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Should You Be Rinsing Your Plates Before Loading the Dishwasher?

11 points by thelastgallon 3y ago

denkmoon 3y ago
Every dishwasher manual and the instructions for every dishwasher detergent I've ever bought/read pretty clearly instructs you to scrape debris off and then put them in the dishwasher dirty. I never understood why people feel the need to wash their dishes before washing their dishes.
- makeitdouble 3y ago
  Every dishwasher and detergent company will also tell you that their product is really good, will save you time and money, and brighten your life. The claim on the efficiency of their product ("just scrap the bigger chunks and it will be fine") is biased, at best.
- a2800276 3y ago
  Same reason why people clean empty packaging and recycling, because they feel the need to _do something_
EvanAnderson 3y ago
I keep an old spice shaker loaded with dishwashing powder by the sink. For pots and pans that I hand wash, when they're particularly dirty, sprinkling in a little, running some water in them, and letting them soak even for just a few minutes makes the cleaning so much easier.
spzb 3y ago
Betteridge’s Law strikes again https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headline...
hulahoof 3y ago
Always a point of contention between my partner and I, but I am firmly in the 'rinse-before-loading' camp. Theres only so much the filter in a dishwasher can take before it clogs, and it is easier and a better clean to simply rinse the bulk off quickly then pop it in the dishwasher for a proper clean. The article addresses this by saying just to scrape it off first, but I am convinced I get a better clean if the bulk of the sauce etc., is washed off too. Maybe I am imagining it.
raegis 3y ago
The article is wrong. The drain hose from my air gap to the garbage disposal became clogged over time where it bends slightly, so I had to remove it and clean out the collected gunk. The gunk was just coagulated food particles, so I believe pre-rinsing dishes would have slowed this down considerably.
- a2800276 3y ago
  Well maybe if you loved your dishwasher, the environment and your children you would be using Cascade Platinum Plus Ultimate Eclipse Edition 2000 tabs to avoid hose gunk!?
makeitdouble 3y ago
> You want to make sure to scrape off any chunks of remaining food that could potentially gunk up or clog your machine, but go ahead and leave that last layer of food soil, sauces, and grease on the dishes,” If scrapping is needed, straight rinsing is faster and efficient, and probably keeps the outgoing water cleaner by filtering the junk chunks at the sink level. So no, but actually yes.
dalyons 3y ago
The fuck, this is literally just an ad with a clickbait headline: “Thinking of my home’s aging, and perhaps fragile, plumbing, I asked Eberhard how dishwasher soaps like Cascade break down the food, sauces, and grease left of dirty plates sitting in the dishwasher. “Super-packed dishwasher detergent [like Cascade Platinum Plus!] has a powerful combination of cleaning ingredients that hydrate and scrub tough, dried-on food resulting in virtually spot-free, cabinet-ready dishes,” she explains. “The dual-power cleaning formula is composed of starch-fighting and protein-fighting enzymes that break down tough-to-clean foods better than ever before.” ” Says my totally normal not gpt ad robot interview candidate
patorjk 3y ago
I've heard people say you don't need to rinse, but from experience this just doesn't seem to be true, or at least it's based on the dishwasher you have. I had a dishwasher 15 years ago where I tested the idea of not rinsing vs rising, and if I didn't rinse, I would sometimes have dishes that weren't completely clean (ie, hot chocolate residue in a mug, cheese from mac n cheese on silverware, etc).
- sourthyme 3y ago
  I find small food particles left on the top rack if I don't rinse. These are easy to remove (not baked on), but are super annoying and I can't understand why except that when rinsing it's reusing dirty water and not finishing with a clean rinse.
  - ajma 3y ago
    My dishwasher sends the water into the waste disposal built into the sink. If the waste disposal has a lot of food that hasn't been grinded it up, it seems to slow the draining of the dishwasher so not all the food gets drained before the rinse cycle. So I learned to run the waste disposal for a couple seconds before starting a dishwashing load.
politelemon 3y ago
> Be sure to load knives down for safety The article image shows several knives loaded upwards.
- simonblack 3y ago
  That's the age-old argument that won't go away. "Knives down for safety" "Knives up for cleanliness" Pick whichever one suits your lifestyle. Then again, newer dishwashers have a shelf with 'teeth' to hold utensils in the horizontal position that does the best of both worlds. https://www.christinascucina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/IMG_7309-677x451.jpg https://www.christinascucina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/...
nosrepa 3y ago
I'm surprised, four hours in and not one technology connections hasn't been mentioned yet.

