Why would I want a dishwasher?

  • Thread starter Thread starter sanctareparata
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sanctareparata

Guest
DH came home the other day and said a friend of his from work has a dishwasher available for free. A year and a half old, in excellent condition, but he received another as a gift and likes the new one better. DH said he’d ask me if we wanted it.

My first impulse was HECK YES! But then the more I thought about it, I can only think of two benefits to having a dishwasher.
  1. Saves time washing & drying dishes and
  2. Saves my hands from getting dried out.
But I can think of a whole host of negatives.
  1. It’s hard on the dishes and shortens the life of glassware.
  2. It takes extra water and electricity.
  3. It takes special detergents that cost money.
  4. You’ve still gotta rinse the dishes so is it really saving time?
  5. If the cycle isn’t started or is in the middle somewhere, having to dig through the muck to get a plate in a pinch is kinda gross.
  6. If we forget to run it, we have no dishes ready when we need them.
Yet, it still seems like it would be dumb to say no to the offer. I mean, this is the year 2008, right? Shouldn’t I have one? I don’t want to tell him yes if I’m not 100% positive we’ll install and use it.

So, anyone out there have any pros I’ve overlooked? And those without dishwashers, would you ever get one?
 
I’ll take it!!! Ours broke down a couple of years ago, and we can never find the extra cash to replace it.

The newer models do not require you “rinse” the dishes like the old one’s did. Scape the food scraps off and put em in.

They do sanitize the dishes.
 
sanctareparata said:
DH came home the other day and said a friend of his from work has a dishwasher available for free. A year and a half old, in excellent condition, but he received another as a gift and likes the new one better. DH said he’d ask me if we wanted it.

My first impulse was HECK YES! But then the more I thought about it, I can only think of two benefits to having a dishwasher.
  1. Saves time washing & drying dishes and
  2. Saves my hands from getting dried out.
But I can think of a whole host of negatives.
  1. It’s hard on the dishes and shortens the life of glassware.
Most dishwashers have different cyles just like washing machines do (gentle, heavy and so on)
  1. It takes extra water and electricity.
I don’t run mine until its completely full which is about twice a week.I’d be using the same if not more water to just wash that amount of dishes
  1. It takes special detergents that cost money.
It costs me $3.50 for a 35 pack of gel tabs that last over 2+ months.
  1. You’ve still gotta rinse the dishes so is it really saving time?
I just scrape off the food and then put it in the dishwasher without rinsing. Everything comes off fine.
  1. If the cycle isn’t started or is in the middle somewhere, having to dig through the muck to get a plate in a pinch is kinda gross.
Most dishwashers have a drain function that drains everything out before you can just reach in and grab a plate out
  1. If we forget to run it, we have no dishes ready when we need them.
Use the timer function and then you’ll always have clean dishes.

Yet, it still seems like it would be dumb to say no to the offer. I mean, this is the year 2008, right? Shouldn’t I have one? I don’t want to tell him yes if I’m not 100% positive we’ll install and use it.

So, anyone out there have any pros I’ve overlooked? And those without dishwashers, would you ever get one?
Click to expand...
 
We moved into an old Victorian house a few years ago, and our kitchen was actually an addition to the house, and doesn’t have the greatest set-up, so we have no room for a dishwasher. What a shock that was after growing up with one all of the time :eek:

Still, I’ve found that washing dishes by hand, while it does take more time, gives me that time to think. I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to Catholic apologetics tapes and cds while I do the dishes, since I don’t have a commute to work anymore as an excuse to listen to them. It’s also great time to have a conversation with God. What else are you gonna do, right? Maybe even say a rosary or a novena or something along those lines. And if your husband is ever inclined ot help you, one of you washing dishes and the other drying and putting away is a great time to talk about things that have happened that day. My mom and I tend to do the dishes together sometimes, and it gives us time to put all the other distractions aside and just talk.

I sure don’t like to do the dishes. I don’t know very many people that do. Nine times out of ten, a sink is set much too low for normal-sized - let alone tall - people, so it ends up making the back ache (counters are at just the right height for the average person to work comfortably, but then the sink is down into the counter…duh?) but that pain and aggrivation - if it isn’t causing serious physical problems - is a great way to have something to offer to God.
 
Dishwashers really do sanitize the dishes and you’ll find that
the family has fewer colds, etc. I don’t run the dishwasher
until it is full and therefore as economical as washing by hand,
maybe more. Newer dishwashers are also very energy efficient.
(I do wash pots and pans by hand only because they take up
so much room in the dishwasher.
Take the dishwasher and enjoy!
 
Once my dishwasher broke and needed to be replaced. It was about 6 months or before we ended up actually going out and buying a new one. I think I decided then that one of the best features of a dishwasher was that it was very efficient at getting dishes off your counters. Even when it wasn’t working, I still handwashed the dishes then set them in the dishwasher as sort of a giant drying rack.

Yes, dishwashers aren’t the end all be all, but having lived for about 10 of my 20 or so adult years without a dishwasher…my vote would still be Yes for a dishwasher.
 
