Loading the dishwasher all at once v. piecemeal

[Chris Amirault]

We have two friends that have installed two dishwashers in their newly built home for exactly that reason. They also have two sets of dishes, glassware, and silverware so that they're never "out." Finally, they built less cabinetry since, well, virtually all of the stuff that would go in cabinets goes in dishwashers.

[weinoo]

As soon as it hits the sink, it goes in the dishwasher. Otherwise, how do I do anything else with a dirty sink? Gotta be ready for the next meal.

[Chris Amirault]

I'm with Mitch. I hate, hate, hate having dirty dishes in the sink throughout the day. It effectively prevents using the sink as a tool in cooking, prep, etc.

[Special K]

I'm in the load as you go camp. Same reasons: small kitchen and I can't tolerate a sink full of dirty dishes. I actually like unloading the dishwasher, though. The small kitchen helps - cupboards and silverware drawer are all right there, no extra steps. My dishwasher, a Miele, is relatively new and I still enjoy admiring what a good job it does on everything.

[Kouign Aman]

Each meal gets cleared completely off the table, and right into the dishwasher. a) cant stand the pile up in the sink and on the counters b) need the space for the next event c) we know what goes where, so there's no need for an overview. We are both very good at minimizing handwash, tho we approach it slightly differently re which pans go into the DW and which get personal treatment.

We compromised on the cooking knifes (aka I got my way, and they are handwash only). That not only keeps them nice longer, it also makes it easier to keep my mom from loading them point up which I hate.

[Katie Meadow]

I'm with Carlton. I pretty much have a loading plan, so I rinse and load as I go and typically don't have to do much rearranging at the end. We probably dirty relatively few dishes, since we no longer have a kid at home and tend to hand-wash large mixing bowls and pots, pans etc. If I don't wash my measuring cups (at least when creating a new load) I always need them again; never fails. Piling up dirty dishes in the sink would be gross, especially since we usually do one load every two days, or not even. We must not be very adventurous eaters, because we typically use about the same percentages of bowls, plates, flatware, etc every few days.

[sparrowgrass]

Piecemeal, with some rearranging if needed. Hate dirty dishes or pans in the sink or on the counter. I put almost everything in the dishwasher, with the exception of cast iron and wooden cutting boards. I don't have 'good' china or crystal, so no worries about that, and if the pans don't get quite clean in the DW, I scrub whatever is left over as I unload. I unload as soon as I make the next dirty dish, or sometimes even sooner. (She says, quite smugly.)

[Fat Guy]

A couple of dishwashers ago a repair guy told me that the door latch is a common repair issue on dishwashers so if you can stage your dishes to reduce the number of openings and closings that part will last longer. Opening and closing the door for every plate and glass may be a lot of wear and tear. I don't know if anybody has had this issue or if it's just theoretical.

[naguere]

Being on my own, I still use the machine once a day never mind the load.

If dish washer is lightly loaded I use half a tablet of cleaner (UK) and run it on economy wash.

valves and bearings can dry out due to lack of use.

To stay on subject, if you have a dirty dish, why wouldn't you pop it in?

Oops, just seen Fatguy's post above mine.

Well, in that case, I just dont slam the door each time. :biggrin:LOL

Edited May 13, 2011 by naguere (log)

[Fat Guy]

I find that if you have a pretty full load you can get more in, more efficiently, better positioned for cleaning, if you load all at once. It allows you to get an overview of all your stuff and plan what will go on the bottom, on top, be left aside for sink washing, etc.

[scubadoo97]

A couple of dishwashers ago a repair guy told me that the door latch is a common repair issue on dishwashers so if you can stage your dishes to reduce the number of openings and closings that part will last longer. Opening and closing the door for every plate and glass may be a lot of wear and tear. I don't know if anybody has had this issue or if it's just theoretical.

I guess we don't close it completely to lock unless it's going to be run.

[sparrowgrass]

I was married to a control freak--he insisted that I had to hold the latch open on the microwave before shutting it, so the latch wouldn't wear out.

Life is too short to worry about things like that.

[Anna N]

I find that if you have a pretty full load you can get more in, more efficiently, better positioned for cleaning, if you load all at once. It allows you to get an overview of all your stuff and plan what will go on the bottom, on top, be left aside for sink washing, etc.

Don't get this but then I never did get the hang of chess either.

[BarbaraY]

Piece meal here. I don't like having a sink full of dirty dishes when there's room for them in the dishwasher. Most pans are hand washed because they take up too much space in the dish washer.

