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I've been doing it wrong for years...

tzhu07

tzhu07

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 12, 2008
197
27
I used to pre-wash all dishes before running the dishwasher.

Recently I tried loading up the dishwasher without pre-washing and they came out just as clean. I cannot tell you how many total hours of my life and how many gallons of water I've wasted all this time pre-washing everything.

:(
 
Wasted water and money, lol.

I just rinse them off, then place in the dish washer.
 
tzhu07 said:
I used to pre-wash all dishes before running the dishwasher.

Recently I tried loading up the dishwasher without pre-washing and they came out just as clean. I cannot tell you how many total hours of my life and how many gallons of water I've wasted all this time pre-washing everything.

:(
Click to expand...

I've never prewashed them. Maybe it's new washing machines that get the job done better? Don't think of it as wasted. Think of all the countless hours you had smooth hands.
 
prewash or rinse off? if prewashing then why have a dishwasher? i would rinse though to keep chunks of food from clogging up somewhere
 
Yeah rinse any food so it doesn't clog up the dishwasher, but that's all I do.
 
Why wouldn't you pre-wash your dishes? You've gotta scrub the junk off the plates/cups with a sponge -- things that the dishwasher most likely won't clean off by itself.

I figured everyone followed this method.
 
Some dishwashers (newer ones) specifically recommend against pre washing.
 
SnowLeopard OSX said:
Why wouldn't you pre-wash your dishes? You've gotta scrub the junk off the plates/cups with a sponge -- things that the dishwasher most likely won't clean off by itself.

I figured everyone followed this method.
Click to expand...
My in-laws have a Maytag that requires no prewashing. They put all their dishes and pots in without rinsing anything and they always come out squeaky clean and sparkling. Modern high end dishwashers with a stainless steel tub do an amazing job. Unlike the piece if crap contractor grade GE I currently have.
 
With my brand new, terrible dishwasher (thank you, whomever furnished these apartment kitchens - the fridge sucks too) you must pre-wash, or everything is coming to come out looking like it did when you put it in.

Moral of the story - if you have a decent dishwasher, you can be lazy. Otherwise, grab a sponge.
 
I don't understand why you would have a dishwasher if you're going to prewash your dishes. Surely the point of having one is so that you don't have to wash up? I just run stuff quickly under the tap so that the big bits are off and then whack them in.

You wouldn't prewash your clothes before sticking them in the washing machine would you......or would you?
 
My wife grew up with an industrial-grade dishwasher in her house, so they put anything and everything in there without even a rinse.

I've had to "train" her to at least remove the big bits. We have a standard contractor-grade unit in our town home. It does a good job, but it won't remove glued-on dried scum off of a heavily-loaded unit.

We do a little bit of pre-rinse, but not nearly as much as I used to.
 
Our dishwasher does a pretty good job, but I still scrape plates into the trash and then pre-rinse to put any left over "big stuff" in the garbage disposal. I figure a quick rinse is better than a repair bill for a jacked up dishwasher. I'm probably being over cautious, but oh well, that's just my routine.
 
If I have to prewash a dish, I just go that extra step and finish cleaning it.

I usually just rinse and put it in the dishwasher.
 
We just scrape the big bits off, and dump them. If the plates are terribly bad, the dishwasher still takes care of them. We don't put pots in though. Mostly because we will likely need the pot to cook with before it comes out of the dishwasher.

If I had to pre-wash dishes first, I'd get a new dishwasher. The whole point is to not have to wash them at all. Though I do remember my parents old dishwasher needed plates to be practically clean before using it. But that was in the 1970s. Now, any decent dishwasher should be able clean a stuff straight from the table, imo.
 
I think a lot depends on how good the dishwasher is, as they vary quite a bit in effectiveness. We just do a very quick rinse to get rid of the pieces of food on the plate. Works for us.
 
MacRy said:
I don't understand why you would have a dishwasher if you're going to prewash your dishes. Surely the point of having one is so that you don't have to wash up? I just run stuff quickly under the tap so that the big bits are off and then whack them in.

You wouldn't prewash your clothes before sticking them in the washing machine would you......or would you?
Click to expand...

As my dad likes to say, dish washers are not disposals, they are sanitizers
 
Don't wash dishes it adds a surprising flavor to the following meal and imagine how much water you will save!
 
I always take out the left over food with just water only. So it looks clean, except it isn't. But you can't see anything. Not sure if its necessary or not, but I don't think my dishwasher is strong enough.
 
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