11 points by thelastgallon 3y ago

Every dishwasher manual and the instructions for every dishwasher detergent I've ever bought/read pretty clearly instructs you to scrape debris off and then put them in the dishwasher dirty. I never understood why people feel the need to wash their dishes before washing their dishes.

makeitdouble 3y ago
Every dishwasher and detergent company will also tell you that their product is really good, will save you time and money, and brighten your life. The claim on the efficiency of their product ("just scrap the bigger chunks and it will be fine") is biased, at best.
a2800276 3y ago
Same reason why people clean empty packaging and recycling, because they feel the need to _do something_

EvanAnderson 3y ago

I keep an old spice shaker loaded with dishwashing powder by the sink. For pots and pans that I hand wash, when they're particularly dirty, sprinkling in a little, running some water in them, and letting them soak even for just a few minutes makes the cleaning so much easier.

spzb 3y ago

Betteridge’s Law strikes again https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge's_law_of_headline...

hulahoof 3y ago

Always a point of contention between my partner and I, but I am firmly in the 'rinse-before-loading' camp. Theres only so much the filter in a dishwasher can take before it clogs, and it is easier and a better clean to simply rinse the bulk off quickly then pop it in the dishwasher for a proper clean. The article addresses this by saying just to scrape it off first, but I am convinced I get a better clean if the bulk of the sauce etc., is washed off too. Maybe I am imagining it.

raegis 3y ago

The article is wrong. The drain hose from my air gap to the garbage disposal became clogged over time where it bends slightly, so I had to remove it and clean out the collected gunk. The gunk was just coagulated food particles, so I believe pre-rinsing dishes would have slowed this down considerably.

a2800276 3y ago
Well maybe if you loved your dishwasher, the environment and your children you would be using Cascade Platinum Plus Ultimate Eclipse Edition 2000 tabs to avoid hose gunk!?

makeitdouble 3y ago

> You want to make sure to scrape off any chunks of remaining food that could potentially gunk up or clog your machine, but go ahead and leave that last layer of food soil, sauces, and grease on the dishes,” If scrapping is needed, straight rinsing is faster and efficient, and probably keeps the outgoing water cleaner by filtering the junk chunks at the sink level. So no, but actually yes.

dalyons 3y ago

The fuck, this is literally just an ad with a clickbait headline: “Thinking of my home’s aging, and perhaps fragile, plumbing, I asked Eberhard how dishwasher soaps like Cascade break down the food, sauces, and grease left of dirty plates sitting in the dishwasher. “Super-packed dishwasher detergent [like Cascade Platinum Plus!] has a powerful combination of cleaning ingredients that hydrate and scrub tough, dried-on food resulting in virtually spot-free, cabinet-ready dishes,” she explains. “The dual-power cleaning formula is composed of starch-fighting and protein-fighting enzymes that break down tough-to-clean foods better than ever before.” ” Says my totally normal not gpt ad robot interview candidate

patorjk 3y ago

I've heard people say you don't need to rinse, but from experience this just doesn't seem to be true, or at least it's based on the dishwasher you have. I had a dishwasher 15 years ago where I tested the idea of not rinsing vs rising, and if I didn't rinse, I would sometimes have dishes that weren't completely clean (ie, hot chocolate residue in a mug, cheese from mac n cheese on silverware, etc).

sourthyme 3y ago
I find small food particles left on the top rack if I don't rinse. These are easy to remove (not baked on), but are super annoying and I can't understand why except that when rinsing it's reusing dirty water and not finishing with a clean rinse.
- ajma 3y ago
  My dishwasher sends the water into the waste disposal built into the sink. If the waste disposal has a lot of food that hasn't been grinded it up, it seems to slow the draining of the dishwasher so not all the food gets drained before the rinse cycle. So I learned to run the waste disposal for a couple seconds before starting a dishwashing load.

politelemon 3y ago

> Be sure to load knives down for safety The article image shows several knives loaded upwards.

simonblack 3y ago
That's the age-old argument that won't go away. "Knives down for safety" "Knives up for cleanliness" Pick whichever one suits your lifestyle. Then again, newer dishwashers have a shelf with 'teeth' to hold utensils in the horizontal position that does the best of both worlds. https://www.christinascucina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/IMG_7309-677x451.jpg https://www.christinascucina.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/...

nosrepa 3y ago

I'm surprised, four hours in and not one technology connections hasn't been mentioned yet.