How often do you run your dishwasher?

[lordkenmore]

>I grew up in the North and in my family cast iron was something we never used.

I also grew up in the North. Indeed, I've never even been to the South. Growing up, my mother had one cast iron skillet--in fact, it was the only skillet we had. (Although we always did have an electric skillet, which actually probably got more use.) It seemed like it got the job done, and I don't recall any drama. Nor any special care. Despite the whines about "don't wash!", I think my mother washed her iron skillet with [purists: get ready to shudder!] regular dish detergent. It survived, and never had any cranky moments that I recall.

One of my grandmothers--who also lived North--had iron skillets, but her skillets seemed more problematic. I can remember washing them, and--at some point--trying to reseason. It wasn't ideal, but it probably helped the pan. Or did while it lasted... One of my uncles at some point decided it would be so much better to scrub all that pesky seasoning away... Perhaps he didn't know better. Perhaps he did it just to spite me. (I think he did hate me, at least to a degree.)

Today, I honestly have mixed feelings about cast iron. I like how durable it can be. I like the thought of a more natural non-stick (or, probably more accurately, lower stick)pan vs. Teflon. But...keeping it happy can be a pain. And while I don't have a dishwasher now, there is that thought that cast iron is hand clean only...

 

[panthera]

Cast Iron

1) Properly seasoned cast iron, preheated hot enough is totally non-stick. Just as good as PTFE.

2) Gentle washing with minimal soap and no scrubbing won't harm things. I can't imagine why one would, but it's OK.

3) Works great on smooth top ceramic.

4) Is the very best material for induction and the one manufacturers calibrate to.

 

[lordkenmore]

I think the "nonstick" quality might also depend on the iron pan in question. I've heard many people who know cast iron who swear that vintage is much, much better. I've heard some even who say they never could get a modern pan to behave 100% of the time. One explanation: older pans had smoother interiors.

I read one piece that commented that iron isn't as non-stick as Teflon, but--in actual practice--iron works more than well enough.

 

[lordkenmore]

>Is the very best material for induction and the one manufacturers calibrate to.

Interesting... Iron is also said to be the best match for wood stoves. Coming round full circle here...

 

[leononmaui]

When we remodeled the kitchen a few years ago, the designer asked what we would like in our new kitchen. I immediately said 2 sinks and 2 dishwashers. I got my wish. And they are both used daily, maybe one will be used twice. I machine wash everything but one cast iron skillet. I have 2 dogs and their food bowls and water bowls take up almost the top rack alone. I even put in the sterling silver and Riedel wine and water glasses. I use Cascade Platinum pods. They even shine the pots and pans, besides the stainless interior of the machines. And my glasses do not have any white coating on them. The cheaper glasses I bought from Target started to get the film after a month. I think it has something to do with the quality of the glass they're made from. And I do not pre-rinse, just scrape. When people are over for dinner, they try to help by rinsing and I stop them. I then load one machine without rinsing and start it.........after about 10 minutes I open it and show them everything is rinsed from the plates and not deposited on the glassware. They are amazed.

 

[appnut]

Using cast iron imparts remnants of iron in the cook and that is health beneficial.  I believe our own Toggles made a comment about this years ago.  And I need all the iron I can get. 

 

[ilovewindex]

Time to find a lodge pan

 

[jakeseacrest]

Living alone I probably run my dishwasher anywhere from 2-4 times a week. I handwash nothing

 

[henene4]

Plastics

Today I had a small argument about plastics in the DW. We usually don't have space for plastics, but today after a grill party we had. But my mum refused saying they surely will discolor. While that happend to me before, it was only with me heating up tomato sauce in the microwave.

So, question: Do you put plastics into the DW? If so, what are your experiences with color transfer and changes, flipping of plastic items and especially drying results?

 

[joeypete]

I put plastics in all the time. The only time I noticed discolor was on my small Tupperware Smidget covers. They are clear (neutral color) Tupperware and now they have an orange tinge to them...weird.

