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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?

#81

Post by ariendj »

D13Fd wrote: post #70

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…

High end Miele is absolutely fantastic. I bought a professional grade machine (PG 8081) second hand and I love it. I have it hooked up to the warm water faucet so that it uses water heated by our solar panels. It cleans way better than I could ever do by hand and it takes no more than 36 minutes. The thing is built like a tank and they can go for as little as €300 second hand. My machine cost the first owner 2879 when it was new and it shows. Build quality and usability is excellent. I actually enjoy doing the dishes now.

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

#82

Post by bradlys »

Back when I had a full size dishwasher (just moved to nyc) - we’d just scrape off any big pieces of food and then immediately load the plates into the dishwasher along with any pots/pans/etc used to make food along the way.

Set the dishwasher to clean (even if not full - we don’t care). Unload before we eat the next day.

It’s pretty simple and took maybe a minute.

Nowadays, I sometimes have to do two loads cause dishwasher is tiny and can barely fit one pan. So, I’ll do the plates first and the pan in another load. Still much faster than me cleaning by hand. Cleaning those pots and pans is annoying. Same for cleaning woks. Dishwasher does an amazing job.

And yes - we’ve been very happy with the dishwasher. Literally is a blessing. We had a Bosch 800 series.

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

#83

Post by simonblack »

D13Fd wrote: post #70

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…

Ditto likewise. We had a Miele dishwasher that lasted at least 15 years and still going strong. (We sold it as a built-in when we sold that last house. It had followed us to that last house from the house before.)

Very quiet. I hadn't realised that there was a fan-assisted drying mode until I wondered where the warm air was coming from when I walked past it one day.

I venture to say that old Miele dishwasher is good for at least five more years, making it a very affordable investment over the 20 years or so of its working life.

Our current house has a more-recent Bosch dishwasher. If anything, it is even quieter than the older Miele was. It's a good unit.Though I think overall, I prefer the Miele dish-stacking layout.

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

#84

Post by bsenftner »

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…

Incorrect usage? Put dishes in with food on them: food gets heat baked onto the dish. So, a brief rinse fixes that, while a 5 second wipe with a soapy sponge eliminates the need for the dishwasher entirely.

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

#85

Post by simonblack »

Dirty dishes go straight in the dishwasher immediately after a meal, or any dish is used. The kitchen bench is then wiped down and left bare of any clutter.

Four or five decades ago, I was very 'agin' dishwashers because of the pretty poor ones used at my boarding school. We often had egg stains on plates for a day or two after an egg meal.

I was at a friend's place and I claimed that the plates and utensils we'd used for our morning eggs would leave traces after a wash cycle. I had to eat my words, those dishes and forks were spotless.

We've had a dishwasher ever since. They do a much better and less labor-intensive job than hand-washing. There's no need to rinse your dishes before using the dishwasher, that's why there is a pre-wash rinse as part of the overall wash cycle. Doing that rinse yourself is redundant and a waste of your time.

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

#86

Post by kisna72 »

My strategy (when I did not have a dishwasher) is to only have the bare minimum of the dishes required outside. eg: 2 plates, two bowls, two spoons, forks etc for a family of two. This will mean that you will re-use your dishes over and over again, and washing becomes just a thing to do before you eat etc. Also sink will never get filled with dishes again.

Now, I have a dishwasher, and I just put dishes in the dishwasher as soon as I use it.

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

#87

Post by cykros »

28304283409234 wrote: post #66
Tidal5474 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a…

I suspect it likely could be if you're spraying everything to rinse it; use a few basins with a good sized rinse with sanitizer or bleach (measured -- ideally use a ph strip to avoid going too far here) and you can use quite a small amount of water for a good number of dishes. Of course, bothering to fill the basins for only a few dishes could be a waste, but when you're doing a whole family worth, you shouldn't need to run the sink while you're cleaning.

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

#88

Post by cykros »

mbg721 wrote: post #12
jstx1 wrote: post #3

Everything gets washed by hand immediately after being used - during cooking if the recipe allows time for it, or right after the meal at the latest. Very happy with this system, I don't get the habit of piling dirty dishes on top of each other and having a separate time slot for a big wash.

My experience with a wok is that you have to do this before the crud dries, or you can't keep the seasoning on it.

Deglazing a wok at the end goes a long way -- through in half a cup to a cup of water while it's still hot after you've taken the food out, and scrape the bottom gently. Don't put in enough water that it'll cool the pan off entirely, just an amount you might be using when making a sauce. Even if you put off fully cleaning it until after your meal, you'll have saved yourself a bunch of work, on both cleaning and reseasoning (though I always throw a little oil on at the end for good measure).

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

#89

Post by jacknews »

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.…

+1 for cleaning as you go while cooking.

When my wife cooks, the kitchen looks like a crime scene when she's done.

It's cleaner than when I started when I cook.

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