Your Soaking in It
About two weeks ago, I stopped using my automatic dishwasher. I much prefer washing my dishes by hand because:
- It takes the same amount of time that it took to load and unload the dishwasher
- Cascade is selling for about $7.00 a box around here and it is the only brand that will clean my dishes (I’ve tried all the cheaper brands with rinse aids, vinegar, etc. to no avail)
- There is no etching or funny film left on the dishes
- I can tell immediately whether the dishwasher (that would be me) got the dishes and pots and pans clean
- All of my dishes and utensils are available because they aren’t in the dishwasher waiting for the load to be full enough to run the dishwasher
- There’s no stack of dishes waiting to be put into the dishwasher
- My nails are looking great! (Thanks Madge)
- And, most importantly, My Honey and I seem to revel in the June and Ward Cleaver-ness of it. He dries the dishes and sweeps the floor while I wash the dishes. It is all very homey and comforting.
Apparently, Ozzie and Harriet never got to enjoy that Cleaver Closeness. Here is a video where Harriet shows off her Hotpoint Dishwasher.
Don’t forget about drying racks! I used to dry them by hand, which can get to be a real pain, but now I have a shiny nice drying rack (the coated pretty chrome one from Target) and I let air do the job for me.
Honestly, I don’t know how people can entrust dishwashers to get them clean. My mother has one but they’re practically clean by the time they go in, so I really don’t see the point.
Besides, you can totally use cuter, less dishwasher-safe dishes as a normal thing now.
I actually have a drying rack that only comes out from under the sink when there is A LOT of dishes to do. Otherwise, most of our dinner dishes fit onto a towel on the counter while waiting for My Honey to dry them off and put them away.
Oh, as an aside, My Honey corrected me–he doesn’t REVEL in the ritual but he does it because it makes me happy. *happy sigh* I’ve got a good man!
Have lived without dishwasher. Have lived with dishwasher. INFINITELY prefer the “with.”
(But I must admit one of the best treatments for dry hands is to slather them with Vaseline, put on disposable rubber gloves, and then plunge your hands into a sink full of hot water!)
I abandoned use of my auto dishwasher a year ago for the reasons you outlined…. I minimize the post-meal work by washing as I go. Most of the time all that is left after eating is the utensils and eatingware…
I did the same thing! I rarely use my dishwasher anymore. For one thing, I hated emptying it. For another, I really do enjoy (*gasp*) standing with my hands in the warm water, gazing out my window, just staring at my birdfeeder swarmed with little finches…we need those breaks in our day!