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Comment by xattt | Hacker News Reader

I’m in a constant debate with my spouse about the need for prewashing. She’s a prewasher and I am not.

My anecdata based on “feedback” I’ve received over the years:

(1) Greasy and sugary things will go through fine.

(2) Proteins, like supplements, eggs, less cooked meats or cat food, tend to denature more and get stuck/baked to dishes to the point of needing a rewash.

(3) An exception is proteins in a fat emulsion (like mayo) where fat has a stronger influence on the properties of the residue.

This is after trying multiple tablets, even ones that promise pre-wash free dishes, in a pre-Energy Star dishwasher.

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I used to get testy when people rinsed the dishes before loading the dishwasher. Then one day I had to take it apart and dig out rice, plastic, beans, and other things that were stopping it up.

This is standard part of dishwasher operation. Every 5-10 loads you refill the jet dry liquid and bang the screen trap out in the trash.

It should be only slightly more difficult than removing lint from the dryer.

With my lack of rinsing this is an every day job in our house. Though we never use rinse aid.

xattt says>"(2) Proteins, like supplements, eggs, less cooked meats or cat food, tend to denature more and get stuck/baked to dishes to the point of needing a rewash."<

Proteins are softened and loosened by soaking in water. Many glues are protein-based and, for that reason, protein-glued items should not be exposed to high humidity or water. For example, most violins are glued with animal hide/hoof or fish protein glues.

Soaking protein in plain water will eventually loosen it completely. The process is reversible: drying re-hardens the protein.

This has been my strategy with some caked on foods but not always an option in the heat of the moment.

An ideal dishwasher would let you load it up over a day or too, and keep the dishes moist but intermittently misting them. Probably terrible for mold and mildew however.

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