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Cleaning Up:  Washing Dishes  |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 24 2005 : 10:03:34 PM
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We just bought a house this past December, it came with a dishwasher, my girls were thrilled. It has always been their job to do clean up the dinner dishes. Just yesterday, I actually missed washing dishes by hand. So now I want to go by a dish rack . I figure they can still use the dish washer and I can get prunny hands. I too, have a preferred order to wash dishes. I was taught a certian way in home-ec and I still do it that way. Isn't it great to have some place to go to talk about washing dishes and no one thinks your crazy? Simply, Julia
"The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach is joy. Take joy!" Fr.Giovanni |
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Elizabethq
Farmgirl in Training
29 Posts
Elizabeth
Houston
Tx
USA
29 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2005 : 07:12:53 AM
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My sweet hubbie does the dishes. :)
Elizabeth |
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Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Sep 01 2005 : 9:05:36 PM
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I love my dishwasher. It's older than any we have ever bought and it came with our house, it does a better job than any new model I have ever used. I hate to do dishes by hand, I am a total butter fingers with fragile things and have been known to stab myself with knives that I don't see through the bubbles and break glasses in the water against other items.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
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owwlady
True Blue Farmgirl
899 Posts
Jan
Tomahawk
WI
USA
899 Posts |
Posted - Sep 11 2005 : 12:35:37 PM
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| I have a dishwasher, but the dishes never come out clean. I only use it now for a dish drying rack. I live alone so doing dishes by hand isn't such a chore. I only do them once a day in the evening. I also use the same order of washing. It just makes sense. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Sep 11 2005 : 1:12:14 PM
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I never used a drying rack until I was given one- and even then I felt it was more work than necessary(water spilling and/or mineral deposits looking bad after a while). I just would lay out some cotton towels on the counter and we put the dishes there to dry. Now I have a dishwasher that and with 4 adults in the house we use that more often.
Ciao
Alee |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
Posted - Sep 11 2005 : 2:26:38 PM
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| I never use a drying rack when I handwash. Seems more trouble than it's worth to me. I just lay towels down just like Alee. I have a dishwasher that I use for most of my dishes but I have rules that (1)it is only ran once a day (unless for canning jars) anything else gets washed by hand and (2) we never use the drying cycle (unless for canning jars). |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Sep 11 2005 : 3:14:54 PM
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Gosh that sounds like me..I have those same exact rules...so I usually have a dishtowell on the counter with a few things I hand washed on it. Some of my favorite things I don't like to put in the dishwasher anyhow, and I agree about the dry cycle..never use that! I LOOOVVVEEEE it for the canning jars...my favorite thing about having a dishwasher is washing the jars there.
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn't things |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
Posted - Sep 11 2005 : 4:28:18 PM
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| Yup that's me too. I hate trying to sterilize in boiling water or something. Just so much easier in the dishwasher. I really don't mind handwashing it's just with everything else going on the dishwasher just gives me that much more time with my family. |
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4girlsandaguy
Farmgirl at Heart
9 Posts
9 Posts |
Posted - Oct 01 2005 : 6:09:44 PM
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| You guys have such fun answers. I have a dishwasher and would not live without one. I do wash pots and pans etc. by hand. I love standing at my kitchen window when washing dishes. My window looks out to the goat house. I just love watching those kids both mine and the goats running around and climbing the tree. Its better than a movie! |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 01 2005 : 9:34:12 PM
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My dishwasher is on the fritz!! I am back to handwashing which is fine I guess. I was getting spoiled..haha
I wish it would have happened AFTER canning season but I am getting by..and I will have nice wrinkly hands!!
My husband says he may be able to fix it but isn't sure. It was used when we got it. (full size portable) but fairly new. We have had it two years maybe..I can't remember tonight.
I better go wash more jars...applesauce tonight~!~
Jenny in Utah
Put all your eggs in one basket..and then watch that basket!! Mark Twain |
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lonestargal
True Blue Farmgirl
607 Posts
Kristi
Texas
607 Posts |
Posted - Oct 02 2005 : 09:36:05 AM
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| Oh man that stinks Aunt Jenny. How rude of it to quit on you during canning season!!! I'm getting really frustrated with my dishwasher and thinking of just handwashing everything. It seems I take stuff out and some of it's still dirty!!! What is the point in that??? |
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BlueApple
True Blue Farmgirl
430 Posts
Julia
Oregon
USA
430 Posts |
Posted - Oct 02 2005 : 10:04:08 AM
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Oh Jenny - I hope your husband is able to fix it. I don't know what I would do without my dishwasher. I do child care and have 8 little ones I care for, plus my own family of five - with all those dishes I still feel like I wash as much as I use my dishwasher! LOL Plus, my dishwasher just doesn't seem to do a very good job so I practically have to wash them before they go in anyway - but I do feel like it at least sterilizes them a bit so I still use it.
