I vaguely remember a discussion on either NPW’s blog or possibly at Malfeasance or even The Daily Tannenbaum about how utensils should be placed in the dishwasher: head up or down? And the responses were pretty much split 50/50.
Despite long been a heads-down utensil loader, I’ve still been baffled by which direction was more beneficial (though not quite baffled enough to do any research). But lo and behold, Real Simple answered that very question deep within the November 2009 issue, which I just recently made my way through. And because we had such an intense debate about the dishwasher at whichever blog it was, I figured I’d share Real Simple’s answer and its other dishwasher-loading tips here in hopes of some of you finding them as interesting as I did. (It’s a slow news week here at The MG).
Drum roll please …
Real Simple says spoons and forks should be varied. (So in a way we were all right). Placing some business-end up and some down keeps the utensils from nesting and allows the water and suds to better do their jobs.
Other loading tips:
— Glasses should always go on the top rack between the tines and not over them so they don’t rattle or come out with marks.
— Plates get cleanest when they face the center rather than the same direction (because the water comes from the center)
— Bowls should go on the top rack, again facing the center so water can get in.
— Cookie sheets and platters should go along the outer edges of the bottom rack so they don’t block water and detergent from everything else.
— Long-handed utensils should lay horizontally across the top rack. Serving spoons go face down so they don’t collect watter.
— Casseroles, serving bowls and large pots go on the bottom rack at a slight angle rather than upside down so they don’t block the flow of watter.
— Plastic containers belong on the top rack, but if they’re marked ‘7’ or ‘PC’ like many takeout containers, they shouldn’t be used after going through a dishwasher because they may have leached the dangerous BPA chemical.
So there you go. I know you’re all way more excited about those tips than you’re letting on.
(Cheers to Real Simple)
It was not my blog, since I haven't had a dishwasher in many years, but the correct way is head UP so they can get the full effect of the washing. Except knives, which go head DOWN so you don't get stabbed when you reach in to put them away.
That was a highly contentious Malfeasance post, and rest assured the battle is still raging in my household. I say business end down so you can grab the handles when it's time to put them away, instead of getting your dirty hands on the clean silverware. Mickey says they don't get clean if the business end is down. I'm happy to know we're both right.
I need to write some of this down because I consider myself a master dishwasher loader but after awhile I just throw stuff in there.
Sadly, not my blog either. I have a dishwasher, but I only use it when things get really bad. But usually I put the silverware face down (shocker! I disagree with NPW) so you don't touch the business end when emptying.
what a unique idea for a post – i love this!
Wow! More information about dishwashers than I could ever want! I actually love to hand wash dishes, so I rarely used my dishwasher, but when I do, I put spoons and forks facing up and make sure not to have too many spoons in one bucket.
I am still with Courtney on the silverware direction thing. I'm also surprised that on everything else I actually do what Real Simple suggests. I think this confirms that our dishwasher is crap.