Yes, get one. Maybe your bad experience was with an older model. Modern ones don’t have such problems. They’re nearly perfectly accurate and they don’t make the dishes look bad if you use special detergents. And they aren’t so expensive, either. For one bottle of washing liquid, you can buy five detergent cubes for dishwasher and one cube is enough for a fully laden dishwasher. And think of all the time saved and what it means for your hands. 😉

When I was a young boy, no matter the arrangements, everyone would find the way to make me wash the dishes every day. I welcomed the dishwasher as my dearest friend. 😃 Especially since they liked loading it, hehe.
 
We always had one growing up but when I went to college I had them on and off. The off times were horrible. I hate washing dishes. Now I have one again and will never look back! It’s true that the dishwasher sanitizes the dishes, there were some things I wasn’t able to clean with just hot water and soap. My water bottles is a good example. I could never get my dishes as clean with hand-washing.
 
I come from an “old school” family where we (my mom and I) WERE the dishwasher, so when my husband and I moved into a home with a dishwasher, I was a bit weary about it too. I thought, what is the point if I have to “rinse” the dishes first? Then, my husband showed me how easy it was to use and truly a time saver! We were blessed with many dishes from generous bridal shower gifts, so we only need to use the dishwasher twice a week. Of course, when we have children, I am sure we will have to use it more often! Anyway, I love the dishwasher because it gives me so much more time to sit down and enjoy my husband’s company after he has been away at the office all day. Before I began using it, we would sit down and eat dinner together, and then I would spend most of the evening scrubbing away at the dishes. Now, though, all I do is like the other posters said “scrape off the excess food, and place the dishes into the washer.” It is as easy as that!
 
We have one–the home we’re in now is relatively new…it’s very nice and convenient having one. But, back in PA–we did not have one as our home was 60+ yrs old…never got one installed. I am an oddball though, and find washing dishes therapeutic. I sometimes miss washing dishes.😊 But…now that I’m used to loading the dishwasher…I have more time to spend with my family…which is more important than doing dishes!😛
 
sanctareparata said:
But I can think of a whole host of negatives.
  1. It’s hard on the dishes and shortens the life of glassware. (see my answer to #3)
  2. It takes extra water and electricity.
    Actually, if it is a newer model (and it is) you save both water and electricity because you use less to do the whole load.
  3. It takes special detergents that cost money.
    Here you can actually use a 1:1 mix of baking soda and borax (which will make the washing less hard on the dishes and glassware!)
  4. You’ve still gotta rinse the dishes so is it really saving time? You only need to scrape the large pieces off which you do now hand washing 😃
  5. If the cycle isn’t started or is in the middle somewhere, having to dig through the muck to get a plate in a pinch is kinda gross. I guess here I have so many dishes it doesn’t matter - I have been married 29 years and have either been given dishes or bought some of my own, yes I love dishes.
  6. If we forget to run it, we have no dishes ready when we need them. See my answer to #5. You will learn to run it so you don’t run out of dishes, trust me.
Yet, it still seems like it would be dumb to say no to the offer. I mean, this is the year 2008, right? Shouldn’t I have one? I don’t want to tell him yes if I’m not 100% positive we’ll install and use it.

So, anyone out there have any pros I’ve overlooked? And those without dishwashers, would you ever get one?
Click to expand...
I went close to 4 years without a dishwasher and then I saved up enough money to buy one so I did. I don’t regret getting it. I also don’t think the dishwasher actually causes wear and tear on my dishes - I have dishes from shortly after I was married that were washed in a dishwasher so, all and all I would say they have gone through a dishwasher for 20 or more years!

Brenda V.
 
I hand washed for years. It’s only two of us in the home. I bought a dishwasher at an estate sale on the off chance that I might like it. Well - it’s the best purchase of the summer last year!!! 👍 I use LESS water, because I don’t wash after every single meal, I wash once or twice a week. It saves me time, and time is important to me.

Now that I’ve had one, I can’t imagine not having one again.

The only downside is if you are on softened well water - it can etch your clear glasses or anything else that is a transparent glass. Otherwise, I see no downside of owning and using a dishwasher.

~Liza
 
When we lived in an apartment we had one and I loved it! I never had one growing up, though.

When we first bought our house, however, it didn’t have one AND there was no way to install one :eek: There are 8 of us (that’s a lot of dishes!) and the oldest is 10 years old, so the children can help with washing, but it takes forever and I have to rewash dishes if they do help. For me that’s not a solution. So we got a free-standing dishwasher that rolls over to the sink. It’s a bit of a hassle, however, it’s better than taking an hour washing dishes up to twice a day 🙂

I’d take the offer 🙂 but make sure you have a place to install it.
 
Jennifer_J said:
…a free-standing dishwasher that rolls over to the sink. It’s a bit of a hassle, however, it’s better than taking an hour washing dishes up to twice a day 🙂
Click to expand...
This is what mine is too - I actually appreciate the extra counter space it gives me. It has a butcher block top which is very nice for putting hot pots down and stuff. I did loose some space in my kitchen, but I didn’t loose an cupboard space which was what I would have to loose if I put in a built in model.

~Liza
 
The best dishwasher is a man.

