laugh, think about the logistics. You can be filling one while the other runs (and these new energy efficient ones can run for 3-4 hours). There’s never a need to have dirty dishes on the counter (you should theoretically always have an empty one). It makes even more sense when you have a small child. I can’t tell you how many times her bottle and feeding paraphenalia occupied the top shelf and I was left with a bunch of glasses and plastic storage containers that just didn’t fit in that batch and were left sitting on the counter (or worse…in the sink. I despise dishes in the sink). It also frees you up with extra space to do bulky items like mixing bowls and stainless pots and pans.
Well, I don’t share your fixation with dishwashers, but have often dreamed of a second dryer. One dryer can’t keep up with the output of a washer. Of course, if you have two dryers, you might as well have two washers, so there would be a spare of both. Then you start getting into needing more wiring, and I decide it is all rather outlandish and it would be simpler and cheaper to just be grateful for what I have!
I have a working dishwasher and still prefer to wash my dishes by hand, but use my dish washer as a huge drying rack; I can’t stand a stack of dishes on my counter drying…. My dish washer leaves spots and water marks on my glasses and silverware which drives me crazy! I hate having to wipe every glass and every piece of flat ware when I’m putting my dishes away. I’m not about to buy special dish washing fluid either. My dishes turn out more clean (no baked on food) have zero spots when I hand wash them. I have however, mastered a system to washing dishes, here it is: Fill up one sink with soap hot water, put all silverware in first, then plates. Allow them to soak while you’re washing the big pots and pans in the empty sink. You may think you’re wasting water by washing the pots and pans separate with the water running, but I don’t think I use as much water as a dish washer; I feel good about my system. Next dry the pots and pans and put them away. You’re now ready to wash the regular dishes. I wash the plates first because they need to stack in my dish washer first. I then wash all the silverware, rinse and load them in the dishwasher. Now all that is left is are cups and a few randoms you may have missed. My system has never failed me, not once!
Okay then, after reading this post I may just want to start using my dishwasher and ditch my dish washing system altogether, I sound like a. . . Anyway, have a nice day!
I’m so sorry for the love you will never know.
Ha!
I grew up in a home with a dishwasher, and we had them in rented apartments. We’ve been home owners for 34 years and have never owned one. When I had the use of one, I found that you wanted to not run it until it was full, so often when you wanted to use something, it was in the washer, still dirty.
My system is clear away everything. Quickly rinse everything. (I can’t stand gunk in the dish water.) Go ahead and scour pots so they just need a quick wash later. Stack everything in the dish pan or on counter beside sink. Wipe table and all counters and stove. Now the whole kitchen is tidy and the mess is confined to the sink area. Just run your two sinks of water and quickly wash the dishes.
The only time I would be happier with a dishwasher is when entertaining, but that doesn’t happen very often. When it does, after everyone leaves, my husband dries and puts away while I wash so it goes faster. And now that he is retired, I usually cook and he usually does the dishes. He volunteered to do this and a lot of the grocery shopping when he retired.
And Jessie, don’t have a seizure, but I’ve never owned a garbage disposal, either, and it’s no problem. Owning these things is so far down on my want list.
Gak! No garbage disposal? How can you even get out of bed in the morning?
(I’ve never had one either.)
I offer no excuses…..they are one of the greatest inventions EVER.
I work in a high end kitchen store, and I am floored that people put everything in the dishwasher. Mine has plates, cups, silverware. NEVER knives, butter which tend to be hollow handled and ruin over time and any knife you cut with will bounce around and get nicks that will dull it quickly. Dishwashing detergent is mostly bleach, so people are shocked when aluminum gadgets come out corroded, hand painted dishes are faded, and wood splits. I have had customers who want to put counter top appliances in there, the racks aren’t designed to hold that amount of weight! I always have a sink of hot soapy water for the odds and ends, and let the dishwasher take care of the rest. And that powder Cascade? It washes baseball and football pants (polyester) to the brightest white you have ever seen…right in the washing machine!
My mom, who lives alone, never has enough dishes dirty at one time to justify running her dishwasher so she also uses hers to store items! I just have to remember if something ever happens to her–we need to clean out the dishwasher!
My husband and I are stationed in Japan right now and not only do we not have a dishwasher, we also don’t have a garbage disposal… and our sink and counters are about the right height for a slightly above average midget… my husband is 6’5″ so you can imagine how well that works for him. On top of all of this, our lovely little Japanese apartment does not have an oven!!! Only a gas stove. I don’t care where we move next, all I want is an oven… I’ll take a dishwasher too, but an oven is a MUST!
Dishwasher is a “Must Have” for anyplace I live. In my first house there was not enough room in the kitchen so I had a rolly model that hooked up to the sink spigot.
I “can” do dishes by hand.. and don’t mind as much when I am on vacation (we have a house on Tangier Island.. no DW there).. or for short term situations.
But, I do appreciate the more sanitizing aspects of the heated water and dry cycles. I hate cluttering up my counters with drying dishes too… I am team Dish Washer all the way:)