Handwashing IS better

[PrincessPerky]

I don't want a debate, my DW is busted, and I am not getting a plumber anytime soon (FIL wont be back for a month, he is an electrician and general handyman)

So I just need some good things to tell myself when I am soaking my already beat up hands in yet another load of dishes.

[kashi]

actually, I think it is better. your dishes stay in better shape because they aren't subjected to such high-temperature water. you can examine the pots and such to get every last bit of food off. etc etc. not to say that I don't wish I had a dishwasher sometimes, but even if I did, I'd still be handwashing a lot of things.

sorry to hear yours is broken!

I think hand washing can be therapeutic. I normally zone out and think about all sorts of things while my hands are busy in warm, soothing water.

[terry1156]

I always hand wash. Like Kashi, I find it therapeutic. Then again, there are only two of us and we rarelt have more than a few plates to wash, so it isn't much of a chore.

[skipper]

hate hate hate handwashing did it for the first ten years of marriage. now we have kids dishwaher is a must. I thought about washing if it was worth the money but the more I think of it it would not be worth any amount of savings because I would be washing dishes all day long because I cant stand to see the dirty dishes.

[PrincessPerky]

Thanks for the positive stuff , I find that zoning out isn't much of an option with two rugrats running around, but I have noticed the dishes are a lot cleaner the first time around. (rewashing several a load is sort of a matter of course with all the dishwashers I know.)

[delight2u]

I enjoy the warm sudsy water of handwashing dishes, BUT, now that I do childcare in my home I have found that doing dishes in my dishwasher reduces the runny nose syndrome that really got out of hand while hand washing. One down side of using a dishwasher is that it takes me 2 days to get it full enough to run a cycle.

[PrincessPerky]

2 days! wow, I fill the DW one and a half times most days, with just us.

I did discover barring pots it only takes about 10 minutes to wash a load of dishes (DH gets the pots). Since it takes 2 to fill the DW, 2 to try and make the stuff that didn't fit look less messy, and 2 to empty it, and then 10 to rewash what didn't get washed, I figure I am saving time! (the pots are what would have to wait for DH anyway, the DW doesn't get them clean either)

[miclason]

we wash (dishes) by hand...we try to take turns...

[delight2u]

Okay, not sure if I understand - It takes 2 people or 2 minutes to load the dishwasher? The only part of the dishwasher I dislike is the unloading it, even though most of the time I can half empty by mid day of the childrens plates and cups. If I run low on the cups I wash by hand and dip in clorox water to kill the runny nose germs. I use iron skillets which have to be washed by hand, the Corell ware pots clean up in the dishwasher pretty well. But then I have new dishwasher that has 3 separate arm sprayers. So much better than the one that only hand 2 at the bottom and top. Besides with 6 daycare children under foot it is hard to wash by hand. Oh, so nice to have a husband who helps you.

[PrincessPerky]

Sorry bout the confusion, 2 minutes , unless DH does it then it takes him about forever! Wonderful man (very nice he helps), but very slow to unload a DW. He isn't allowed to fill it, it takes him forever and he gets like half the dishes in that I would, huge gaping spots and all sorts of stuff. And yeah I have a cheap lousy DW even when it does work . (came with the house)

[squirlma]

Aaaaahhhh, dishwashing. When we moved into our house, it came with a dishwasher, which was a cheap one and didn't get the dishes clean. For most of my life, I have washed dishes by hand. I am also very prone to ecxema, so I wear rubber gloves. While it may take a little while to get used to them, they will save your hands. I also find that I can wash dishes in the hottest water just as the dishwasher does because I am wearing them.

[neatdesign]

When I saw the thread title for some reason I assumed it was about washing clothes, not dishes. And since I spent an entire year having to wash all my clothes by hand -- couldn't afford a washing machine and no laundromats around -- I was thinking, "How could ANYONE think washing clothes by hand is better?! It's NOT, and it never will be!!" LOL

~ Jenney

[PrincessPerky]

HEH, I was in that boat for a time, thankfully with no kids and single, but yeah it was terrible.

BTW we managed to get the darn thing working again, and my kitchen is again taken over by dirty dishes waiting to go in the DW! terrible, how is something that is supposed to be saving me time and energy leaving my kitchen so messy? (I know I could handwash the leftovers, but.... ick)

[Razzy]

When we moved into our current home (we rent from relatives) it had a portable dishwasher that we never did use the first few years we were here. After we had our lil one we started to use it because of the amount of bottles we were using for here. Fortunatly we found it took 2-3 days for it fill will dishes and the noise was horrendous. After lil one was weaned from the bottle we stopped using it and it went back to the relative. We found that if we did not use it at least twice a week for some reason it would not work. We are happy we do not have it anymore, the good thing bout having one is to hide dirty dishes, the bad part was the noise and the electricy it took to run it.

Razzy