Dishwasher: Clean First?

[TheNoodleIncident]

I didn't want to hijack Fat Guy's thread, but his dishwasher topic brought to mind a similar issue I've had.

Growing up, when loading the dishwasher, my family would maybe pick a few of the larger chunks of food off, but essentially the dishes went into the washer in a dirty state. On the other hand, my wife grew up with the (very strict) rule that dishes should be rinsed very well before being added. I'm talking a scrubbing with soap and water, pretty much 90-99% clean before going in. Their reasoning is that 1) no stuck on food or grime which is nearly impossible to remove after the first cycle and 2) extended dishwasher life due to less debris mucking everything up.

I've since been convinced that the "clean first" method is the way to go, but I've gotten a few very strange looks from friends who have helped me load the dishwasher and think I'm doing double the work.

How do others handle this?

[sparrowgrass]

I think you ARE doing double the work, especially if your dishwasher is not of the 'antique' variety that your wife grew up with.

I scrape the plates/pots into the chicken bucket, then they go directly into the DW. Modern DW have grinders that can deal with most anything, and you are wasting water and energy if you prewash the dishes.

If something ends up still stuck on the item after washing, it is generally easy to scrape/scrub off--the dishwasher does the hard part.

Family harmony, however, over-rules internet advice!

[BarbaraY]

If you're going to hand wash why not just wash and be done? The reason for having a dishwasher is for it to wash the dishes.

[BadRabbit]

My wife literally washes the dishes until they are 100% clean and then loads them in the dishwasher. I load them after a little scrape and a spray of water (I do scrub my baking pans though). She sometimes will come behind me and pull them to wash them more despite me showing her several times that there was no difference in the finished product at the end of the washer cycle.

[abadoozy]

I never understood why you'd wash the dishes then put them in the dishwasher. If I had a dishwasher so bad that I had to wash the dishes by hand, I'd get rid of it and buy a new one.

I remove the big chunks, but other than that, everything goes in. Even pots with dried-on stuff that I know won't come completely clean in the dishwasher - it's easier to get off what the dishwasher didn't get afterwards than it is to scrub it by hand before putting it in. And sometimes I'm wrong, and the dishwasher does get it clean.

[SylviaLovegren]

Modern dishwashers are built to use the grease and gunk on the dishes to help boost the detergent, so they work better when the dishes are not clean (huge chunks and certain things that can bake on should be removed first). My sister's Miehle has instructions NOT to rinse the dishes first, for optimal cleaning. In my old clunker dishwasher, anything not cleaned off before going in would get ground up and sprayed all over the "clean" dishes.

[TheNoodleIncident]

i know it sounds a bit insane...and i can be more clear - we clean them to the point that they LOOK clean, but still may have a thin film of grease or residue....really no noticeable food chunks at all...so the washer really finishes the job ("sanitizes", as my wife would say)...plus, that way you dont have to dry them either

[Kouign Aman]

If it werent for gender, I'd wonder if we were married to the same person.

Gallons of wasted water spent rinsing when all that is needed is to dust off the lumps. Sigh.

[TheNoodleIncident]

If it werent for gender, I'd wonder if we were married to the same person.

Gallons of wasted water spent rinsing when all that is needed is to dust off the lumps. Sigh.

well, my wife is often the one who wears the pants, so i guess it's possible??

[andiesenji]

What's the point of having a dishwasher if you are going to wash them first?

Granted, thirty years ago I rinsed dishes fairly well - had one of the brush/nozzle thingys on my sink.

But I haven't done that for many years. I had regular dishwashers - usually near top of the line - until '94, then had a commercial unit, and for the past couple or so years have had a Bosch.

Only rarely will something not be completely cleaned and never on regular dishes, only on pots and pans where something adheres.

My dishwasher has a "Quick Wash" setting that I use for very small loads of china and glassware.

If the dishes are exceptionally soiled with sticky foods, I use the regular setting and if washing pots and pans, the Power Scrub Plus setting.

It is very rare that I have to take any direct measures.

[Katie Meadow]

No fanatic here, but I do rinse my dishes fairly well before they go in to the DW. It isn't because I don't think my new DW can't handle a bit of crud. It's because it takes 48 hours to get a full load at our house, and I find the dishes start to smell, especially ones with dairy products. Since I load as I go, I really don't like smelling something icky every time I open the door.