You can learn a lot about someone by the way they load the dishwasher. Do you live with a perfectionist who rearranges like it’s level 10 of Tetris? Are you the carefree over-loader who thinks pre-rinsing is a waste of time? Anyone willing to help with the dishes is always welcome in my kitchen, but according to experts, there is a right and wrong way to load the dishwasher. While it’s always a good idea to check with your owner’s manual, Jura Koncius, for The Washington Post, addresses the common mistakes dishwasher users make.
Pre-rinsing dishes: “Our position is that you don’t need to pre-rinse at all, unless you aren’t running the load right away,” Forte says. You don’t want clumps of food, of course, so scrape or wipe those off. But she is confident that your dishwasher can handle a dirty plate. Forte and her husband often run the short-rinse cycle in their machine if the two of them load dishes from one meal and don’t want to run a full cycle. “It only uses about a gallon of water,” she says.
Jamming flatware in without a plan: Unless you have a designated separate flatware tray in your dishwasher, agree on a method for loading forks, knives and spoons into the washing basket. “We recommend you put the knives in with the blades down and the forks go up. Of course, do this carefully. Mix the spoons up and down. Don’t put all the spoons in one basket,” Forte says. And don’t ever load wooden spoons: They may crack.
Overloading: “Don’t overload, and don’t overlap,” Forte says. Some people jam so many items in the appliance that the water can’t reach the inside of the dishware. “Make sure surfaces are exposed enough so water and detergent can get to them. If a bowl is blocking a glass, it won’t get clean,” Forte says.
Incorrectly loading trays and cookie sheets: These large, flat items should be put on the side or back of the lower rack of the machine, never in the front, Forte says. If your pan covers the dispenser, it might not be able to properly release the dishwashing detergent.
Read the full article: The dirty truth: Six common mistakes you make when loading your dishwasher
