Dishwasher decisions

[jgm]

We are on the verge of building a new house. I have been researching appliances, and have run across a particularly depressing piece of information: the cycle time on most new dishwashers is in the neighborhood of two hours. That's right... two hours.

The problem is, I have arthritis in my hips and knees, and by the time I've finished cooking dinner, I'm usually "done for." Even though I try to keep up with the dishes as I'm cooking, both by putting them into an empty dishwasher and by plunking them into a sinkful of soapy water and giving them a quick swipe and a rinse, I still end up with pieces that won't fit. They will have to be done by hand... and I'm already in pain. I am determined, in our new, large kitchen, not to get into the habit of letting dirty dishes sit overnight until I can get to them in the morning. Ugh. Been there, done that, not proud of it, but it beats being in so much pain I can't move the next day.

That's prompted me to consider installing a second dishwasher. We will have room for it. Ideally, I'd like a commercial dishwasher that dispatches loads in a couple of minutes, but we won't have the funds for it at this time. It's possible, though, I could install one at a later date.

The drawer-type isn't getting good ratings as far as getting things clean goes, and it's also pretty expensive. Unless I can find something new and excellent, but low-priced in a drawer, we won't be doing that.

We will be purchasing our appliances at our builder's discount from a warehouse that offers pretty much all of the brands out there. We won't be able to go above midrange, price-wise.

I also wouldn't mind if this thread covered um... for lack of better description... "techniques" for dealing with odd-sized pieces in the normal dishwashing stream. I've already discovered that my plastic colander, sitting on a towel, is a dandy drainer for small pieces. Any other hints anybody has come across, would be welcome.

[Octaveman]

I see nothing wrong with having two. One could be installed and since you have only a few items that get left out, you could get a small stand alone for the excess.

[pax]

My father is an eccentric of the first water, and YEARS ago he ripped out all his upper kitchen cabinets, elevated both his dishwashers slightly so he wasn't constantly bending over the bottom shelves and he doesn't even bother to unload them. There's always one clean and one dirty. Why bother transferring dishes around, why are they so special?

I like the arrangement so much it's my intention to do the same thing in our new house.

[chemprof]

My brother had two dishwashers put in (one on each side of the sink) when he redid their kitchen. It's huge so he didn't give up any storage that I can see, and I cook in there a lot. With 3 boys under 10, it seems like one of them is always going (they could probably use two clothes washers too! )

[Carolyn Tillie]

I know several people with two dishwashers. Why are you beating yourself up over it? Do what makes you happy...

[Alex]

You're not nuts at all. Can you think of any better use for the $600 or so in your new house? And as Carolyn said, it's not an uncommon occurrence, especially with large families or folks who do a lot of entertaining.

[Beanie]

Nothing wrong with two dishwashers. Have you read andiesenji's posts about her Hobart dishwasher? Here and here. ... only 90 seconds per cycle. Maybe you can find an affordable one in a used equpment store or on ebay.

[jgm]

I probably won't be able to afford a Hobart initially, but it might be possible in a few years. I have e-mailed Hobart for information.

OK. I'm installing two dishwashers.

Thanks, everybody!

[phatj]

My fraternity house at one point had a badass commercial dishwasher, I think it was a Hobart. That was the bomb -- you slid the tray in at one side and out the other, like 60 seconds later. Impractical for a home kitchen though, not to mention ugly as sin.

We moved to a smaller house with a smaller kitchen that had an under-counter Hobart. Not as fast or easy to load/unload as the first one, but still awesome compared to a regular home dishwasher.

My dream kitchen would have two dishwashers, one being the undercounter Hobart. I'd probably only use it occasionally, for larger parties and such, but I could see it being incredibly useful at times.

[MelissaH]

Don't forget to compare the plumbing and electrical costs of two dishwashers vs. one commercial dishwasher. They can add up!

MelissaH

[tim]

Hi,

I have a friend who has two Fisher Paykel drawer diswashers. Another significant advantage is that one drawer is always available while the other drawer is awaiting repair parts.

Tim

[pax]

Hi,

I have a friend who has two Fisher Paykel drawer diswashers.  Another significant advantage is that one drawer is always available while the other drawer is awaiting repair parts.

Tim

←

If I buy the Hobart I can put my kids and dogs through it, right? They can hold their breath for 90 seconds.

[racheld]

Sis has twin DW's in her huge Texas kitchen, facing each other. One is to the right of the sink, the other in the island beside the smaller produce/bar-type sink. I have only one, which is plenty for us. I LIKE washing dishes, and so all the too-big items are hand-washed to a good book on the Bose.

I WOULD, however many I had, see to it that they're situated beneath the upper spice or grocery cabinets, and not just below the shelves which hold the dishes. Lotsa back strain, or two separate operations with a lotta reach-around if you have to unload past the open DW door, putting into cupboards just above.

Or you could, like my late FIL, wash ALL the dishes by hand, because the DW is where all the saved-up Country Crock tubs live.

[Vaughan]

Agree with Carolyn, don't beat yourself up, get two. And if you have any money left over get some pots & pans, like All Clad, that you can throw into one of them and minimize scrubbing.

[Jaymes]

I've known several folks with two dishwashers and they don't worry about what is and isn't handy for putting the dishes into the cupboards because they don't. They just leave the clean dishes in one and use the dishes directly from it until it's empty, while putting the dirty dishes directly into the other one.

As my friend once said, "I wish I could figure out a way to have ALL of my cupboards wash the dishes."

Edited July 12, 2008 by Jaymes (log)

[KarenDW]

Hi,

I have a friend who has two Fisher Paykel drawer diswashers.  Another significant advantage is that one drawer is always available while the other drawer is awaiting repair parts.

Tim

←

If I buy the Hobart I can put my kids and dogs through it, right? They can hold their breath for 90 seconds.

←

We've used the Hobart for washing potatoes (50 lbs!) and carrots. Just remember to rinse again before cooking & eating!

The FP (and other) drawers are not large enough for platters & baking pans (i.e., half size bun pans). A "tall" maytag, on the other hand, has a top shelf which can be adjusted in height. Ditto for one or two of the Kenmore models.

If you have space, get two dw. When you have the cash, replace one w/ a Hobart. But remember that the electric bill might change. Check w/ the supplier as to average energy and water usage. I think the Hobart uses less water overall...

[jgm]

Interesting news...the GE profile series has a "speed cycle" of 35 minutes that they recommend for "everyday dishes and glassware." Theoretically, I could get the dinner dishes out of the way in 35 minutes, and then do the pots and pans.

Anybody have one of these? Comments?

[Talat_kas]

There is nothing wrong in having more than one dishwasher . Specially if you having a large family or you often throw in lots of parties leaving you with lots of washing to do

[sandercohan]

My parents put in two dishwashers when they redid their kitchen fifteen years ago. It really worked out nicely when they entertained. My friends, however, made fun of me mercilessly.

I'd like to think they were jealous.

[jgm]

There are two considerations: cost and space.

We don't do a lot of entertaining. It's just the day-to-day dishes I'm concerned about.

Come to find out, the dishwasher we have now has a "quick wash." We've just never paid much attention to it. I'm thinking that there may be more people like me who are balking at this issue, because I'm seeing more companies point out that their machine has a fast-wash cycle that is good for washing dinner dishes, etc. - in other words, not pots and pans. We're trying the feature out for awhile. If I can get a load of dishes washed and another loaded in under an hour, I'll be happy and we'll save the money for the second dishwasher and the extra plumbing, and spend it on something else.

As I've told my friends: even if we were spending three times the amount on a house that we're spending on this one, I'd still not have the kitchen I really want.