 

[panthera]

I have tried to remove

Plastics from storage of acidic and oily foods to the greatest extent possible.

Just don't trust the manufacturers when they say they're 'safe'.

As to dishwashing, I throw wood and plastic in the machine. Been doing it with the same wooden utensils for years and years.

Somehow, they are still around.

Plastic- who cares. If it comes out weird colors, a soaking in chlorine bleach fixes it.

 

 

[logixx]

Plastics

I put them in the dishwasher. The upper rack has clips to hold them in place. Drying is best, if I pop the door open after the cycle is done. I find discoloration eventually disappears after a few washes.

 

[jp10558]

We run our Bosch at least 1 time a day, but I have run it 4 or 5 times a day (basically as it takes 2hr 9min, that 5 times is all that's realistically possible to do in a Day) and it's always been fine. I do worry about it not necessarily being designed to run constantly for over 10 hours, but I never noticed any less cleaning on the third cycle. So far it doesn't seem to have any issue, it just goes and goes. When we really get cooking I do wish for one of those 2 min commercial ones, but the rest of the time the silent Bosch is really nice.

 

[DADoES]

 
Plastics go in my DW.  Some items don't dry very well but it's less effort to swipe a towel than to hand-wash + towel-dry.  I have several accessory clips to anchor lightweight items but bit of creative loading sometimes is necessary to avoid flipping.  Regards to discoloration ... no.  I use powder detergent with bleach which effectively clears staining.

Disclaimers:  I once-in-a-while hand-wash a large item or oddball piece that won't fit even with BobLoading™ just to get it done and put away, and helps keep the sink clean, LOL.  I have not machine-washed the latest non-stick skillet and it's holding up MUCH better than the previous ones.

 

[maytagbear]

How often?

As often as need be. The only things I wash by hand ARE my hands. Plus, the few things I own, like half sheet baking pans which are just too large to fit into my machine.

Depending on kitchen activity, it could be once a week to three times a day.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[lordkenmore]

I notice some here say they run EVERYTHING in the DW. Does that include knives? I know I've heard that knives on the list of things that some say Must Be Handwashed.

 

[panthera]

Hi carbon steel no, stainless

Who cares? Goes right in to the dishwasher with the wooden stuff. Been doing it for over fifty years and nothing has died yet.

 

[maytagbear]

My few really good knives

I do hand wash....my Wusthof and Zwilling Henckel knives, yes.

My Victorinox have seen the inside of the machine, and my really crap dollar store knives always go through the machine.

So do the pieces parts for my processors.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[chachp]

I struggle with the knives question...

 

I used to have a drawer full of knives I really didn't care about.  They were all mismatched.  Some were dull and scratched from being sharpened.  I had a couple of really good knives that had dulled over the years.  Just generally a mess but it looked cool when you opened the drawer because they all looked so well used and they were.  They all went in the dishwasher.  I really didn't care what happened to them.

 

Then I replaced the drawer full of knives with Cutco knives and all that changed.  I have only been hand washing them because I don't want the handles to loose that shine.  They look so nice I don't want that to change.  I know it sounds crazy and I surprise myself with this but when you make that kind of investment in something I guess you want it to stay nice for as long as you can.  I know they say the knives can go in and I know many people who put them in but I haven't gone there yet.  I love these knives and I guess I feel like I am taking better care of them by hand washing them.

 

Plastics?  Yeah, they all go in.  Dishwasher safe or not.  If they warp they go in the trash.  No biggie.  If they get discolored I usually pitch them.  Never tired the bleach.  I'll have to give that a shot.  Does the bleach leave any kind of smell in the plastic.  My other half is hyper sensitive to smells and if he got a whiff of that he likely wouldn't use it.  

 

I generally don't put wood in.  I use plastic type cutting boards for meat, etc. so I can throw those in.  I use wood for veggies and things like that and those I do not put in.

 

[ilovewindex]

We put our knives in and my roommate sharpens them... They do have spots on them, but steel wool takes that off

I collect vintage tupperwear and it washes just fine