What can be washed in the dishwasher?

dishes for dishwasher A dishwasher greatly simplifies the life of housewives who love to cook and welcome guests, because all the unpleasant work associated with washing dishes is entrusted to technology. However, not everything is dishwasher safe. There are items and materials that absolutely cannot be washed in a dishwasher, but at the same time, you need to understand that a dishwasher is useful for more than just washing dishes. We'll talk about this and much more in this story.

Materials not compatible with dishwasher

People are different, some new owners of a dishwasher, not afraid of experiments, immediately begin to shove various objects, knives, toys, baby bottles into it, others are afraid to turn it on again. A dishwasher, like any other appliance, should be used wisely by first studying the list of materials that should not be put in the dishwasher. And you don’t need to be afraid of anything, because you buy equipment not for beauty, but so that it works, saving you time and effort. So, materials that should not be put in the dishwasher.

Cast iron. Cast iron frying pans or, for example, a cauldron cannot be placed in the dishwasher. And the point is not that cauldrons or frying pans are large objects and are difficult to stuff into the dishwasher. Cast iron will begin to rust due to exposure to hot water and detergents. This may not happen right away, but after 3-4 washes the cauldron and pans will become covered with a rusty coating. It is better to wash the cauldron and frying pans by hand, and to remove dried fat and soot better, use a sponge with an abrasive surface. Some people even prefer to clean the cauldron with sand.

Note! If you absolutely do not want to wash your cauldron and frying pans by hand, then purchase cast-iron cookware with a ceramic coating and wash it automatically without restrictions.

Enameled metal. Enameled plates, bowls, and baking sheets are not suitable for the dishwasher, because after 2-3 washes the enamel will begin to partially peel off and the dishes can be discarded.
Copper. Dishes and objects made of copper should not be placed in the dishwasher because they quickly darken and, in some cases, lose their shape.
Silver. Silverware and items coated with silver should not be washed in the dishwasher. After the first wash, silver will become noticeably darker, and if you wash silver together with stainless steel, it will completely lose its appearance. If you have already washed your silver in the dishwasher, don’t worry, it can be restored to its original shine.
Crystal. It is better not to wash any crystal, no matter how thin or thick, in the dishwasher, since solid food particles can scratch its surface. And hot water will definitely crack the crystal. It’s true that modern dishwashers have a special “crystal” mode, but it’s better to leave especially expensive items for manual washing. If the crystal definitely needs to be washed in the dishwasher, then set it to the lowest temperature and place it separately from other dishes. Use a minimum of detergents, but do not forget the rinse aid to make the crystal shine better.
Aluminum. If you put a meat grinder or an aluminum baking tray into the dishwasher, you will get a dark object covered with a layer of plaque. It is very difficult to clean the meat grinder, baking tray and other utensils afterwards.
Brass.Brass utensils and other items should not be washed in the dishwasher, as after the first wash they darken and lose their appearance.
Tree. Wooden objects lose their shape after being in hot water for a long time and their appearance must be washed by hand.

In addition to materials, there is also an impressive list of items that should not go into the dishwasher. This means Crocs, vacuum cookware, knives and more, read more about what dishes should not be washed in the dishwasher read the article of the same name. Separately, it should be said that sharply sharpened knives should not be washed in the dishwasher. Knives made of any material quickly become dull when exposed to high temperatures, even ceramic knives and meat grinder knives are no exception.

Items that are conditionally recommended for the dishwasher

In order to better structure our narrative, we decided to divide all the items that could potentially be put in the dishwasher into two groups. Those that are easy to wash in automatic mode and those that can be washed in automatic mode. Let's start with items that can only be washed under certain conditions.

Cupronickel. Cupronickel is an alloy of several metals that looks very similar to silver. Cupronickel can be washed in the dishwasher, but only separately from other metal objects. If you put knives based on nickel silver and several stainless steel spoons in the dishwasher, they may react and darken. Dishes based on nickel silver should not be washed in the dishwasher if decorative elements from other materials are glued or welded onto them. In this case, cupronickel will react with this material.

