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Comment by 28304283409234 | Hacker News Reader

I'm fully convinced that dishwashers are a hoax. Doing the dishes manually is far more efficient, both in water used, energy and time spent. Things to consider: time spent determining if the item is dishwasher proof, time spent playing dishwasher tetris, time spent filling and emptying, time pre-cleaning before putting things in the dishwasher, time spent re-washing after it turns out that the dishwasher did not clean your as well as it advertised on the box.

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.

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> time spent determining if the item is dishwasher proof

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.

When our old dishwasher gave up, I got a mid-range Bosch dishwasher. I never thought I’d catch feelings for an appliance, but this thing is awesome. Dishes come out squeaky clean and nearly dry just from the temps. Glasses are spotless. Third rack is very convenient as well.

I’m sure other modern dishwashers are also very good, but I’d buy the same again in a heartbeat.

I was honestly a little disappointed with my Bosch.

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'm curious, is most of your dishware plastic? We have a Bosch and it does a great job drying everything except for the plastic stuff. I'm assuming the plastics cool faster and condense water on to them, but not 100% sure. Glass and ceramic/pottery always come out dry unless something got flipped over and pooled a bunch of water.

We use very little plastic, but I'm also admittedly incredibly picky over stuff being dry. It could be water dripping from the plastic racks above; nothing is truly wet, just enough that I'm not willing to put the dishes away without further drying.

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.

Any modern dishwasher is very efficient on water (and on heating). That said, I don't have one myself. Dish washing time is thinking time or podcast time for me.

Someone should make a small pressure washing contraption like those for XXL restaurants.

Just to be clear, this is nonsense. Every dishwasher made for the past few decades at least will use less water than washing by hand.

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