Dishwashers losing popularity in US Homes???

[DADoES]

A good, realistic dishwasher should heat its own water. There is either a thermal hold or a long enough main wash with a strong enough heater to boost the temperature to at least 140*F.

Mine heats the main wash and final rinse to specific target temps per the selected cycle. Maximum cycle is 150°F wash, 163°F rinse. Assured heating, time is extended as needed to reach the targets. The temp sensor is accurate, I checked it once with a temp probe in place through a cycle. I may purge the sink faucet to a slightly warm flow before starting in the winter season so the prewash isn't chilly but not during summer.

 

[laundryguysf]

I have come to the conclusion that Americans are obsessed with time. I vacation a lot in Europe and love that Europeans work to live while we live to work. I have a Miele dishwasher that is over 20 years old. I had a Bosch before that. The Miele takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours for a normal load. The Bosch was about the same. That is not an issue for me. I'm certainly not standing there waiting for it to finish. I usually set it to start while everyone is asleep. I'm more concerned that the dishes are clean (which they are) and that I've never had to call for service since I've had this machine.

 

[niclonnic]

I can personally attest to this article. The Kenmore dishwasher included with my old house (made in 2001) was reliable, but then in 2010, it developed leaking issues. One day that fall, it leaked wash water overnight, all over the floor and onto the nearby carpet. My dad had to clean up the mess and buy some new parts, namely hoses, to fix the DW himself and keep it going for a bit longer.

In late 2011, when we saw the DW leaking again, mid-wash, my family decided to swear off using the machine entirely and switch to hand washing. Part of this is associated with my Japanese mother. Apparently, since 99% of homes in Japan lack a dishwasher, she wanted to live that lifestyle here in my home. While either my mom or sister washed dishes by hand, I wiped them off with a kitchen towel and put them away. Honestly, it felt liberating, as we always had dishes at the ready. Although a part of me really wanted a DW, my mom was so obstinate about it. Even after my parents' divorce a few years later, my dad still didn't buy a new machine.

In the summer of 2016, shortly after my now-stepmom moved in, we owed it to ourselves to finally buy a dishwasher after nearly 5 years, better late than never. We got a Samsung with a stainless steel exterior and interior. It took me some time to get used to having a DW again after going so long without one.

Where I'm at now, I have a Frigidaire DW (with the infamous "OrbitClean" spray arm) that came with the house. Now, I am one of those people who has to pre-rinse every dish before loading it into the machine. I know Finish's marketing states to "skip the rinse," but if I do so, badly stuck-on food, including rice, won't come off completely while just about everything else gets cleaned just fine. This means I have to re-wash the affected items by hand. Also, overly oily plastic items don't emerge fully clean on the "normal" wash temperature. I have to turn on the "hi-temp" option to get these items clean. In my eye, a dishwasher is more of a dish sanitizer.

Nowadays, I can't live in a home without a dishwasher. In a household of 4, I run the machine just about every night on a normal wash cycle. That way, I can unload the clean dishes in the morning.

 

[combo52]

Our dishwasher is losing popularity?

I think the biggest reason some people don’t get along with dishwashers as evidenced by this thread. Also, is that people don’t know how to use mechanical items we still have people that are rinsing things off because they think the dishwasher doesn’t get them clean what your dishwasher is not working you need to get a better dishwasher or you need to use it properly.

If somebody came to my door and said they were gonna take away my dishwashers, I would easily pay them $10,000 to have the convenience and time savings of having a dishwasher in my house.

A dishwasher should get everything you put in it clean without pre-rinsing of any kind, you should be able to load a whole dinner parties full of dishes in the dishwasher in less than five minutes and unload it again in the morning or whenever in less than five minutes.

As usual last evening, we had six friends here we get together and play ping-pong in the neighbors basement every Friday night when I got back, the countertop was stacked with dishes. They went right in the dishwasher. Everything is spotlessly clean in the morning without ever turning on the faucet without ever getting my hands wet.

Dishwasher is not only safe and obnoxious chore from your list of things to do but I estimate it saves me somewhere between a half an hour and an hour a day. How much would you pay to have an extra hour of time every day or an extra 365 hours of time every year?

New dishwashers are better than they have ever been, they not only get things cleaner useless energy, but they’re highly durable as well.

Yes, there are plenty examples of dishwashers that only lasts a half dozen years and have serious problems but that’s not new dishwashers in the 50s and 60s and 70s were often junk and often only last little as three or four years.

We did go through a better period in the 80s and 90s when dishwashers became more durable and they also did a good job.

The drive to make them more energy efficient and quiet required complete redesigning of them and there were certainly problems with many brands, however, we’ve gotten through this period quite well and dishwashers now are lasting as long or longer than they ever did before.