Seems my daughter puts stuff in any old how so I rearrange things several times until it's full enough to run which it just reached so I'll go turn it on soon..

[Kouign Aman]

The shrink costs more than the dw repair guy. I'd go insane with the counters and sinks always full of grungy stuff.

But I dont understand how you conclude that loading after each meal results in opening and closing the door for every individual item.

Breakfast - one loading session

snack - the plate/glass goes in

dinner - another loading session.

Last year, we ran the beast every ~ 2.5 days. Now, its every night, because there is an extra person in the house.

[GlorifiedRice]

I am the indisputed dishwasher loader. I can find places for everything.

[ScoopKW]

Piecemeal.

That way my wife can have the joy of continually rearranging it until its full and pointing out my errors each time.

Its a Larry David moment I enjoy.

I think our wives would get along famously.

I leave mine in the sink, as I am not allowed to load the dishwasher. As I have mentioned, I think my wife believes there is a secret Swiss Illuminati of dishwasher efficiency experts. They monitor the world's dishwashers and give out a medal and stipend for the person with the best dishwasher-loading skills.

When she's away, I'll load it any damned way and run a load whenever I know I won't have any soiled dishes for awhile. (I don't let them pile up -- that's an invitation for pests.)

And my dishes come out cleaner. I think trying to cram every last dish into the washer impedes effective washing. I never have to rewash a dish when she's away. But the rest of the time, one out of five needs to be hand-washed after a load.

[sparrowgrass]

When she's away, I'll load it any damned way and run a load whenever I know I won't have any soiled dishes for awhile. (I don't let them pile up -- that's an invitation for pests.)

And my dishes come out cleaner. I think trying to cram every last dish into the washer impedes effective washing. I never have to rewash a dish when she's away. But the rest of the time, one out of five needs to be hand-washed after a load.

I find that to be true as well--if I stuff it full, I have a lot more pieces that need after-wash washing. I live alone, I put most anything in the dishwasher, and wash every couple of days. If I waited til the dishwasher was fully and efficiently loaded to run it, food would dry on the dishes and the dishwasher would smell bad.

[Fat Guy]

I'm not sure quantity is the major variable in how well the dishwasher cleans the dishes. Arrangement and the condition of the dishes going in seem more important.

[nickrey]

I load as you go. Mind you because we typically cycle through the same dishes I have a specific place in the dishwasher for each class of item. This allows for optimal loading without losing the sink in the process.

[prasantrin]

I load as I go, but then turn on the machine whether it's full or not.

Good thing someone asked, or I'd never have been able to admit that. Whatever would we do without eG?

[JAZ]

Ideally, I like to have an empty dishwasher when I start dinner. Doesn't always happen, but when it does, I load as I go -- sort of. At least I use the breaks in cooking to get used dishes, pots and pans into the dishwasher. But when I load as I go, I don't care much about placement -- my goal is just to get stuff out of my way. So often, after dinner, I rearrange everything that's already in there so it fits better. I'm not terribly concerned with making sure it's full, because most of the time I just cook for myself, so there's plenty of room. But I run the dishwasher at least once a day.

[Katie Meadow]

A couple of dishwashers ago a repair guy told me that the door latch is a common repair issue on dishwashers so if you can stage your dishes to reduce the number of openings and closings that part will last longer. Opening and closing the door for every plate and glass may be a lot of wear and tear. I don't know if anybody has had this issue or if it's just theoretical.

Let this be a lesson to me. The first problem with our last dishwasher was the broken latch, probably a 75 cent piece of plastic. It was a KA, with at least 15 years of use behind it. Of course the replacement latch was not available, this model being discontinued many years before, and for two years we had to pry it open with a grapefruit knife. I'm going to take this warning to heart. I still load as we go, but now we close the door just this side of latching it.

[Anna N]

A couple of dishwashers ago a repair guy told me that the door latch is a common repair issue on dishwashers so if you can stage your dishes to reduce the number of openings and closings that part will last longer. Opening and closing the door for every plate and glass may be a lot of wear and tear. I don't know if anybody has had this issue or if it's just theoretical.

Let this be a lesson to me. The first problem with our last dishwasher was the broken latch, probably a 75 cent piece of plastic. It was a KA, with at least 15 years of use behind it. Of course the replacement latch was not available, this model being discontinued many years before, and for two years we had to pry it open with a grapefruit knife. I'm going to take this warning to heart. I still load as we go, but now we close the door just this side of latching it.

I have an issue with a fairly new dishwasher whose latch is broken and I have found that draping a clean kitchen towel over the top rack prevents the door from being closed until I am ready to run a load.