One of the greatest 19th century inventions for modern conveniences has been the dishwasher. It has cut down the amount of time used to scour dishes by hand and dry them. Along with its time saving benefit, there is also the benefit of water conservation, sterilization, and reduction in soap usage. It is rare to find a newly built home without one of these handy appliances stationed right beside the sink in the kitchen. They come in all sorts of varieties from the very basic model to ones that have specific water conservation methods applied and time delays built in. It is quite amazing what these machines can do with a lasagna pan that contained an overcooked meal.
I am the queen of dishwasher abuse. My dishwasher is mislabeled. It should be relabeled as If-It-Can-Be-Washer. Just about everything goes into my dishwasher. Light fixtures, toothbrush holders, lint traps, fan grills, and just about anything else that I can think of can take a bath in the dishwasher. Yesterday, I washed the dryer lint trap in the dishwasher because I’ve been reading where 90% of driers fail before their time because of build up on the lint screen from dryer sheets and fabric softener. The only way to erase this build up is hot soapy water. “Whalaaa.” Usher in the dishwasher.
Of course, over time I have learned that there are a few things that should not be put in it. Two days ago I put in a soap dispenser bottle that hadn’t been rinsed out properly. Needless to say, I spent some time bailing out soap bubbles and then rerunning the rinse cycle. Then there was the time that I put the air filter from the truck in the dishwasher. Some things didn’t come out as clean as they should have on that load. I had to wash those items a few more times. For me, this whole dishwasher usage thing is a live-and-learn experience. With a few regrets, I keep on learning.
I have some plastic boxes that need replacing because of age and wear and tear. I want to replace them with something that I can fit into the dishwasher. I was thinking of the swinging square or the rigid square wire baskets that would fit nicely where I want to use them and they would also be good candidates for the dishwasher. Dishwasher viability is becoming one of those conditional factors when I purchase certain products. I recently bought a stainless steel wire trash can and I’m thinking that it may be a good fit for the dishwasher also.
I wish I had the kitchen space for an industrial size dishwasher. Then, things like the air conditioner grill, the computer housing case, and other bigger items could also have a nice bath. Should the day come when my dishwasher breaks down, I shall be in mourning. I can’t imagine ever having to wash all those items by hand. I will definitely be shopping for another dishwasher within short order of learning that mine is worthy of the graveyard.
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