One thing we do is to load a new dishwasher tablet immediately upon emptying the dishes.
Result:
If there’s a tablet: it’s dirty.
If there’s no tablet: it’s clean.
Result:
If there’s a tablet: it’s dirty.
If there’s no tablet: it’s clean.
Or simply don't rinse the dishes before you put them in[0]. I've never had trouble telling.
[0] Exceptions: uncooked eggs, yogurt, and for some reason, salsa? None of which ever come off for me if they sit for long before you run the dishwasher.
I can do the dishes after a family meal just as fast, and with better and more consistent results en less water, than when using the dishwasher.
It's done once per item. In my case I have just a few things I know are not dishwasher proof.
> time spent playing dishwasher tetris
Get a bigger dishwasher.
> time spent filling and emptying
The same time you'd spend putting things in the sink and taking them out after you've washed them.
> time pre-cleaning before putting things in the dishwasher
No need to that, unless you leave actual chunks of uneaten food on your plates.
> time spent re-washing after it turns out that the dishwasher did not clean your as well as it advertised on the box
Try powdered detergent. There are a few Technology Connections videos discussing dishwashers, including how capsules are inefficient - basically they're used up on the "pre-wash" cycle. There are a few other tricks to improve the efficiency of the dishwasher, too.
So you have a few things to do once and a few things to do always, which you'd do with hand washing anyway. Having a dishwasher is a game changer. If you're not happy with the results, don't give up just yet. Think of how to improve the process, because it's possible. At first I was also skeptical and disappointed in my (first) dishwasher.
I’m sure other modern dishwashers are also very good, but I’d buy the same again in a heartbeat.
I had an old low end dishwasher that I had kept going up to a point, but the rack was after rusting to the point it broke.
Bought a mid range Bosch after reading so many glowing reviews and I find it does a terrible job at drying the dishes. They're clean, and the third rack is so much better than I had imagined it would be, but there's always still water on everything!
The old dishwasher had a vent on the front, when it was doing its drying you could see the steam coming out. The Bosch doesn't seem to have any vent... it heats up for a dry cycle, but if you don't catch it and open the door at the end the water vapor just recondenses.
I think plastic has a lower thermal conductivity/mass. Heat moves into the plastic more slowly and it just doesn't hold as much energy thus doesn't get hot enough to make the water evaporate.
Can you please make your substantive points thoughtfully? There's no need to snark or get personal.
If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
The problem is when you have a dirty dish and assume that the dishwasher contents are dirty too (because usually we unload the dishwasher soon after it finishes). Then you put a dirty dish in, possibly making other dishes dirty. So you have to either hand-wash several dishes or re-wash the entire load.
If you are cleaning your dishes so much before loading that you literally can't tell the difference between dishes that have been through the dishwasher and dishes that haven't, then just skip the dishwasher step. You're already done.
The logic is to prevent:
- Chunks of fibrous vegetables (e.g.) from clogging the dishwasher filter
- Wet sauces (or egg) from drying and hardening over the hours/days before the next dishwasher cycle, and becoming more difficult to remove
And many of us grew up with older dishwashers that didn't work as well as newer ones.
All of that said, modern dishwashers actually monitor the water (clarity, turbidity?) to determine whether the dishes are sufficiently clean. If you rinse your dishes too well, the dishwasher will prematurely think it has accomplished its goal, and reduce time/temperature to end the cycle early. This is why manufacturers recommend against rinsing or pre-cleaning.
In my household, we have a pair of zealous canine precleaners, who do an excellent first-pass job. The dishwasher's only responsibility is to rinse and sterilize. :)
That reminds me of people who clean before the maid comes. I've never had a maid, but I've read that people do the easiest things themselves so the maid, who is paid by the hour, has to do the harder things only.