The Dishwasher-Loading Topic

[Fat Guy]

This is it. Time to collect the community's wisdom on the very important subject of loading the dishwasher.

A couple of thoughts to get us started:

- We load forks and spoons with tines and heads up (so stuff doesn't get stuck at the bottom of the flatware basket), knives with blades down (for safety).

- Any bowl, mug, etc., with an indentation on the bottom gets loaded on an angle so as not to collect water.

[andiesenji]

Thanks for starting this topic.

After using a commercial dishwasher for many years, I am still learning how to efficiently load my Bosch.

I use your method for cups, mugs and etc but still haven't figured out how to efficiently load egg cups. I usually just wash them by hand. If anyone has a solution, I welcome it.

Frankly, the flatware baskets for the Bosch really do not work well for me but I kept one of the Hobart baskets that fits just fine in the bottom rack of the Bosch.

I remove the top rack when I wash trays and the larger baking pans, etc.

[Anna N]

I still use a tip (from Andie, I think!) to lay a wire cooling rack over plastics on the top shelf so they don't do a flip on me. I have also used a laundry "lingerie" bag to coral small articles. That trick I learned in a Day Care Centre where all the small toys were washed in the dishwasher each night.

[Fat Guy]

It never occurred to me to remove the top rack.

[andiesenji]

It never occurred to me to remove the top rack.

It's the only way my trays and half sheet pans will fit. I have a couple of round trays and a pizza pan that will fit on the far outside of each side with the top rack but everything else will interfere with the rotation of the sprayer.

I can't claim this as my idea. The saleslady demonstrated the various configurations of the racks and how best to utilize them.

I took a photo of the flatware rack holding the complete service for 8 flatware plus some small cheap knives.

The Bosch flatware rack holds only about half of this number.

Edited February 12, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[Fat Guy]

When you remove the top rack what happens to the rotating sprayer? Does it come out with the rack?

[ScoopKW]

When you remove the top rack what happens to the rotating sprayer? Does it come out with the rack?

On my model, yes. But I've only owned a few dishwashers.

That means there's a hole in the back of the dishwasher where water for the spray arm comes out. The top rack has a nozzle which seats into that hole. I doubt there would be any harm in removing the rack and running a load to see what happens.

My wife is the person we should be asking. I swear she believes there is a "dishwasher loading committee" somewhere which hands out prizes for the most efficiently-loaded dishwasher.

[andiesenji]

Yes, the rotating sprayer is part of the upper rack.

There is no problem with the water squirting out of the hole in the rear.

The trays just can't be loaded crosswise, not that it interferes with washing, it just makes a bit more noise. (Think of turning a hose directly onto a sheet pan.)

The upper rack also has adjustable level settings and with it in the upper setting some of the pans will fit but I usually just do a load with nothing but sheet pans and trays with the top rack removed.

It is possible to set the top rack with one side higher than the other but it is tricky and I have only done this once, that I recall.

One of the reasons I got this particular machine was its versatility.

Bosch Integra 24" tall tub

Edited February 12, 2011 by andiesenji (log)

[gfweb]

When you remove the top rack what happens to the rotating sprayer? Does it come out with the rack?

On my model, yes. But I've only owned a few dishwashers.

That means there's a hole in the back of the dishwasher where water for the spray arm comes out. The top rack has a nozzle which seats into that hole. I doubt there would be any harm in removing the rack and running a load to see what happens.

My wife is the person we should be asking. I swear she believes there is a "dishwasher loading committee" somewhere which hands out prizes for the most efficiently-loaded dishwasher.

My wife too. Her only flaw.

[Linda Rose]

I load the flatware alternating up and down to prevent the spoons/forks from spooning and preventing the spray from reaching each piece.

The plates are loaded with the smaller ones to the inside so the spray can reach the larger ones.

Any yes boys, an efficiently loaded dishwasher is a sight to behold. Being able to stuff everything in there and still get it all clean wins the prize....not having to run the dishwasher again today!

[ermintrude]

I've a Siemiens dishwasher, when the top rack is removed it comes with a spay head that fits on the back where the water that feeds the up baskets arm goes. This makes sure that the water is better distributed for a good clean. My old AEG didn't have this but was still fine to use with no top basket.

I always find dishwasher loading to be an art, if around I jump in after my lodgers loaded it and I generally manage to get a 1/3rd more in.

[Pierogi]

Spoons bowl down, unless there's a ton of them and then I alternate so they don't nest. Dinner forks tines down, primarily for safety, but salad forks, alas, have to go tines up, since my flatware set has a small, square bottom that on the salad forks will slide through the grid in the basket. No sharp knives at all go in the dishwasher, so knives go however. Plates go in with dirty surfaces facing the center, so they get loaded on both sides of the bottom. Angled absolutely on things that have a depression on the bottom that collects water. The worst offender being my Cuisinart bowl, which due to its size, and the compact size of my machine, I can't angle. I always, always, ALWAYS dribble water over my floor unloading it, and it ALWAYS annoys me. Maybe in another 20 or 30 years I'll remember to be more careful.

Other than that, its just a matter of how much I can cram in there in the most efficient manner to make sure it gets cleaned, and not coated with sterilized, baked on crud. And that varies from load to load.

[sparrowgrass]

My only rule is, if you come to dinner and help me clean up, I will not rearrange what you have done, at least not while you are still around. Help with dishes is hard to find.

[andiesenji]

I have problems with the depressions in the KA bowls, however when I open the dishwasher I have a wad of paper towels in my hand and I use that to soak up the residual water in those spots and the other items that can't be loaded at an angle.

I have the big Cuisinart (20 cup) and don't have a problem with it because mine has three large holes in the the bottom rim which allow the water to drain off easily.

