Avoiding damage from dishwasher

[justjunque]

Hi all,

I tried searching older threads, but didn't find this specific topic.

As with most of our appliances, our dishwasher was here when we bought our house.
If it's relevant, it's a Whirlpool Quiet Partner I.
I'll attach a picture of the model info; again, in case it's relevant.

We've used it a few times since we've lived here, but, for the most part, we hand wash all of our dishes.
The reason being, concerns about damaging the finish of our dishes, glasses, etc.
Both of our families used dishwashers when we were young, and eventually, everything seemed to get damaged by it; especially glasses with any painted design.

But even just plain glasses seemed to get cloudy looking over time.
And we have Corelle dishes with a painted design.
On the older ones that our parents had, the paint is often worn off, or very faded and dull at the very least, from being washed in the dishwasher.

Is there something that can be done differently so that the dishwasher won't cause this damage?
A different detergent that didn't exist in our younger days perhaps?
I know that nothing lasts forever, but I'm pretty OCD about making things last as long as possible.
We would use our dishwasher more if we knew it wouldn't cause damage.
And it probably isn't good for the dishwasher to sit there for long periods without being used. Is it?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Barry

 

[DADoES]

 
Designations such as "Quiet Partner 1" are just marketing terms.  In this case it refers to the level of sound insulation.  Model numbers are always more specific to a machine's features, and allow look-up of parts diagrams and user manuals in case that's relevant to a question.

Dishwasher detergents are more chemically harsh than handwashing liquids.  There's no mechanical "rubbing" action on the soils, only water spray and heat, so stronger chemicals are needed.

Clouding (etching) of glassware occurs from the factors of high water temperature (compared to handwashing) and strong chemicals without sufficient food soils to combine with and buffer said chemicals.  This is why prerinsing dishware before loading is a big No-No.  Some people go so far as to essentially handwash everything before loading so the machine ends up functioning as a high-temp rinser and dryer, in which case they shouldn't use any detergent.

Older detergent formulas usually contained chlorine bleach, which is a factor in fading.  Most of them nowadays are enzyme-based (enzymes are incompatible with chlorine bleach).

 

[iowabear]

Dishwashers Do Take Off Paint

Like a lot of people I have coffee mugs with the logos of former employers on them.  It seems that everywhere I worked in the 1990s and 2000s I ended up with a couple of coffee mugs.

 

And I have been using them daily for years and the logos on them are barely visible now.

 

However as DADoES pointed out in another thread, the chances are probably higher that I wouldn't have them at all if I hand-washed them because at some point they would have slipped out of my soapy hands and shattered.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Dishwashers do damage the surface decoration, especially where the decoration is applied over the glaze, or simply printed on the surface.

Red decoration will fade the quickest, followed by black which turns shades of grey over time.

Glass is dependant upon the minerals it is composed of. Certain minerals can dissolve at higher rates during the hot alkaline wash cycle. This leads to striations, 'scratches', clouding, mirror-effect, and 'oil-on-water' iridescence.

Some types of glass are better than others, but much depends on the manufacturer. I've found Corning Pyrex to be pretty resistant, but Arcuisine to suffer mirror-clouding.

And I do agree that using the dishwasher has allowed crockery to live a longer serviceable life than might be possible by handwashing - with its inherent clattering, banging, chipping and dropping - but with less lustre to the decoration.

 

[fisherpaykel]

Glass etching and protection

Finish Max in One and Quantum Max state they have glass protection in the formula. An older package of Finish Powerball tabs I have states on bottom of box it has Etch Protect to help prevent cloudiness and etching of glassware. This seems to be true but I have not done side by side comparison testing, maybe a test Consumer Reports should actually do and report-not expecting it though given their slide to light on tests, heavy on opinion in a pseudo-eco way, although their opinion of toss and replace a major appliance instead of repair either side of five years can't be considered eco in any rational sense can it? Using a dishwasher will usually use a lot less water than hand washing and rinsing especially if the tap is running while rinsing.