Look at all the testimonials about the top-of-the-line KitchenAid and Maytag dishwashers on this site. Everybody that’s gotten this new three rack machine in the past five years has said nothing but praise for it, the fact that a new dishwasher takes between two and three hours is not a factor you’re not gonna sit and wait for a dishwasher even if it only takes 45 minutes.

John L

 

[phillymatt53]

Our dishwasher is losing popularity?

we still have people that are rinsing things off because they think the dishwasher doesn’t get them clean what your dishwasher is not working you need to get a better dishwasher or you need to use it properly.
A dishwasher should get everything you put in it clean without pre-rinsing of any kind,
John L

Really??
So according to you, I can leave the chicken bones, chicken skins, peas, beans, ham bones, etc. on the plates and burned sauce stuck in the pots?
Wow!
I'll pass that important info around to others just so they know!

 

[DADoES]

Really??
So according to you, I can leave the chicken bones, chicken skins, peas, beans, ham bones, etc. on the plates and burned sauce stuck in the pots?
Wow!
I'll pass that important info around to others just so they know!

There's a huge difference in not rinsing before loading vs. not dumping off bones and such that would call for garbage or a disposer. Sheesh.

Regards to burned-on sauce. Also a microwave oatmeal boilover ... note that all the residue on the exterior of the bowl also is gone.

-- Edited to clarify garbage or a disposer. Also sounds like some waste is happening if edible peas and beans are being discarded.

 

[Chetlaham]

There's a huge difference in not rinsing before loading vs. not dumping off bones and such that would call for garbage or a disposer. Sheesh.

Regards to burned-on sauce. Also a microwave oatmeal boilover ... note that all the residue on the exterior of the bowl also is gone.

-- Edited to clarify garbage or a disposer. Also sounds like some waste is happening if edible peas and beans are being discarded.

Your pictures show food poure, liquid food residue, and food stains, but none show food bits.

I think it depends what that soil is and what we are calling a garbage disposal IMO.

While the Whirlpool Power Clean Filter Module could not handle bones, it could handle some peas, beans, bacon bits, seeds, small pieces of skin, baked on soils and even some burned on soils. Basically if it was grind-able and could fit through the bottom grate the Whirlpool Power Clean Module took care of it without hesitation. And could do so in reasonably large quantities.

I know that if I put cooked on egg in the tall tub, pieces of it will be on the grate at the bottom at the end of the cycle despite none being left on the pan. That to me is not a good dishwasher. If you have mash potatoes with peas of shepherds pie there will be a few bits of peas and beef stuck to the pan, bowls and plates. It is impractical to meticulously scrape every single piece.


One also has to remember that at one point a Whirlpool Power Clean Filter Module was considered a BOL machine yet could out clean today's TOL Maytag and Kitchen-Aid tall tubs literally many times over.

I think the reason why members here are having so much success with their tall tubs comes from cooking and meals which leave no food bits behind on the dinner ware. And when bits are found or large amounts of batter are present pre-rinsing is involved which members have admitted to.

 

[ea56]

Oy Vey! Much ado about nothing! If ya like dishwashers USE them. I can relate to that too. There was a time that ya couldn’t have torn me away from having a DW too!

But when the DW we have went thru an entire cycle with a heated dry and I opened it up when it after it shut off to find that no water had circulated during the entire 2 hr cycle and found the detergent pod caked in the dispenser and ALL of the food residue literally BAKED on every GD thing in the DW that was almost enough for me to give up on them.

Then it took me 45 mins to wash off all that baked on food residue. After having to wait 3 weeks for the new pump to get to the repair man so he could fix the DW and washing the dishes by hand during those three weeks I discovered that I really enjoyed doing it and I found it actually made my life easier, not harder.

I cook every meal every day 365 days a year. Since I spend so much time in the kitchen once I’m done I want to really be done. Having to go back into the kitchen to unload the DW either later on after dinner or the next morning was more than I wanted to do once I discovered that doing the dishes by hand actually fit into my life better. Once they were done, they were DONE and so was my KP for the day too!

To each his own.

Eddie

 

[DADoES]

Food "bits." What does that entail? Perhaps provide some photos of what you all have. I don't waste food so there apparently aren't any substantial "bits" left on my dishware, or cookware after I scrape the leftovers into storage containers.

This is my oatmeal bowl from this morning, including a bit of grease from five Hillshire Farms Beef Lit'l Smokies. How much more "bits" should be expected? I don't have any plates from yesterday evening being that the dishwasher was run last night (after four days accumulation). The skillet for the HB Helper was washed (by hand, the ceramic non-stick doesn't do well in the DW), the "bits" scraped out for later consumption.