I have a bunch of cake pans of various sizes with rolled edges that invariably retain a fair amount of water so I put them into the oven, right side up, at the lowest temp or into the dehydrator (if not occupied) to fully dry out.

The only time I rearrange what guests have loaded into the dishwasher is when they load things that I don't put into the dishwasher, i.e., my good knives, my good crystal and my antique china or anything with gold or silver leaf.

And certainly anything that is wood or lacquer.

One guest tried to put my dough bowl in the dishwasher back when I had the Hobart.

I explained that it would be forever ruined and she told me that she always put her wood salad bowls through the dishwasher - and bought new ones when those cracked or warped! Oy!

[weinoo]

Of course, not all dishwashers have flatware baskets. Some have racks with their own sprayers, eliminating the up or down problem.

I hand-wash things andiesenji mentioned like egg cups, though in my case it would be double-sided jiggers. As well as fancier cocktail glases (non-libby). My melitta filter. And the reason is simple - I don't run my dishwasher daily, maybe once every 3 days and I use the filter daily. On the 3rd day, it be dishwashed.

I also hand wash sheet pans and cookie sheets (since they're generally covered when using and all it takes is a sponge off), ice cream scoops, wooden utensils (I know, we've had this discussion before) and most pots and pans - unless they're stainless. And mostly use the dishwasher for dishes, which are scraped well. And look, if there's dried out peanut butter on a knife, I probably run it under some warm water and rub it off...don't tell me you don' .

As noted in another topic, I load with a lot less soap than I used to and the stuff still gets pretty sparking clean. And I run the hot tap water until it comes out hot to give the dw a head start.

[Chris Amirault]

No one has brought up the need for an organized arrangement of concave items. I'm regularly rearranging things so that spoons aren't nestled or that like-sized plates are all in a row facing the same way, not piled here and there where they "fit."

After years of being quite militant about this, I am able to feel a sense of serenity with my family's ineptitude, even if a few... plates... Come.. OUT... DIRTY!!

DIRTY!!

Ahem.

[Anna N]

No one has brought up the need for an organized arrangement of concave items. I'm regularly rearranging things so that spoons aren't nestled or that like-sized plates are all in a row facing the same way, not piled here and there where they "fit."

After years of being quite militant about this, I am able to feel a sense of serenity with my family's ineptitude, even if a few... plates... Come.. OUT... DIRTY!!

DIRTY!!

Ahem.

Neither has anyone brought up the need to shop carefully when replacing dishes/bowls,cups, etc. No longer do I look only for "dishwasher safe" on the label but judge "dishwasher compatible shape" too.

[Kouign Aman]

Silverware goes handle up so it doesnt get dirty when being unloaded.

Plates go however they best fit, depending on the machine, and what we've been using.

Top rack basket is excellent for chopsticks and the like (no lacquer ones tho).

Always mop bottoms of mugs etc w tea towel before unloading.

Can fit in two frying pans on the bottom.

Bowls have their own place in the top rack, but if we have to, they wash fine in the bottom too.

I too will only rearrange the dishwasher after you have left, and only if it will completely eliminate the need to do handwash. I'd rather turn the thing on with you still there, in the offchance you'll still be around to help unload too.

editted to clarify, because the water puddles on the bottoms of the mugs.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Kouign Aman (log)

[Katie Meadow]

I load flatware exactly as FG does: knives with blades down, but forks and spoons with tines/bowls up. This seems to be the easiest for grabbing, sorting and unloading. Knives get the benefit of hygiene and safety--although we're not talking sharp or pointy knives here. Forks and spoons look too much alike when they are turned head down, although I admit it's uncouth to grab them by the eating end; afterall, I go our of my way not to do that when I set the table. However, heads up makes it easier if your dog does the prewash.

We wash all pots and pans or cooking equipment by hand, saving all the space for tableware, which seems to be the best use of space and water, although no scientific measurements have been taken. We have an Asko dishwasher and it seems to be particularly well designed to hold lots of dishes. Since we got a new set of everyday restaurant dishes, which are made to be very stackable, it holds an incredible number of plates and bowls.

Chopsticks in my house are all wood, and no wood goes in the dishwasher.

I wish I could say I am not anal about rearranging the dishes when I see evidence of poor spatial relationships, but it ain't so.

[abooja]

My dear father instilled in me a lifelong dish rearranging fetish. We have a pretty tiny dishwasher and fairly large dishes, so I'm always looking to maximize space. My husband, an A-personality who is impeccably neat and organized in every other aspect of life, cares not a whit about dishwasher organization. I, on the other hand, who can ignore piles of clothes and messy counters, tabletops, etc. for days/weeks at a time as if they weren't even there, very much like a hoarder, cannot abide by a disorganized dishwasher. It's a sickness. And I will rearrange right there in front of my husband, often acknowledging my insanity and apologizing as I go. He indulges me, I suspect, because he's hoping this one area of neatness will expand to other aspects of my life. Ha!

[Chris Amirault]

It's a sickness.

Sounds like the healthiest thing in the world to me.

[Okanagancook]

Manager note: this post and the next 9 have been moved from the I will never again . . . (Part 4) topic.

 

I am not allowed to load the dish washer either!

DH calls me hopeless.Fine.

[IowaDee]

Quick, what did you "miss load" to lose your loading rights?  I need to do it too. I hate the job.

 

[Okanagancook]

I have no idea!🙃

[Kim Shook]

1 hour ago, IowaDee said:

Quick, what did you "miss load" to lose your loading rights?  I need to do it too. I hate the job.

 

Me, too.  For years, I have suspected Mr. Kim and Jessica of doing things badly on purpose to get out of the job.  Now it's my turn.  LOL