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Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

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Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#61

Post by thiht »

bsenftner wrote: post #42
28304283409234 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My method is almost the same. Dishwashers are a scam.

I really do not understand dish washers: you have to clean the dish 80% before going into the washer, so why not spend the 10 seconds to actually wash the thing? I've timing both and hand washing beats dishwashers by an significant amount every time.

> you have to clean the dish 80% before going into the washer

No you don’t. You just empty the dishes and put them in the washer. That’s it.

> I've timing both and hand washing beats dishwashers by an significant amount every time

If you count the time the dishwasher is running, yeah sure. Otherwise it’s just pushing a button.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#62

Post by thiht »

TamDenholm wrote: post #40

This is not what my actual system is but its the best one i've heard of, its very much a super lazy, throw money at the problem kind of solution. Have 2 dishwashers. Make sure all the dishes and cutlery you own fits in them. Fill one dishwasher with the dirty dishes, turn it on and onces its done, just leave the clean dishes in there, thats where they live now, thats the storage solution for them. As you use the clea…

That doesn’t make a lot of sense, you don’t use the same set of cookware every time. Say you use a pot, put it in dishwasher A, wash it, now it lives clean here. Next meal you use a pan, put it in dishwasher B, wash it. Third meal you use a wok, where does it go? You still need to empty a dishwasher at some point.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#63

Post by marssaxman »

I don't really have a system so much as a cultivated intolerance for kitchen mess, such that I feel discomfort whenever I see it, producing a strong urge to deal with the problem immediately. I suppose you could call it a system if you described it as an interrupt-driven state machine:

  - Stuff on the counter? Yuck! Dishes to the sink, bottles to their homes.
  - Dirty dishes in the sink? Yuck! Load them into the dishwasher.
  - Clean dishes in the dishwasher? Oh no! Put them all away.
  - Dishwasher getting full? Yuck! Start it running.
  - Crumbs or grunge on the counter? Yuck! Wipe it down.
  - Crumbs on the floor? Yuck! Sweep it all up.
  - Trash can nearly full? Gross! Empty it.
Only after the signal queue has been cleared can I relax and proceed with whatever task it was that originally brought me into the kitchen, whether that was cooking the family dinner, or simply pouring myself a cup of water.

An outside observer might think I had regular, schedule-driven habits around kitchen cleaning, but it doesn't feel that way; I don't intentionally empty the clean dishes from the dishwasher every morning, that just happens as a consequence of making coffee.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#64

Post by mbg721 »

sultee wrote: post #32

There're too many people washing their dishes right after using them in this thread. What to do if you're not one of them? I created my personal ritual: all the dishes land in the sink during the day, and right before going to sleep I turn on an audio book and spend the next ~20 mins calmly doing my home stuff. Loading the dishwasher (and unloading yesterday's portion), preparing food containers for pets, etc. Everyt…

Washing the dishes right after using them is an ideal, not a reality. Most of the time, my kitchen looks like Picasso's Guernica.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#65

Post by boppo1 »

bombcar wrote: post #21
boppo1 wrote: post #17

Dishes are easy if you have a machine. I want to know HN's prostrats on laundry. Especially sweaty gym laundry for the runners.

Washing machines are relatively cheap when considered over the time used - I’m seriously considering getting an additional pair for convenience. Some of the newer ones have a tiny wash machine stuck to the larger one but I’m not quite convinced yet.

Oh I use a washing machine for laundry. But my clothes are forever in baskets because of all the folding and putting away. Takes me an hour.

Also my sweaty gym clothes just hang in/stink up the bathroom lately. Used to let them dry then throw in with otther dirty laundry, but now half my clothes have an irreversible light-but-nasty odor. Only solution seems to be washing my gym clothes right after I've used them, which is a non-starter whether it's manually or machine.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#66

Post by 28304283409234 »

Tidal5474 wrote: post #48
bsenftner wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really do not understand dish washers: you have to clean the dish 80% before going into the washer, so why not spend the 10 seconds to actually wash the thing? I've timing both and hand washing beats dishwashers by an significant amount every time.

This is an understanding based on a very incorrect usage of dish washers. Dishes are supposed to go into the dishwasher dirty, without rinsing. Any food garbage is supposed to be scraped off roughly (ie scrape off actual pieces of food but dont worry if a few rice stick to the plate). Dishwashers save on water and energy. They are convenient for bulk washing of dishes. Dishwashers need to be used correctly to be opti…

> For a family of 4 with 2 preschoolers it is absolutely necessary to have a dishwasher.

We did fine with two preschoolers and no dishwasher.

I maintain that a 'touch once' is always faster than 'pick up, drop, pick up again, drop'.

Furthermore: the second I see friends puzzle about 'where do I put this in this almost full dishwasher', I know they would have been faster doing it by hand.

> Dishwashers save on water and energy.

No, this is not true. I've measured and it depends. The dutch advisory site 'milieucentraal.nl' comes to the same conclusion: it depends.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#67

Post by richrichardsson »

I find just rinsing off stuff immediately after use makes the process of actually cleaning much easier, and is fairly quick and painless.

The proper cleaning process usually takes place in the morning for all the stuff that accumulated from the day before, but it's all already mostly clean, so is again fairly quick and painless.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#68

Post by downboots »

mbg721 wrote: post #64
sultee wrote: post #32

There're too many people washing their dishes right after using them in this thread. What to do if you're not one of them? I created my personal ritual: all the dishes land in the sink during the day, and right before going to sleep I turn on an audio book and spend the next ~20 mins calmly doing my home stuff. Loading the dishwasher (and unloading yesterday's portion), preparing food containers for pets, etc. Everyt…

Washing the dishes right after using them is an ideal, not a reality. Most of the time, my kitchen looks like Picasso's Guernica.

Why hasn't scrubbing been solved? Put hands in box. Box blasts whatever you hold into it. Doubles for hand wash.

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#69

Post by grantwest »

alexpetralia wrote: post #29

I handwash all dishes and can go through maybe 50+ in about 5 minutes. My approach is very efficient. * First, get every dish wet (so that the food will rinse off easier), just a quick splash of water the surface of every dish. * Then, soap your sponge and begin cleaning. Stack all dishes off to the side sensibly (plates on bottom, bowls on top, silverware atop that). Don't put your sponge down to rinse off anything.…

This guy plays Factorio

Re: Ask HN: What is your system for dirty dishes?

#70

Post by D13Fd »

We use a high-end Miele dishwasher, model 6875. It's amazing (though expensive) and it's the only dishwasher I've had that I didn't kind of hate, and it has lasted perfectly for several years now.

Miele Model 6875 (now discontinued):

https://www.designerappliances.com/miele-g6875scvisf.html

We don't use it for knives, pots, or non-dishwasher-safe items. For those items, I wash them by hand. For years I have used this scrubbing cloth:

Crown Choice All-Purpose Cleaning Scrubber

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YP16LK9?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_...

That scrubbing cloth is great because it dries out quickly, never gets smelly, does not scratch anything even if you scrub hard, and lasts a very long time (at least 6 months of daily use, but probably a year or more).

For gummy stuff, I usually use a dish brush before the cloth to knock the gunk off of the dish so that I don't have to later clean it off of the cloth. I've never found one that I like well enough, so I won't post a link.

For stuck-on stuff, I use a Progressive scraper:

https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-GT-3300-Gadget-Scrapers-D...

Those are sold out, but these look similar:

https://www.amazon.com/Multicolor-Silicone-Dishwashing-Multi...

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