Non-stick cookwear in the dishwasher.... isn't that a no-no??

[dalangdon]

I like to cook, and have an inventory of vintage Le Crueset, Copco, Kobenstyle, and Descoware, as well as a few new pieces of All-Clad (skillet and roaster) For knives, I have a set of Henkels.

I confess that I put the knives in the dishwasher all the time. I know that's not good for them, but I don't like hand-washing.

I also used to wash the All-Clad in the dishwasher, but I noticed the white film that Sandy alluded to, so I started reluctantly hand-washing them (they're too expensive not to take care of)

Besides, I only use the roaster five or six times a year, so it's no big deal.

The other stuff (Desco, Copco, Kobenstyle, etc) does fine in the dishwasher.

 

[panthera]

pish and tosh

Except for the lead crystal, high carbon steel knives and my 100+ year old cast iron spiders, everything goes into the dishwasher.
And that includes wood and Teflon.
I refuse to use aluminum, so have no idea what would happen to that.
If, after many years of automatic dish washing, something fails, I replace it.
There is no way I can clean things as well or get things as sanitary as my Miele.
But, hey - everyone can and should do things as they like.
I do think a lot of the 'you can't this and don't do thats' we carry around go back to older, obsolete technologies.

 

[andrewinorlando]

Keven -

What happens to lead crystal in the dishwasher? Not that I have lots of it, but I have some crystal wine glasses that I've always put in the dishwasher and they still look beautiful. Not vintage glasses or anything like that, just some glasses that I bought at Costco. I've also put my Waterford crystal glasses in there, and they still look great. There's no etching or clouding that I can see. I figured it's safer than having my clumsy hands try and wash them in a porcelain sink.

 

[toggleswitch]

...and have an inventory of vintage Le Crueset,

I have see these fade to heck in the DW.

as far as SS goes, an occasional bout of "Easy-off" LYE-BASED (Oven cleaner) does wonders to clean it up. DO NOT USE LYE ON ALUMINUM! Works well on glass, ceramic and porcelain (broiler pans) as well.

 

[panthera]

my whys

Andrew, it's been too long since my last chemistry course, so I won't even try to explain the reasoning behind this - I can't.
Lead crystal is subject to both etching and fading, regardless of how it is washed. The hotter the water, the less neutral the PH, the greater the exposure, the greater the damage. Both too acid as well as too base (alkaline) are bad for this material.
This is especially true for the surface treated leaded glass sold to meet Californian lead safety standards - many of those treatments are removed or damaged in the dishwasher, making leaching possible
I don't think you would do any damage with a simple 'pre-rinse' cycle and careful loading...
I bet Laundress or some of the others here could discourse on ion-exchange to enlighten us.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The reason that ditz fell on the knife and stabbed herself was that she had the knife loaded wrong. If it won't fit point down in the silverware basket, it is placed in the top rack. KitchenAid flatware baskets had that nice slot across the front for knives and such, but knives were always loaded point down; for one thing they take up less room in the basket that way. I keep my Diamond something or other electric sharpener out and use it frequently on cheaper knives. It has two wheels and magnets to guide the blade at the proper angle and was all the rage in the 80s. I have some beautiful cookware that I enjoy washing by hand and other stuff that while very good, I do not mind putting through the smasher. I have never had a pan that needed the extended Pots & Pans Cycle. The dishwasher will absolutely attack even clear Pyrex over time and you never want to wash those beautiful bowls from the 50s in a dishwasher because it will strip them of their finish. I have no Pyrex or Corning Ware with any dark soil spots or deposits and they are only dw washed. I use no metal cooking spoons, forks, etc. in my pans regardless of the interior. I value the look of the interior of a stainless steel or aluminum pan that shines like a mirror and I don't want metalic marks on Corning Ware or Porcelain. I don't think I have as much trouble with food sticking when a pan has a smooth, like new surface.

I do not understand what people do to wind up with beautiful Cuisinart cookware that has brown burned on grease all over the exterior. Years ago I worked part time in a kitchen store that had a demo kitchen with visiting celebrities (met Danny Kaye there). They had some nasty Calphalon with grease burned on to where it was like a varnish. I put them through the Waste King dw a few times and they looked much cleaner, but after that, I did not mind washing them by hand.

 

[rp2813]

Silly me. I thought this thread was about teflon aprons . . .

 

[parunner58]

I did someting I thought I would never do. I put my Calphalon Hard Anodized in my Bosch DW. There was a post a year or so ago that someone said as long as the DW detergent was chlorine free it would be fine. My Calphalon is over 12 years old to i figure what could happen, if they were ruined I would get new All-Clad then. Well Monday I made eggs and pork roll for dinner and used my 8 inch griddle and my T-fal omlete pan, in they went. Yesterday I made fried chicken in my T-fal deep fryer and chicken-brocoli rice in the 1.5 qt Calphalon saucepan. in the Dw the pan went. I washed the dishes on the PowerScrub Plus 160 Degree wash and 161 degree final rinse with Cascade Complete/w bleach. After waiting over 136 minutes of silence (gotta love the Bosch) it beeped. Opened the door and after the blast of steam checked my pots and they were beautiful, perfectly cleaned and looked just like they did when hand washed.

 

[whirlcool]

Everything we use for cooking goes in the DW here. We both hate handwashing dishes. For the baked on stuff, we just put the roaster pan/fry pan, etc. in the sink and put a squirt or two of Dawn liquid and then add very hot water and let the pan sit for a few hours. Then into the dishwasher it goes. Comes out great every time.

Household hint: After cooking eggs in a skillet, soak it and the spatula in COLD water for an hour or so before putting it in the DW. It makes the egg come off very easily.

We use Cuisinart cookware, but for pancakes and eggs we do have two non-stick Mirro skillets that we use.

 

[spankomatic]

I put everything in the dishwasher cause I'm not washing them! My 10 year old non stick pans are fine. My knives are sharp and cut just fine. Baked on foods on pots and pans I run through the dishwasher first. If needed,I will scrub off any thing that may be remaining and run through again. I do know that gold plated items should not go in. The gold WILL fade off.