You Shouldn't Rinse Your Dishes Before Putting Them In the Dishwasher - Here's Why

[MULTIZ321]

You Shouldn't Rinse Your Dishes Before You Put Them in the Dishwasher - Here's Why
By Corey Williams/ How To/ My Recipes/ myrecipes.com

"This is the dirty truth about your dishes.

You know those people—the ones who simply refuse to rinse their dishes before loading the dishwasher. Laziness aside, it’s just plain gross.

Well, it looks like you might want to bite your tongue before chiding them next time. According to the Wall Street Journal, those disgusting jerks might be onto something!....."

Richard

 

[DeniseM]

We have low water pressure at our house, and the dishwasher doesn't do a good job. I consider it more of a "sterilizer" than a "washer."

 

[isisdave]

Does it matter if you're going to run the dishwasher immediately, or wait a couple of days for a full load? In the latter case, food residue will dry out a lot -- but maybe that what those hungry enzymes like best.

 

[bluehende]

Does it matter if you're going to run the dishwasher immediately, or wait a couple of days for a full load? In the latter case, food residue will dry out a lot -- but maybe that what those hungry enzymes like best.

We do not rinse and with 2 of us it may be days. I have not seen any real problem. Occasionally something needs a second go but not very often.

 

[PigsDad]

We have low water pressure at our house, and the dishwasher doesn't do a good job. I consider it more of a "sterilizer" than a "washer."

That would not be a symptom of low water pressure, as a dish washer does not use the pressure in your water line to provide the power for washing the dishes. The dishwasher just opens the water valve to get the amount of water it needs for each cycle, and then it has its own pump to provide the washing power. Sounds like you need a new dishwasher if it is not cleaning anymore.

Kurt

 

[moonstone]

With just DH & I left in the house we only need to run the dishwasher about twice a week. I have dishes & cutlery for 12 so it takes a few days to use them all up. We never rinse the dishes, even if we've had spaghetti or some other 'messy' food. A friend of DH's is a retired 43 year Sears Appliance repairman. He said if the dishwasher is working properly, you use a quality detergent (not citrus scented or it wrecks the stainless steel cutlery) and the water is hot enough all the dishes should come out spotlessly clean. The little holes in the spray arms should be inspected periodically as sometimes stuff can get stuck in them blocking the hole and affecting the water pressure or spray.

When we stayed at our timeshare in St Augustine this fall there was a note in the kitchen to only use liquid dishwasher detergent (provided) as the powdered or cube kinds wouldn't do a good job and they would leave a residue on the dishes/glasses. I noticed that there was a temperature boost (a water heater within the dishwasher) button on the control panel so I used it each time I ran the dishwasher. I used the Finish cubes and Jet Dry rinse agent I'd brought from home and never had any residue left on the dishes or glasses. I advised the manager at the owners meeting that the problem may be with the hot water temperature and lack of rinse agent rather than the type of detergent.

A few years ago our DS was complaining his dishwasher was doing a lousy job. I opened it up, unscrewed the filter and showed him that it was full of twist ties, bits of bone, long hair (DGD) and who knows what else. I cleaned it and also pulled some "gunk" out of quite a few holes in the spray arms. He couldn't believe the difference it made, he had no idea that there was a removable filter in his dishwasher. It pays to read the manual!


~Diane

 

[clifffaith]

Ay, don't get me started on the ballad of my stinky dishwasher again. My plumber decreed that Lowe's guy had indeed installed it correctly. Bought two bottles of Glisten on eBay and used the first about 10 days ago. By this morning I was again gagging when loading the dishwasher. So once I use the second bottle of Glisten, we'll go back to cheap white vinegar set in a vintage red pyrex refrigerator dish that sits up perfectly on the top shelf. And I'll just do that every time the stench is gag inducing again. And every single time Cliff will be subjected to my tirade as I insult the dishwasher's maternal and paternal ancestry. Dish washers should not stink!!

 

[Phydeaux]

We have low water pressure at our house, and the dishwasher doesn't do a good job. I consider it more of a "sterilizer" than a "washer."

You might want to look up the meaning of 'sterilizer'. I'm guessing you meant rinsed, given your predicament.

 

[Beachclubmum]

I'm confessing to rinsing. Everything comes out nice and clean though. Love the Bosch with the third rack which we installed last year during a kitchen renovation.

 

[geist1223]

Felix our dog does a good job preparing the dishes for the dish washer.

 

[plpgma]

Well -- as one who places dishes into the dishwasher that one might confuse as already having been run through a wash cycle, I am having difficulty with the concept of changing my practice -- although the article does present a good argument. Maybe it's time for me to change!

 

[bbodb1]

Felix our dog does a good job preparing the dishes for the dish washer.

The power of twin scouring tongues makes short work of any residue!

 

[Passepartout]

Old habits die hard. DW (with dog's help) pre-washes. I load.

Jim

 

[Jan M.]

We live in Southeastern Florida and if you don't rinse the dishes and aren't running the dishwasher every day, you will have the little beige sugar ants in your dishwasher.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

One of the most important sanitation elements with dishes is to not dry them with a towel. Let them air dry.

Once dishes are cleaned with detergent and rinsed with clean water, that is the cleanest that they will ever be. Dish towels, however, are microbe magnets. And when you start toweling dishes, you contaminate them.

All restaurant sanitation codes prohibit drying dishes with towels. From a sanitation standpoint, nothing beats a dishwasher PowerDry.

 

[WinniWoman]

My Bosch doesn't, but some dishwashers do have a rinse first and hold function that you can utilize. I don't rinse my dishes, EXCEPT if food it really stuck on the dish after scraping it and will be going onto the top shelf. Then I might take my scrubby sponge to get the food off before putting it into the dishwasher.

 

[clifffaith]

My Bosch doesn't, but some dishwashers do have a rinse first and hold function that you can utilize. I don't rinse my dishes, EXCEPT if food it really stuck on the dish after scraping it and will be going onto the top shelf. Then I might take my scrubby sponge to get the food off before putting it into the dishwasher.

We've used nylon scrubbies for years (and tend to collect the used-for-three-days scrubbies from our timeshare travels). Last week I put a handled brush on the grocery list, thinking Cliff might use that since I've really been on him about dishes being close to spotless before putting them in the machine because of our stinky dishwasher issues. Need to try again because I think the brush we bought is too stiff -- feels like it will scratch the dishes over time. Years ago I'm sure we had a handled scrubby , maybe even with a hollow handle you old fill with detergent. Will see what I can find.