Seriously, I will occasionally use the undercounter type, but personally, I find it easier to wash by hand 90% of the time. The other dishwasher is a glorified drying rack. My wife will use it when she does dishes, which is not too often. In her house, her dad did most of the dishes and interestingly enough, he does dishes by hand too.

I’m like John Henry and the steam drill. Before I surrender to an electric dishwasher, I’ll lay down my dish towel and die.
 
sanctareparata said:
But I can think of a whole host of negatives.
  1. It’s hard on the dishes and shortens the life of glassware.
  2. It takes extra water and electricity.
  3. It takes special detergents that cost money.
  4. You’ve still gotta rinse the dishes so is it really saving time?
  5. If the cycle isn’t started or is in the middle somewhere, having to dig through the muck to get a plate in a pinch is kinda gross.
  6. If we forget to run it, we have no dishes ready when we need them.
Click to expand...
You should save on water. Hand washing is more inefficient. The money you save not heating the hot water that would otherwise be wasted will offset the electricity required to run the dishwasher.

Some of the money spent on that detergent will be offset by not having to buy as much hand washing soap.

My wife never had a dishwasher so she thought the same way about the rinsing. My response was that I didn’t buy a dishwasher to wash the dishes before putting them in. Just scrape the loose stuff off and let it do it’s job:)

Oh, and since it’s free you can always get it and if you don’t like it, don’t use it. UNLESS you don’t have a place to put it…if your house has never had one, then you might need to spend some money or do some do-it-yourself remodeling to make a spot for it. Then you might need to think a little more.

Forgetting to run the dishwasher is no different then forgetting to do the dishes, too:)

Take that extra time and spend it with DH:) He’ll love it:)

Andy
 
AHapka said:
Take that extra time and spend it with DH:) He’ll love it:)

Andy
Click to expand...
That’s what we do! And we love it! My DH used to always get frustrated with me because I have to clean up immediately after dinner, but he likes to relax together and watch some tv or just snuggle. Now I can whip together the kitchen in no time, he helps me, and we are done in a zillionth of the time - and more time together!!

Win-Win!!

~Liza
 
**Seems like the majority is in favor of the dishwasher. I’ll add my vote in favor too:thumbsup:

My number one reason (besides saving time and not drying out our hands) is the sanitization issue. Our dishwasher even has an extra sanitize feature where it super heats the rinse water (that way our hot water tank can be set lower so there are no bad burns). After I see just how gross my plates can get when I let my dog have leftovers I am really glad for this feature:)

Malia**
 
Why would you NOT want one? :confused: :eek: When we moved here, this old house had no dishwasher. It was awful! My DH did some work for a plumber, and he came out and installed a dishwasher that we got on sale since it was returned to the store. I had never been so glad for anything! I was pregnant when we moved here, and had that smell aversion thing–everytime I would walk by the sink and smell those dirty dishes either piled up or soaking or whatever–I would puke! It was horrible.
We have noticed no increase in the water bill or anything. We use the cheap powdered detergent, the generic kind in the great big mega box, and it actually costs less than regular dish soap, because we don’t use as much of it as often. And you don’t have to rinse anything, I just tip the ‘full’ plates over the trash can to get the big chunks off. They all come with built in garbage disposals now. And only run it when it’s full! That makes a big difference on costs.
 
Teakafrog said:
I was pregnant when we moved here, and had that smell aversion thing–everytime I would walk by the sink and smell those dirty dishes either piled up or soaking or whatever–I would puke! It was horrible.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know what you mean about that smell thing. ICK! But I don’t let my dishes pile up. They are done after each meal. And now that I think about it, I’m not sure I have enough dishes to get through a whole day without running the thing at least twice daily.

I’m not sure I get the sanitize feature. Why is this beneficial? I mean - duh - of course it’s because it sanitizes :rolleyes: but how does washing by hand not do this, esp if you use dishsoap with antibacterial stuff in it (which I don’t use)? Are those dishes not super clean too?

And I rarely towel dry them. I rinse everything but my glasses in pretty hot water so they dry themselves by the time I’m ready to pull them out of the rack.

I’m actually not crazy about the higher “sanitizing” temp because higher temps lessen the life of the glassware - at least I’ve always heard that. My mom’s glasses are ALWAYS breaking, and we have the same ones!

Right now, to be honest, I think the whole dishwasher thing is making me feel unsettled. I do like my “meditative” time at the kitchen sink. Gives me a nice break. And it’s the only time I get to look out the window at the neighborhood and just watch what’s going on. The rush of putting dirty plates in a dishwasher and knowing they’re in there dirty waiting for the cycle to start rather than all happy and clean and orderly in their cabinet homes, and having to remember to unload it and keep things washed and available actually sounds like too much of a stress right now, to be honest. I KNOW that sounds really weird. But I think ya’ll actually just talked me out of it. :o

But back to the sanitization issue - let’s talk about that. I’m a firm believer in not using antibacterial soaps or hand gels (unless really needed) because I think they weaken the immune system and create super bugs. So why do I want my dishes super sanitized? Seriously - is it really that big of a deal? Anyone know?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top