Do you wash your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher?

[debm55]

I just washed the dishes by hand before loading the dishwasher, I'm thinking to myself --self why are you doing this? Perhaps I think the dishwasher won't get them 100% clean or habit. What do you do?

Thank you.

[MaryMagdaline]

1. Yes

[Lemonwurst]

11. We stopped doing that, on good advice

We always rinsed & scrubbed everything on its way into the dishwasher, for years, and for the same reason as you both.

6 months ago we entirely stopped, on the advice of a Bosch repairman who was fixing our microwave but telling us how to increase efficiency and longevity of all our appliances (not all Bosch).

He explained that dishwasher soap is designed to stick to grease, muck, etc. as would normally be on dirty dishes. That’s how it gets sudsy - and without any schmootz to stick to, it just glides over everything and goes down the drain.

We still quickly rinse off larger food chunks, but for the most part, dishes now go in very dirty, and they come out sparkling. Same with stainless steel cookware.

Two small downsides: 1) we can’t let the dishwasher filter get too dirty, so we set a calendar reminder to rinse it every three months. 2) if you have few enough dishes where you don’t run it every day, it could get a little smelly.

Keep doing what you’re doing if you’re happy with the results, but it’s not true that you’re making your dishes cleaner because of it.

[debm55]

19. thanks. I think I might be washing because I can hardly hear it runit doesn't make the loud noise

of our older model.

[roxybear]

44. I think of DishWashers as glorified DishRinsers.

I see commercials saying the dishwasher will remove dried, stuck-on food if you use the right dishwashing detergent, theirs. I don't believe it. Some dirty pans have to soak for an hour before the food loosens up and can be removed. I don't believe any dishwasher will remove dried, stuck-on food. Does yours? Washing everything by hand and then running it through the the dishwasher ensures that everything is clean.

[debm55]

47. hi Roxybear--my hubby

[elleng]

2. Silly, I have no dishwasher (except when a friend visits!)

and when I did, had a house and a family, I'd rinse them, that's all, folks.

[debm55]

22. Hubby used to be the dishwasher. But when we got one, he was hooked.

Funny story how we finally got one. When we redid the kitchen, we went to Home Depot for all the cabinets. Our friend installed. However, as he was installing one cabinet was missing=next to the sink. As God as my witness, I did not plan it. I just said hay that is the perfect place and space for a dishwasher. So as Nick installed the kitchen cabinet, we drove up to Home Depot and bought a dishwasher and had another friend install it. We"ll never go back. LOL

[elleng]

25. Perfect!

OLD house we bought had a re-done kitchen, WITH dishwasher.

I left (him,) we later separated, and house went along with the split.

I now rent an OLDER house, with NO dishwasher (except, as I said, when a friend visits!)

[MiniMe]

3. I do too

[Ocelot II]

4. No. A dishwasher is for washing dishes.

If there's some really sticky or baked-on stuff on them I rinse that off first, but otherwise they go right into the dishwasher, which does an excellent job of getting them clean.

[ironflange]

7. this

[in2herbs]

5. No. I scrape off any food but don't even rinse before putting in dishwasher.

[Meadowoak]

20. They actually get cleaner with just scraping than if you wash them first.

I used to wash them before going in the dishwasher for years, then someone told me I was doing it wrong, so I tried the just scraping method, now they all come out sparkling clean.

[debm55]

23. L scrap and feel the sink with Dawn, wash, rinse and load. I get mad at hubby because he doesn't

completely rinse the bubbles off.

[Abolishinist]

6. Yes. And don't think it goes unnoticed by my wife.

HOWEVER, there is a reason for this. First and foremost, and depending on the intended use of the dish, I'm OK with re-using those stored in the dishwasher. For example, I often have scrambled eggs for breakfast, which for me means I need a bowl to crack them into and then whisk/whatever. Why use one from the cupboard when a reasonably clean one taken from the DW is fine with me. Same with a plate I'm going to put a sandwich on.

[Arkansas Granny]

8. I haven't had a dishwasher since my kids grew up and left home.

[debm55]

24. You got to get one , Granny. I can't say it saves time as I do both, but from reading the posts, I'm

going to break the habit.

[Iggo]

34. Yer gonna hafta have another kid then, Granny.

[Effete Snob]

9. Dishwasher makers recommend you not do so

If you are washing the dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, your dishes will actually not get as clean.

The soap is formulated to first stick to the stuff on the dishes. If the dishes aren’t dirty, it rinses off and is not there during much of the wash cycle.

You are not making it “easier” for the dishwasher to wash the dishes, you are making it harder.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning/a33322/stop-prerinsing-dishes/

[SCantiGOP]

10. I was waiting to see if anyone posted this

It is true for any washing machine less than 10-15 years old; wasn't true for the ones way back.

