On 12 Jun 2012 at 8:27am Sceptic wrote:
My wife ran out of dishwasher tablets on Sunday so I tried putting washing up liquid in the tablet tray, well talk about bubbles. After clearing out all the bubbles I tried another load with just half a thimble full of liquid and it worked a treat. I looked on the Internet and they recommend soda crystals as a good alternative as it will get rid of lime scale as well. It also works out a lot cheaper than tablets. I would like the opinion of a dishwasher expert to hear what he has to say. Let's face it saving money today is a must.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 8:31am Pete wrote:
I wash by hand and it saves washing up liquid AND water, and I get to think about things that I wouldn't otherwise have time for - go on spoil yourself...
On 12 Jun 2012 at 9:52am Rookie wrote:
Lidl tablets are dirt cheap and work just as well as the big brands
On 12 Jun 2012 at 10:09am Sceptic wrote:
Cheers Rookie,it's nice to get a sensible reply.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 10:17am Soap dodger wrote:
I always use as little soap powder as i can (roughly a third of the what the machine/soap manufacturer recommend). I've never used tablets as I assume they are more expensive than powder and include too high a dose of soap.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 12:22pm Cliffite wrote:
My flat came with a dishwasher but never use it. Don't see the point of having the thing on for 2 hrs when I can easily wash up in 20 mins time. Saves water, money, electricity etc
On 12 Jun 2012 at 2:23pm Local wrote:
Aldi's tablets came out very well in Which?s recent testing
On 12 Jun 2012 at 3:02pm sceptic wrote:
Hi Cliffite. I dont know what sort of dishwasher you have got but if it takes two hours to finish no wonder it was left behind. Also if there is a lot of washing up you need to change the water a couple of times if you do it by hand.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 3:14pm Southover Queen wrote:
It would take me considerably longer than 20 minutes to wash the stack of stuff that goes into my dishwasher, which takes 56 minutes precisely.
If I've just got a couple of plate then I'll wash them up by hand. However if four people have just got up from the table and I've got a full load I reckon it's quicker and uses less water/detergent etc to run the machine.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 3:17pm Dish pan hands wrote:
I think dishwashers are rubbish. Take ages to stack properly, won't take several pans/saucepans at a time, take ages, and never clean properly. Also they block easily and stuff i still wet after it finished.
Nothing wrong with Marigolds and a dash of liquid.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 3:47pm Hairy Lipped Squid wrote:
I think dishwashers are brilliant. I seem to be able to manage to stack mine without any problem. Once you have done it once you know how to do it in the most efficient way, it's easy, and I get the saucepans in. It doesn't really matter to me if it takes 20 minutes or 2 hours to run a cycle either as I don't generally stand there waiting for it to finish! Mine has never blocked (touch wood), but if you scrape food remains of first (as you would if hand washing)then it shouldnt. The residual heat in the machine usually dried everything, but I admit it sometimes is still wet after it has finished, again the same as is handwashed stuff of course, so this is hardly a criticism. You can of course just leave it in there a few hours till it is dry, but I bet you wouldn't be able to balance the equivalent amount of washing up on your draining board until it was dry!
A (clothes) washing machine can take a couple of hours on a long cycle as well, but would you rather stand there at the sink and do a full load of laundry by hand? Didn't think so.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 5:45pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
There was a study a few years ago that showed AA rated dishwashers use less water and energy than doing the same amount of washing up by hand, if you include rinsing the stuff.
I love my dishwasher. It's very efficient and only takes 45 mins. It holds loads, despite being a slimline one, and the only time I've had to do more than one load for a meal was for a 4-course meal for 6, and then one load was practically all glasses. In the normal run of things, it only goes on 2 or 3 times a week, as opposed to the 2 lots of dishes per day I'd do if I washed up by hand.
I can't bear dirty dishes hanging around, and the dishwasher is an excellent place to store them.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 5:54pm rookie wrote:
I resisted a dishwasher for years. But I gave in. It's now absolutely indispensible.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 5:59pm Southover Queen wrote:
I have a friend whose hand washing up is so awful you have to rinse the glasses out to see through them. Her acquisition of a dishwasher means that you can sit down at her table and eat/drink without fear or indeed getting a clear view of what they had for dinner the night before.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 6:08pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
My OH is dreadful at washing up. I think it's strategic incompetence - he knows I'd rather do do it myself than endure the smeary glasses and residue on plates.
Despite that, he deplores my practice of allowing the dogs to perform a pre-wash function n plates (which I agree is totally slovenly) before they go in the dishwasher.*
*Plates not dogs, although a dog washing machine would be a welcome addition, especially in this wet weather.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 6:34pm Southover Queen wrote:
"I think it's strategic incompetence " Course it is. I bet he always ensures that there's a black/red sock in with the white laundry as well, so that you'll never let him near that either. Breaking the hoover (or sucking up the family pet) is also a transparent ploy.
