The Dish on Dishwashers – July 2023

When meeting to discuss a kitchen remodel many clients have questioned the need for or value of a dishwasher. Here are some of the questions and statements I often hear and my replies.

Question: I don’t ever use my dishwasher, it’s just the two of us or I live alone. Why should I buy a dishwasher I don’t need?

Answer: Yes, the new kitchen should have a dishwasher and I don’t mean the two-legged kind. Properly used they are very efficient. When the time comes to sell, it may be much harder to sell your home without one.

Question: I’m told not to put my good cookware or cutlery in the dishwasher. Why shouldn’t I do the dishes by hand too and use that space for something else?

Answer: I have had many cutlery experts tell me to never put good knives in the dishwasher because exposing the metal to extended heat times and slow cool downs can temper the steel and make it impossible to hold an edge. Remember “Dishwasher Safe” does not necessarily mean “Good for the Knife”.

The same logic can apply to your cookware or the finish on the cookware. Additionally, the extra exposure to moisture can have long term effects as well.

As for hand cleaning the remaining dishes and utensils? The dishwasher is still your best option. For well over a decade, dishwashers have been the most efficient way to clean dishes. And no, you don’t have to clean or even rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Just wipe the scraps and residual food off the plate with a paper towel and place in the dishwasher.

Question: What’s the point of washing the dishes before I put the dishes in the dishwasher?

Answer: There is no point in doing that.
Question: Since my kitchen is small wouldn’t I be better off with a bank of drawers in that space?

Answer: As a person who sells cabinetry for a living the answer is still no. Seems I have a conscience and like to sleep at night.

Question: If I don’t have a dishwasher will it hurt the value of my home?

Answer: Yes!

Question: When I don’t use my dishwasher for a while it starts to smell. How can I prevent that?

Answer: The smell is most likely decaying food in the strainer at the bottom of your dishwasher. Modern dishwashers typically grind and pump out any residual food matter left from the previous wash when they are first started. One way to prevent that smell from developing is to start the dishwasher using a long sanitizing setting when it is empty. Start it and listen for the grinding and pumping to end. Open the dishwasher slowly to avoid water spraying out and pour in a couple of ounces of White Vinegar. Three hours later, the problem and smell will be gone. Leave the machine open overnight to dry out the interior if you don’t plan on using it for a while.

Question: I don’ t care what you say, I don’t want a dishwasher.

Answer: I know that is a statement not a question. My reply to the statement is “sign here”. We will put a 24” wide cabinet in that space that can be removed and replaced with a dishwasher when your house isn’t selling at some point in the future.

Those of you who know me personally know I was raised in the restaurant and tavern business. Working after school washing dishes. As I got older, taller and stronger, I was promoted to stocking the beer coolers, fixing what I could and keeping the ice bins full. The beer and ice machine were downstairs. Customers would ask my father “Hey Hank, why don’t you get a dumb waiter?” The automatic reply was I am raising three of them.

It wasn’t funny the first or subsequent 10,000 times I heard it.

No, I am not having a repressed memory crisis. It just my way of telling the wisecrackers out there who are reading this, to spare the family from the “I don’t need a dishwasher I married one” or “I am raising one” jokes. A ten quart Le Creuset over the head can hurt. As for your children, remember they will be the ones deciding what nursing home you’re going to one day. Just saying.

Here is a link to the COVE Dishwashers brought to you by the good people of Sub-Zero and Wolf. https://www.subzero-wolf.com/en/cove/dishwashers