Dishwasher Routine (prerinsing) poll

[sbgrace]

I can't figure out how people get their dishes clean without pre-rinsing. We have very hard water so maybe that is part of our issue. But I'm using those Finish Tabs and still have stuck on food if I don't pre-rinse. I generally run dishes once a day.

 

I'm wondering how others handle dishes--poll following.

 

Huh...my poll didn't work so I'll just ask and hope people reply:

 

1. Do you find your dishwasher gets things clean with no pre-rinsing at all? How?

 

2. If not (mine won't) what do you or should I do?

 

-load up after each meal and run a quick rinse cycle with the dishwasher (no rinsing in sink; is this more water efficient?)

 

-pre-rinse stuff up before loading once or twice a day (this is what I'm doing now; it seems I waste a lot of water this way and the sink is full until I load)

 

-rinse and load after each meal (this would waste a ton of water but I wouldn't have dishes in my sink constantly)

 

-put stuff to soak in the sink as the day goes and rinse what I still need to at the end of the day (I did this today and it was messy and I had to load throughout to leave room for the next batch to soak so I still felt I wasted water but maybe this is still most efficient with some tweaking...I'm not sure)

 

I feel like I need to say that both my family growing up and my husband's had no dishwasher. I might be clueless in proper use and welcome education.

Edited April 28, 2012 by sbgrace

[stripe]

I ran a load when I first got my old, used dishwasher. It got everything clean with no prerinsing, so I don't bother.

 

Sorry, this is probably not helpful.

[KS_]

I can't figure out how people get their dishes clean without pre-rinsing. We have very hard water so maybe that is part of our issue. But I'm using those Finish Tabs and still have stuck on food if I don't pre-rinse. I generally run dishes once a day.

 

I'm wondering how others handle dishes--poll following.

 

Huh...my poll didn't work so I'll just ask and hope people reply:

 

1. Do you find your dishwasher gets things clean with no pre-rinsing at all?

 

2. If not (mine won't) what do you or should I do?

 

-load up after each meal and run a quick rinse cycle with the dishwasher (no rinsing in sink; is this more water efficient?)

 

-pre-rinse stuff up before loading once or twice a day (this is what I'm doing now; it seems I waste a lot of water this way and the sink is full until I load)

 

-rinse and load after each meal (this would waste a ton of water but I wouldn't have dishes in my sink constantly)

 

-put stuff to soak in the sink as the day goes and rinse what I still need to at the end of the day (I did this today and it was messy but maybe this would be the least water used)

 

I feel like I need to say that both my family growing up and my husband's had no dishwasher. I might be clueless in proper use and welcome education.

 

It really depends on the dishwasher - dh's best friend is an appliance repair guy and gave us an older Maytag (same model he had) that works well and filters the water/food differently than the new ones. He and his wife finally replaced theirs and hate the new one.

 

But, I don't pre-rinse, only scrape off big chunks of stuff. I use Finish tabs and we have hard water. If I keep the filter cleaned out every now and then, I don't generally have issues with it getting things clean (except cooked eggs, stuff that's been baked in the oven - a few things like that).

[ashfern]

We have to pre-rinse with this dishwasher. It's the first one that I've ever used that requires it. We had an appliance repair guy out & he said that he pre-rinses his dishes too. I usually run the dishwasher after lunch & after dinner so stuff doesn't have time to dry & stick on there. The problem is that the particles get onto the glasses if we don't rinse. :glare:

[momtoamiracle]

we have a 13 yr old Maytag that I never prerinse. I scrape dishes and that is it. Now I do use Cascade with Dawn packets. I find if I use a cheap detergent the dishes don't get clean. I read that if you prerinse it can cause pitting and scratches on your dishes because the dishwasher is designed to beat the food off. If there is no food then it will beat the dishes.

 

 

 

Maybe try a different detergent?

 

 

I run my dishwasher once per day, or every day and a half. I fill it up to the brim before I run it.

 

I love my dishwasher and I dread the day it breaks.

[Rhonda in TX]

We have to pre-rinse with this dishwasher. It's the first one that I've ever used that requires it. We had an appliance repair guy out & he said that he pre-rinses his dishes too. I usually run the dishwasher after lunch & after dinner so stuff doesn't have time to dry & stick on there. The problem is that the particles get onto the glasses if we don't rinse. :glare:

 

Same here. I've never pre-rinsed before our current dishwasher (a couple of years old). I think all the energy/water efficiency has really hurt the cleaning ability of dishwashers. Our previous dishwashers were all cheap models and they cleaned without pre-rinsing. This is a Kitchenaid and I often have to pre-rinse. (we also have hard water and I use Finish tabs)

[nmoira]

I scrape what I can from the dishes into the compost pail after each meal then place in the dishwasher, which I run overnight. The only exception is for porridge bowls: I scrape, then soak them until just before bed. Porridge occasionally "bakes" on in the dishwasher otherwise.

Edited April 28, 2012 by nmoira
clarity

[stripe]

I am using store brand soap. I occasionally add vinegar.

[Ellie]

1. Do you find your dishwasher gets things clean with no pre-rinsing at all? How?

Define "pre-rinsing." :D

 

I scrape the dishes, and rinse a little just so that big nasty pieces of food aren't on them. Some dishwashers have their own garbage disposals; mine doesn't, so I *lightly* rinse. Also, it might be two or three days before I run the dishwasher and I don't want food getting rancid in there, lol. But there's no scrubbing involved, or dish soap, or anything like that. Sometimes really baked on stuff doesn't come off completely, but we're talking stuff in the baking dish, not plates and bowls and whatnot, KWIM?

