Dishwashers are precious, magical and life-changing gifts for anyone who spends time in the kitchen. These miracle appliances slash household chore time and ensure a deep, quality clean on your everyday dishes and cutlery. While it may be tempting to throw everything inside and set it and forget it, there are some objects that really shouldnt find their way into a dishwasher.
Cracking, tarnishing and general deterioration are never fun to discover when you unload the latest batch of dishes. To avoid these unpleasant discoveries, make sure to pay close attention to which kitchen utensils are alright to throw in the wash and which are best set aside for a hands-on cleaning:
1. Wooden utensils and cutting boards
Warping can easily occur when soaking wooden dinnerware in water or running them through a mechanical washing cycle. Also, if your nice wooden salad tongs have a finish on them, they might not after a trip through the wash.
2. Cast iron skillets
Cast iron skillets and pans require some TLC throughout their lifetime. By properly seasoning, gently cleaning and thoroughly drying your cast iron you can ensure many, many years of use. Scrubbing with dish soap (unless you are re-seasoning) or running them through the wash is a definite no-no.
3. Fine crystal
It probably goes without saying that fine (and expensive!) crystal can easily become damaged in a dishwasher. Use soft cloths to clean these items, instead.
4. Copper pots and pans
Love the gorgeous golden color of your copper dishware? Make sure to hand wash them so theyll keep their good looks!
5. Vintage dinnerware
Fine china has no place in a dishwasher! The delicate details of vintage dishes can easily chip away through the fairly rough cycle of a dishwasher. Wash these beauties by hand so you can pass them onto the next generation.
6. Quality chefs knives
General rule of thumb: if you spent a bunch of money on a top-notch kitchen tool, you should probably pause before stacking it in the dishwasher. Knives can dull in the dishwasher or damage the plastic racks, if not stored properly.
7. Jars with labels
The heat and soapy water will take off some of the label from your everyday jam jar, but the material will more than likely get stuck in the filter or on other dishes in the wash. And there will probably still be goopy adhesive on the jar! Instead, try this method of cleaning labels off of jars.
8. Regular dish soap
The only reason to put regular old dish soap into a dishwasher is if youd like to create a makeshift foam party in your kitchen. If thats the case, throw on some house music and kick the strobe lights into high gear! If not, stick to soap made specifically for dishwashers.
Photo credit: Thinkstock
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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