How To Load Your Dishwasher Properly

Wait, what? There’s a right and wrong way to load the dishwasher? YES! There are several common mistakes made loading the dishwasher which leads to chipped, broken, and/or dirty dishes. Below are a few steps to insure clean dishes every time – make sure you check out the video tutorial, too!

1. Set the dishes aside that are not dishwasher safe. Anything wooden, non-dishwasher safe plastics, large knives, and/or fragile glassware should all be removed and washed by hand. Large knives are usually good to wash separately so they do not get dulled in the dishwasher – everything else is kind of self-explanatory.
2. Scrape the big food particles off of your plates and/or bowls into the trash as sometimes dishwashers have a tough time taking care of these “big jobs”.
3. After you trash the big food particles, it’s a good idea to rinse most of the larger dishes off. If there are still big messes, a scrub brush or almost any cutlery will help get those taken care of.
4. When loading the dishes, there are certain ways and places the dishes should be stacked for the highest efficiency. (See the video below)
   1. Bottom level
      1. Large and small plates, staggered every other facing toward the middle.
      2. Large pots and pans face down.
   2. Top level
      1. Cups should be placed faced down so they don’t hold water. Make sure they are place BETWEEN the pegs and not on top of them.
      2. Large utensils should be placed faced down if they do not fit in the cutlery area; they should be face-down so they do not hold water as well.

• Dishwasher-safe plastics should be stacked on top so they are far enough away from the heating coil so they do not warp.

 

I know most people just want to throw their dishes in the dishwasher to be done with them, but those Tetris ways of stacking don’t normally result in all clean dishes. So there really is a way to do it that will guarantee perfectly clean dishes almost every time!

How to load your dishwasher properly - a tutorial.