[Meadowoak]

18. +1

[RainCaster]

12. No, but my dogs do

On occasion.
🐶🐕‍🦺🐶

[Bristlecone]

13. Winner!

Lol

[debm55]

27. I do hope you wash those off, before loading in dishwasher. LOL

My Dolly uses those small paper plates.

[XanaDUer2]

41. Dolly sounds so cute

You should post pictures of her!

[debm55]

43. I'll try to see if I can do. It took me 2 weeks to figure out how to add a clip art to my name.

[Deuxcents]

14. I have a dishwasher but I use it for storage

It’s just me so I wash em after I use em. When my family comes over, they squawk about it but, it’s just the way it is.

[Hope22]

15. Our dishwasher repair person says no

He was adamant that we not prewash but it is a very hard habit to break. I absolutely can’t deal with baked on crap and am not willing to gamble!😁

[debm55]

17. That's what ours told us. but I don't think I am REALLY getting them clean. My bad. I will promise

Last edited Mon Oct 24, 2022, 11:37 PM - Edit history (1)

not to wash tomorrow and just load the dishwasher. Can I break the habit--we'll see.

[GP6971]

16. Just a rinse

and light wipe with a sponge.

[Croney]

21. I've washed the dishes by hand for five years, so I suspect the dishwasher is kaput!

I don't want to find out, then we'd have to get it fixed or get a new one to ignore.

[Polly Hennessey]

26. I don't wash but I do rinse.

[Bluethroughu]

28. Light wash, remove food or the crusty stuff and rinse glasses

[SeattleVet]

29. I just get the big chunks off.

I try to leave them as greasy/dirty as possible, since that's what modern washers and detergents are made for.

We do have a fairly modern dishwasher - a Fisher & Paykel Dish Drawer - which only uses about 2 gallons of water for a full load.

[SlimJimmy]

30. We do a general rinse of them. Then off to the dishwasher they go.

[doc03]

31. I don't have a dishwasher. nt

[Skittles]

32. I don't use a dishwasher

I cannot stand loading a dishwasher, it is extra work

[Iggo]

33. No.

I do rinse them thoroughly, though.

[wnylib]

35. I AM the dishwasher. One person, so

what do I need a dishwasher for? It would be wasteful to run one every day for the few dishes that I use. Would have to let them pile up for a few days to make running one worth while. No thanks.

[Chainfire]

36. I rinse them. The main thing I use the dishwasher for is to sanitize the dishes.

Water to my dishwasher is 140 degrees F., it takes some tough bacteria to survive an hour of that. When the cycle is done, I crack the door and the dishes dry in a couple of minutes. Pots and pans I wash by hand.

[Luciferous]

37. Nope, just scrape them and load them in. What's the point of using

a dishwasher if you wash them all by hand first?

[debm55]

39. J don't know. That's why I'm asking? :o}

[SKKY]

38. Not exactly, but I do rinse them off before putting them in the sink...

...Not sure if it is practical, or just a matter of habbit.

[RobinA]

40. Nope

I'm all about less time doing chores. Never had a problem. Except when my OCD friend and I rent a beach house together. Then I pass them near running water or she will pull them out and wash them before putting them back in the dishwasher. If I'm going to wash a dish I'll wash the dish and put it in the cupboard.

[IcyPeas]

42. I have found using a name brand dishwasher soap works better than the store brand.

I usually buy Cascade gel. The supermarket brand really didn't seem to work as well.

[Sogo]

45. Really appreciate this discussion.

I didn't know about the properties of dishwasher detergent, and with my dishwasher being only three years old, I'm going to give it a try to not pre-wash.

Thank you all for the info!

[3catwoman3]

46. We usually rinse off big chunks. If we are not going to run the dishwasher...

…the same night that we have a dish with lots of garlic, or a fish dish, those plates get a more thorough rinse so the dishwasher doesn’t stink by the time we run it 1-2 days later.

It’s just my husband and me at home now, so we don’t go thru as many dishes, glasses, utensils etc as when our sons were still at home.

[jmowreader]

48. There's only one thing I wash by hand

If I bake some meat with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce or fish sauce I wash the pan by hand because baked-on protein sauces don't come off in the dishwasher. Everything else goes into the dishwasher without washing first. Miele's AutoDos detergent is so powerful it'll wash the evil out of Donald Trump's heart.

[CloudWatcher]

49. Wonderful video

This guy does an great job of explaining the design of dish washers and why those soap pods are not so good.

[BlueTsunami2018]

50. I'll rinse them off.

But I’m not hand washing them and then putting them in the dishwasher. Once I hand wash, that’s it.

[debm55]

51. I started to rinse and put in dishwasher since I read the posts here. I did it, it was hard. but i

started. }

[debm55]

52. Hey I got a smily. How did that happen?

[Rhiannon12866]

53. I rinse mine to eliminate stuck food, especially cheese

The important thing for me is to give them a rinse if they need it before anything dries on since I don't have enough dirty dishes here to run the dishwasher every night.