Julia
BlueApple Farm |
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john
Farmgirl in Training
23 Posts
martin
chelmsford
essex
United Kingdom
23 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2005 : 11:18:02 PM
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I always wash by hand .It means that the job is done more to my satisfaction. Why am I so fussy
I like the rest of you like to lay down dish towels |
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mdotterer
True Blue Farmgirl
78 Posts
Marlene
Pleasant Hill
CA
USA
78 Posts |
Posted - Oct 06 2005 : 12:27:13 PM
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I have a dishwasher. It's a great drying rack.
I love to do dishes by hand. It's such a simple and satisfying job, I guess. You get started and soon, the kitchen is clean. It's about the only thing I like in the housework department. I love to pause and gaze out the big kitchen window at the redwoods or watch our dog chase a squirrel back up the tree. I especially like to watch the sky. It's great in winter when the storm clouds move in and when the wind is up the trees go crazy and the lovely bass wind chime sounds it's very low C. Sigh.
However, I hated the dish drain. The ugly thing sat there year after year, taking up needed counter space and giving me one more thing to clean. And, when we used the dishwasher, I hated running out of dishes we needed because we were waiting for a full load (it's just me and my husband). So, screw the dishwasher! I tossed the dish drain (yea!), wash the dishes by hand and let them dry in the dishwasher, which is more sanitary than towel drying them. I do use the dishwasher when we have lots of company, or I'll run it occasionally because it starts to smell strange. That's it.
One funny thing I do: After years of using a dishwasher, I find that I always put the dishes in there the "right" way - plastic stuff on top, plates lined up according to size, nothing blocking the whirling thing... old habits die hard, I guess.
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hapyhrt
True Blue Farmgirl
129 Posts
USA
129 Posts |
Posted - Oct 07 2005 : 02:51:55 AM
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What a fun thread!  I don't mind washing dishes and sometimes even enjoy it! That being said, the system in our house (just hubby and me here) is that whoever cooks doesn't do the dishes since we're both home now. This seems to be a fair trade as I don't enjoy cooking (shame, I know) but can tolerate it when I know that I'm not stuck in the kitchen doing the clean up too!
My system is to wash silverware first (to get it over with!) and then glasses, dishes and pots in that order. Getting the utensils out of the way seems to make the entire job go alot quicker for some reason.
Hubby grew up with a mom who would not allow her boys to wash dishes at home though they both worked as dishwashers during high school! Go figure,eh! My Mom always sings while doing dishes and that's how I do them to this day, always a song on my lips and a memory in my heart of simpler childhood days. 
Oh, and why is it that even if the rest of the house is messy it still looks fine as long as the dishes are done up, put away and the floor is swept? Maybe because company almost always enters into the kitchen and doesn't often go beyond it!  I love this little saying:
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"No matter where I serve my guest, they seem to like my kitchen best!"
"Think happy thoughts...any others aren't worth your time!" Ü |
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mustbeteatime
Farmgirl in Training
39 Posts
Colette
MN
USA
39 Posts |
Posted - Oct 31 2005 : 1:04:04 PM
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Just want to share some thoughts/concerns about a recipe for automatic dishwasher detergent posted in Home Safe Home – Home Care. It calls for ½ washing soda and ½ borax. I did try it, but it seems quite caustic (washing soda is caustic) and I’m pretty sure that with continued use, I would notice etching on my dishes. I also have concerns about this formula due to the borax, which MaryJane notes in her book as being not-so-good for soil quality. After just one use, I found that my glass measuring cup had noticeably faded markings. So for now, I will stick with commercial detergent – probably Shaklee (yes, it is expensive, but you only use a couple of teaspoons, so a box lasts a very long time, and my mother insists that it will not etch glassware, and Shaklee products are environmently responsible) or when I can’t readily get Shaklee, I will try Seventh Generation which I have now found in my grocery store.
Just wanted to share my experience in case you were going to try that formula.
Enjoy the good things in life! |
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beachaubergine
Farmgirl in Training
10 Posts
cape cod
MA
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Dec 08 2005 : 11:20:20 AM
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| I hate my dishwasher sometimes too because it is not functioning properly and so we get bits of food baked on and have to wash things by hand anyway. we also hate emptying it too! but i wanted to say that i thought i had heard that it is actually more energy efficient to wash things in a dishwasher, at least in terms of water. dishwashers use less water than handwashing. i am sure it could vary, some people just let the water run in the sink instead of filling it up to do lots of dishes at once. i imagine if you are heating your water too, you could be saving fuel since the dishwasher uses less (hot) water also? |
Edited by - beachaubergine on Dec 08 2005 11:21:27 AM |
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Cleaning Up: Washing Dishes |
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Washing Dishes
