Dishwashers 6

Can you imagine your kitchen without a dishwasher? Maybe you can, maybe you can’t. This tool has certainly become commonplace in our industrialized society. Yet we may take this tool for granted as soap and lotion makers. Here are a few Dos and Don’ts for your dishwasher using pleasure:

1) Read the manual. I know this sounds like a silly notion but so many of us install equipment and never read the manual because “we already know how to run such a simple machine.” Reading the manual may show that your dishwasher can grind up some foods like cooked rice and beans but it can’t handle an olive pit. Reading the manual may explain how to keep the racks in the best condition for a long time or how to keep the dishwasher smelling fresh when used infrequently.

2) Rinse your dishes but don’t wash them twice. I know people who wash their dishes and then run them through the dishwasher. This tool is not a dish LOCKER, but a dish WASHER. Rinsing saves time, money, energy and detergents.

3) Never, ever, ever wash an item in your dishwasher that has been tainted with a fragrance, essential or flavor oil. You may think “one time won’t hurt.” This is bad thinking because it will be tempting to wash again and again because “so far nothing bad has happened.”

Fragrance, essential and flavor oils are that, OILS. They get trapped in all plastics. Even if you have a stainless steel dishwasher interior the racks are likely coated plastic and the sprayers and wheels can be plastic too. Once these plastics are contaminated with scenting oils then they will continue to give everything a fine coating of scent. This means if you wash your favorite plastic mug in the dishwasher after the dishwasher was contaminated then the mug will smell like the flavors/fragrances/essentials that were placed in the dishwasher. Your Diet Coke, coffee and water will take on the mixture of flavors and odors and make all your beverages undrinkable!

Do yourself a favor, and your budget a favor too, only hand wash items that are used with fragrances, essentials and flavors. Unscented soap buckets and pots may be washed in the dishwasher IF the soap was cold process and the bucket/pot is fresh. If the soap was allowed to set up, hot process or melt and pour soap was made instead of cold process, you will quickly learn that the dishwasher is the most efficient bubble making machine on Earth. You will need a snow shovel to scoop up the suds that are now spilling out the dishwasher and spreading across the floor!

If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated dishwasher for your soap kitchen then make sure you never wash food containers in that same dishwasher.

Happy soaping!