Does your OH also indulge in the sort of cookery which entails a remortgage and leaves the kitchen in a sort of stunned post nuclear explosion state?
On 12 Jun 2012 at 7:03pm Sceptic wrote:
I have just loaded up my dishwasher and put a teaspoon of soda crystals in the tablet compartment, as someone recommended on the Internet. I will let you know the results when the cycle is finished.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 8:31pm sceptic wrote:
I have just emptied the dishwasher after using soda crystals instead of a dishwasher tablet and the contents have come out sparkling clean. I even had a frying pan in there which had burn on bacon residue and that came out nice and clean as well. Cheaper than tablets so it looks like a winner. I might put in a teaspoon and a half next time so the dishwasher has a treat as well. Also on the internet someone recommended putting in a cup of soda crysals into the machine without loading it up and it is as good and cheaper than a finish cleaner.
On 12 Jun 2012 at 9:07pm Harold wrote:
Sceptic, that sounds great, might use soda now and then, Bit worried about it getting rinsed off properly so will stick to small amounts, does it clean out the machine as well?
On 12 Jun 2012 at 9:14pm Observer wrote:
So THIS is what the Forum's like without PN!
On 12 Jun 2012 at 10:53pm TDA wrote:
What are soda crystals please?
On 12 Jun 2012 at 11:12pm Harold wrote:
Soda crystals are sodium carbonate, they are a strong alkaline, very good for unblocking drains and general cleaning, they are about 90 pence for a big bag in Tesco ,
On 13 Jun 2012 at 6:07am Sceptic wrote:
Hi Harold, yes they clean out the machine as well. If this catches on you watch the price of soda crystals go up.
On 13 Jun 2012 at 10:49am Cliffite wrote:
I wash up stuff as I cook & finish with them but then my OH seems to manage to use every single bowl, saucepan & utensil when she's cooking. After years of uni jobs working as a kitchen porter I can stack a dishwasher in the most German like efficiency; need to look at it again but pretty sure I choose Economy wash which takes ages.
On 13 Jun 2012 at 5:23pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
Lol, SQ, I certainly wouldn't let him do my laundry. He'd put my delicate silk smalls on a boil wash.
He is a very messy cook - splats stuff all up the splashback etc - but he is also a tightwad and ignores "use by" dates. He makes the best lasagne and Thai food I've ever eaten, though, so I let him off.
On 13 Jun 2012 at 9:01pm jocko wrote:
Dishwashers are the biz and anything made in the last 10 years will be much more economical than hand washing, especially if, as I do, it is run on economy 7, for only one hour - 17 litres of water heated exclusively for the machine, that's one sinkful and you can not handwash anything like the same amount.
My machine takes a HUGE load - everything used to make and consume 3 meals a day for 3 big blokes. I haven't paid for a machine for years as I have got them from freecycle.
As long as the filters are kept clean they will not get blocked.
My opinion is that anyone who refuses to use a dishwasher should also be made to handwash all the clothes!! Let's see how you feel about it then!
Incidentally, if you run out of tabs you can use clothes washing powder.
On 14 Jun 2012 at 2:48am expat wrote:
I've been using a dishwasher for 25 years. My experience is that it makes life cleaning up after the OH so much easier. I still do a quick wash by hand, of big, horrible pans, or leave them for the OH to do. I do find if I don't scrape the plates properly, overload the machine or don't clean the filter properly the plates can come out dirty still. Using one does avoid the dirty tea towels being used on the glasses too. The biggest problem for me is to get the family to realise they can open the dishwasher door and put their dishes into it as well as I can! 
On 14 Jun 2012 at 12:49pm brixtonbelle wrote:
Dishwashers are a delight and one of the best inventions ever for (lets face it) women (who stlll do the majority of all domestic work). Washing dishes for a large family is pure drudgery and despite my inane initial enthusiasm for it as a girl, I soon realised what a waste of time and effort it is. Along with washing machines, they have effectively llberated many of us from the scourge of housework.
Now I just need a machine to be invented that irons, cleans loos and bathrooms, mops floors, hoovers, dusts and clear up general drifts of junk and most of my slatternly habits would be a thing of the past !
On 14 Jun 2012 at 9:30pm Southover Queen wrote:
Can I add to BB's list a machinewhich sorts out the larder cupboard so that it's not in one chaotic pile and finding the packet of almonds you know is in there does not entail emptying five shelves of crud?
On 15 Jun 2012 at 1:49am 17Xs wrote:
Dont put pans in the dishwasher! By pans I mean frying pans and baking trays! They will look after themselves!! 