Comment by mrweasel
11 days ago
"In every partnership, there is a person who stacks the dishwasher like a Scandinavian architect and a person who stacks the dishwasher like a raccoon on meth." - Someone online.
At home I'm the architect, my wife's the raccoon. I don't actually believe that you can stack the dishwasher wrong as such, but you can make it hard for yourself to unload, if you don't sort the items correctly.
In my dishwasher (some bosch almost identical to the model in the simulation), if you put plastic storage containers upside down on the bottom rack, the force of the jets flip them over and they fill up and don't get clean. They also end up using more water (I think?) because there is water trapped in the dishwasher at the end of the cycle, and things don't dry. Also, if you put large things in particular places they prevent the jet arms from rotating.
Dishwasher physics matter. But I would never criticize a person in my family for loading the dishwasher the "wrong" way; I just sneak in and reorganize when nobody's looking.
>> just sneak in and reorganize when nobody's looking.
This is the way. I am just happy when someone else, anyone else, actually puts dishes in the dishwasher.
More than once a week in my teens, my dad used to coach me on (manual) dishwashing technique and it drove me mad. My teenager can't load the dishwasher for love nor money (rotating arms blocked, filthy plates two to a slot so water can't get between them, etc).There's been something a bit like mindfulness in just leaving him be and then remedying the issues after he's gone to bed, reminding myself while I do it, that I'll miss his shitty dishwasher loading technique when he moves out.
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> I don't actually believe that you can stack the dishwasher wrong as such
There are definitely more and less correct ways, but personally i think it's "wrong" to load it in a way that leaves the arms blocked or (not) tilt pieces that get excessive water pooling on top
My favorite wrong way is when someone completely covers a small item (ramekin, espresso cup) with a larger item (bowl, food storage container).
I would totally do this, is this wrong? It still gets sprayed from the bottom no?
> I don't actually believe that you can stack the dishwasher wrong as such
You most definitely can, they're not magic! The water must hit the right spots and obviously stacking three plates without any space between leads to stuff not getting properly cleaned.
If you try to teach a kid to put the dishwasher you'll learn a ton of wrong ways of doing it! :)
I think putting cups with the opening facing upward is very close to "technically correct, but very wrong"
shouldn't stacking like a raccoon on meth be the most optimal way though? since if they're too well stacked you risk water being unable to enter tight places
The stacking regime is meant to maximize water flow and surface exposure to water jets, at least when optimized.
> I don't actually believe that you can stack the dishwasher wrong as such
I read our dishwashers manual and was surprised at the significant amount of detail about how to position silverware for optimal cleaning (e.g. where to place small spoons, where to place forks, where to place large spoons, etc.)
> but you can make it hard for yourself to unload if you don’t sort the items correctly.
I learned a long time ago that the ability to recognize and exploit a structured system is the most emotionally satisfying thing in the world.
The question becomes: is it faster to sort during packing, or to sort during unpacking?