 

2. If not (mine won't) what do you or should I do?

 

-load up after each meal and run a quick rinse cycle with the dishwasher (no rinsing in sink; is this more water efficient?)

 

-pre-rinse stuff up before loading once or twice a day (this is what I'm doing now; it seems I waste a lot of water this way and the sink is full until I load)

 

-rinse and load after each meal (this would waste a ton of water but I wouldn't have dishes in my sink constantly)

 

-put stuff to soak in the sink as the day goes and rinse what I still need to at the end of the day (I did this today and it was messy and I had to load throughout to leave room for the next batch to soak so I still felt I wasted water but maybe this is still most efficient with some tweaking...I'm not sure)

 

For sure you shouldn't have to soak dishes in the sink. A quick rinse/light scraping and then into the dishwasher should be all you need to do. A light rinse shouldn't waste a ton of water.

 

If you're having to do more than that, then your dishwasher is old and doesn't work right, or your dish detergent is substandard, or your water isn't hot enough.

[Barb_]

In the past, there have been times we've had dishwasher rinsing issues, but dishwashers are designed to wash without prerinsing. Here are some troubleshooting things to try:

 

Turn your hot water heater up a notch or two. When I had mine set on the recommended setting (supposedly the safe 120 degrees), the temperature registered only 102-105 on the kitchen faucet. Now that I have it two notches higher in the 'red' zone, the water is still only 115 or so.

 

Try the Finish Quantum tablets. I keep the regular Finish and the Quantum tablets on hand. I use the Quantum tablets for greasier, yuckier dishes. They are more expensive, so I ration them.

 

Check your water pressure and usage. We were having trouble with icky dishes last month and it turned out our sprinkler system had sprung a leak at the box. It blew up, we fixed it and then lo and behold the dishwasher began washing properly again.

 

If it it 3 or more years old, learn how to clean out the filter/chopper. A dirty one will cause backup on the glasses.

 

Make sure the little tube under the top rack that fits into the tubing at the back of the dishwasher isn't broken. One of the kids slammed ours shut a couple of years ago and bent the part that inserts into the plumbing. It was partially blocking the water and the glasses wouldn't get clean.

 

When my Kenmore Elite is working I love, love, love it. But there are so many touchy things that go wrong with dishwashers.

[Laura Corin]

I scrape food into the bin. Anything really stuck on (baked casseroles) gets soaked over night. I don't rinse.

 

I have a Bosch dishwasher and use Ecover tablets.

 

Laura

[creekland]

In the past, there have been times we've had dishwasher rinsing issues, but dishwashers are designed to wash without prerinsing. Here are some troubleshooting things to try:

 

Turn your hot water heater up a notch or two. When I had mine set on the recommended setting (supposedly the safe 120 degrees), the temperature registered only 102-105 on the kitchen faucet. Now that I have it two notches higher in the 'red' zone, the water is still only 115 or so.

 

Try the Finish Quantum tablets. I keep the regular Finish and the Quantum tablets on hand. I use the Quantum tablets for greasier, yuckier dishes. They are more expensive, so I ration them.

 

...

 

If it it 3 or more years old, learn how to clean out the filter/chopper. A dirty one will cause backup on the glasses.

 

 

:iagree:

 

We had an older Maytag that was SUPERB, but after 13 years or so and daily usage, it finally needed replacing. We bought a Frigidaire and hated it as it never got things clean. Then we switched to the Finish Tabs and things were 100% better, BUT, occasionally there are still little particles on the glasses especially. So, we use the even better Finish Quantum tabs when I have a really dirty load or right after I've found the particles. So far, they've always worked and we never pre-rinse (but do get big stuff off).

 

Since you have hard water, have someone take apart and thoroughly clean the piping and arms in your dishwasher. Mineral deposits can easily build up blocking water. We had to do this a couple of times a year with our Maytag (used cheap detergent). So far (2-3 years) we haven't had to do it with the Frigidaire. I think the Finish (perhaps with the Quantum) helps with that. When we cleaned the deposits out of the Maytag we'd have a small bucket full of mineral "stuff." Once hubby showed me how little water could come from an arm - it was a small, small trickle. No wonder it was having trouble!

[LaxMom]

It's my understanding that modern dishwasher detergents are formulated for no rinsing. If you rinse everything off, the enzymes will etch your glassware.

 

Our dishwasher is 8 years old (a portable model now installed under the counter), we have really soft water, and use Method Smarty Dish tablets.

 

I scrape the chunks off because the dishwasher doesn't seem to handle bits of rice or flecks of spinach well (spinach is the worst, it seems to permanently laminate to the dishes!).

 

Our dishwasher is hooked up to the cold supply line (oil boiler, it's not cost effective to heat the water that way because the dishwasher still gets cold water but the boiler kicks on because of the demand) and we use the "heated wash" setting (the dishwasher heats its own water). We rarely have something not come clean, even baking dishes or dried on egg.

 

Every few months, the glasses will start getting obnoxious silt that looks like salt and pepper in them. Then we clean the dishwasher by running Finish cleaner through on the hot pots & pans setting.

 

I really think the trick is finding the detergent and wash setting that works for your particular water. It's trial and error, mostly.

Edited April 28, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[extendedforecast]

My answer is complicated. The current dishwasher that we have does not require the dishes to be pre-rinsed. DH trained my oldest two girls to rinse off the dishes in the sink before loading them in the dishwasher, but unless there is a lot of food built up, I rarely rinse. And I never use the pre-rinse option on the dishwasher, just the hot start option when I'm too lazy to rinse dishes first. In the past we have had dishwashers that don't get all the food out. Is used to fill the sink with water and soak them for 10 or so minutes and then brush the food off, then load the dishes. Sometimes it was easier to just wash them by hand.