 

[luxflairguy]

I have an 18 inch SS Frigidaire DW in my condo. Since I had to adapt to tube feeding over a year ago, my dishwasher gets used more as a drying rack for hand washed dishes than as a functioning machine. Counter space in my kithcen is very limited and by opening the dishwasher and pulling out the top rack I have an instant drying rack! It frees up counter space. Who knew! Greg

 

[phillymatt53]

There's a huge difference in not rinsing before loading vs. not dumping off bones and such that would call for garbage or a disposer. Sheesh.

Regards to burned-on sauce. Also a microwave oatmeal boilover ... note that all the residue on the exterior of the bowl also is gone.

-- Edited to clarify garbage or a disposer. Also sounds like some waste is happening if edible peas and beans are being discarded.

Combo52 stated "A dishwasher should get everything you put in it clean without pre-rinsing"
His words, not mine.

As for leftover food on the plates, not everyone "cleans their plates" at the dinner table. - for various reasons.
So why even mention that?

 

[phillymatt53]

Food "bits." What does that entail? Perhaps provide some photos of what you all have. I don't waste food so there apparently aren't any substantial "bits" left on my dishware, or cookware after I scrape the leftovers into storage containers.

Good for you!
But that's YOU, not everyone is the same way.
Small children, elderly or sick people, may not feel like licking the plate clean.
Last I heard, everyone has their own DNA too.

 

[Chetlaham]

Food "bits." What does that entail? Perhaps provide some photos of what you all have. I don't waste food so there apparently aren't any substantial "bits" left on my dishware, or cookware after I scrape the leftovers into storage containers.

This is my oatmeal bowl from this morning, including a bit of grease from five Hillshire Farms Beef Lit'l Smokies. How much more "bits" should be expected? I don't have any plates from yesterday evening being that the dishwasher was run last night (after four days accumulation). The skillet for the HB Helper was washed (by hand, the ceramic non-stick doesn't do well in the DW), the "bits" scraped out for later consumption.

The food you're showing does not leave sizable bits behind like a casserole, salad, shepherds pie or omelet would. It just shoes liquid remnants of food and a small particles.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Because their married to their cellphones and virtual reality.

That's stupid!

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Good for you!
But that's YOU, not everyone is the same way.
Small children, elderly or sick people, may not feel like licking the plate clean.
Last I heard, everyone has their own DNA too.

I like to lick my plate clean. Dishwashers should just wash dishes! Not act like video games!

 

[DADoES]

Good for you!
But that's YOU, not everyone is the same way.
Small children, elderly or sick people, may not feel like licking the plate clean.
Last I heard, everyone has their own DNA too.

Seriously?? I have a drawer-full of forks, spoons, and such, as do a majority of households. Licking isn't involved.

 

[DADoES]

The food you're showing does not leave sizable bits behind like a casserole, salad, shepherds pie or omelet would. It just shoes liquid remnants of food and a small particles.

No one thus far has provided examples of "bits" that choke their dishwashers if not fully rinsed away before loading. Show your bits!

 

[Chetlaham]

When I get a chance I'll take pics and upload them. But in the time being I encourage you to look at the grates on a Power Clean vs a tall tub dishwashers.

 

[hvtech42]

I'll be the first person in the thread to suggest maybe, we should hold our horses a bit and take that article with a grain of salt.

The evidence they provided for the thesis in their clickbait headline was extremely weak. Literally all they had was a vague reference to people making TikTok videos about handwashing dishes? Give me a break. And they talk about 20% of people only using their dishwashers once a week, but say nothing about the trend in that number. For all we know, those are small households that have never needed to use their dishwasher all that much.

If you actually want to know how many Americans have and use dishwashers, there is a good source for that: the Residential Energy Consumption Survey put on by our government's Energy Information Administration: https://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/

Now this isn't perfect, mainly because there's a time lag in getting the data. It takes them a while after collecting the data to tabulate and post the results. So we won't have data from, say, 2024 for another few years. But the trend in their previous surveys shows nothing but an increase in dishwasher ownership over time. And confirms there has always been a significant minority of dishwasher owners who don't use them all that much.

 

[phillymatt53]

That's stupid!

That's more then stupid, it fuels rudeness too.

I threw a Christmas dinner party at my home a while back for several friends and neighbors.
I rarely anymore go to all the trouble to do such things.
After all, it's a lot of work!

The one thing I asked everyone before they came over, was to please do NOT stare at your cellphone, text, etc., at my dinner table.
Taking holiday photos, group shots, is fine.
I think that's a reasonable request, and it's certainly being respectful to the host.

One ignorant young guest who was a friend of a friend that I invited over thought I was joking, and actually laughed about it.
He was told about it prior to coming over.
I told him I wasn't joking, it's a rule in my house to socialize with one another during dinner, not spend time ignoring the present company with a damned cellphone in their face.
He refused, so I made it clear that my friend's ignorant friend was never being invited to my home again.