For your information! Cupronickel can withstand hot water well, but it may react inadequately to detergents. When loading cupronickel into the dishwasher, figure out which detergent tablet can be put in and which cannot.

Thermos. Under normal conditions, it is not recommended to wash a thermos in a dishwasher, since hot water with detergents damages the lid and the surface of the flask and the thermos deteriorates. However, if you set the washing temperature lower and add a minimum of detergents, the thermos will withstand it quite well. Now a thermos has appeared on the market, specially adapted for automatic washing. The manufacturer directly indicates this on the packaging. This thermos does not have foam insulation and its flask is usually made of stainless steel. Buy this thermos and then wash it in the dishwasher for good measure.

Kids toys. Toys made entirely of plastic can be put in the dishwasher and washed perfectly, but there are limitations. You should not put toys with glued parts in the dishwasher, such parts will quickly come off and the toy will be damaged. Also, don't put plastic dolls with hair (like Barbie), as the dishwasher will ruin their hair forever.

Porcelain. As a general rule, porcelain should not be washed in the dishwasher, especially when it comes to valuable items from China and Japan. But if you follow certain rules, then in the most extreme case you can still wash the porcelain. What should be done?

set the washing temperature to no higher than 55 ⁰Since, hotter water will destroy porcelain;
do not add any detergents, otherwise the porcelain may react with any chemicals;
do not place porcelain in the lower basket of the dishwasher, only in the upper one;
wash porcelain separately from other dishes.

Items recommended for automatic washing

Now let's talk about items that are both convenient and safe to wash in the dishwasher. There are many more of them than might seem at first glance. In the first place, of course, are dishes, except those made from the above materials. The continuation of the list is much more unusual.

Baseball cap. If you put this hat in the washing machine, it will definitely lose its appearance after 1-3 washes. In the dishwasher, baseball caps are washed very well and do not deteriorate. Just keep in mind that dishwashing powder is not suitable for baseball caps.
Flip-flops, flip-flops, galoshes, rubber boots. They wash well, just don’t forget that before putting them in the dishwasher, rubber shoes need to be cleaned of large pieces of dirt.
Tools. You can also wash dirty tools in the machine. Just don’t put sharp tools in an automatic washing machine wash: chisels, knives, planes - they will certainly become dull.
Plastic plugs for ventilation holes, sockets, switches. These plastic elements can be easily washed. You will be surprised how old yellowed switches turn white from such a wash.
Plastic combs, massage combs, etc. They wash well in the dishwasher if they do not have wooden elements.
Sport equipment. This means helmets, knee pads, mouth guards, bowling balls, etc.
Shades of chandeliers lamps and sconces. Before loading lampshades into the dishwasher, you need to make sure that they are not crystal. Glass and plastic shades can be washed without restrictions.
Strong fruits and roots.Before placing fruits and root vegetables in the dishwasher, they are cleaned of large pieces of dirt and then loaded into the basket. Before washing root vegetables and fruits, you need to wash and wipe the detergent drawer so that any remaining powder and rinse aid do not get on your food.

For your information! In the dishwasher with a load of 10 sets, you can perfectly wash 6 kg of potatoes, 2 kg of carrots and there will be room for another 2 kg of fruit, very convenient when you need to cook a lot of food at once.

To summarize, we note that we have decided that in a dishwasher, in addition to dishes, you can wash a lot of things. This list includes a thermos, cupronickel, porcelain, toys, tools and even dense vegetables and fruits. However, there are limitations and there are many of them. For example, you cannot put knives, crystal, wooden objects, objects made of brass, cast iron, silver and other things. To avoid accidentally ruining things in the dishwasher, read this article - it will come in handy!

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1 reader comment

01/19/2022 at 23:54
Olga:

Thank you. I’m just about to use it, I’m very surprised by the restrictions, I could have ruined a lot of things! Thank you for the article!

Answer