Aluminium, non-stick, iron, mixer jars etc in dishwasher

When I created a video on Indian vessels in the dishwasher, I received a lot of questions - including is it really worth buying a dishwasher for the Indian Kitchen. Let’s answer some of those questions here.

Today I’m going to address some of the questions you all posed to me after I made the video on Indian Vessels in the dishwasher. To protect privacy of the viewers, I’ll attempt to hide the names in the video. In some cases, I have made other videos that would have covered the topic in more details - I highlight that and will link to them in the description. Let’s get started.

WATCH INSTEAD OF READ?

CAN I WASH ANODIZED, NON-STICK POTS AND PANS IN A DISHWASHER?

A viewer asked “What about hard anodized vessels” and another one asked “What about non stick pots and pans”

Both of these should not be used in the dishwasher. To understand this - consider watching this video I made last week on why you should not use aluminium. To cut a long story short, both hard anodized and non-stick use aluminium internally and have a coating to cover the aluminium and it’s ill effects. Now due to improper use of washing or using metal ladles or using a dishwasher - takes off this coating and exposes the aluminium which is not good for our health. Hence these vessels should not be used in the dishwasher.

CAN I WASH MIXER JARS, FRIDGE PLATES, RICE COOKER, IDLI COOKER IN A DISHWASHER?

The next question is an interesting one - which I have not covered before. Our viewer asked - “Are these advisable to clean in the dishwasher - mixer jars, fridge plates and other accessories, electric rice cooker, idli plates and vessels”

a. Let’s talk about the Mixer jars and lids - Mixer jars are made of stainless steel and in general, the plastic components including the bottom and the lids are made of dishwasher safe plastic - so these are normally dishwasher safe.

For example - when I checked for the philips one which I use - it is dishwasher safe. To be absolutely sure - ensure that you check on the vendor site as well.

However, whenever you are adding dishwasher safe plastic components, make sure you include it in the top rack where the heat is lesser than the bottom rack - to avoid any damage due to heat.

2. Next about Fridge plates and other accessories - Here my understanding is the viewer asked about fridge shelves and separators - so yes, as they are typically made of glass. This is one of the 6 unusual things you can wash in a dishwasher that I cover this in this video https://youtu.be/6gFQxHzCgVs

3. Next - Electric rice cooker - In general the cooking vessel is made of aluminium and should not be put in the dishwasher for reasons I mentioned before.

4. Idli plates and vessel - if it is made of stainless steel - yes. In general - these are made of aluminium. If that is the case, then no - please do not put it in the dishwasher

CAN I WASH MUD / TERRACOTA VESSELS IN A DISHWASHER?

The next question was about mud vessels. You can put mud / terracota vessels in the dishwasher but make sure to wash it in a delicate cycle or in the top rack similar to dishwasher safe plastic - as too much heat can disintegrate the vessel.

CAN I WASH SILICONE AND NYLON SPOONS IN A DISHWASHER?

Continuing on to the next question was about silicone and nylon spoons - I knew silicone was dishwasher safe, but honestly it was the first time I had heard about nylon spoons. So give a little bit background - both silicone and nylon spoons and ladles are normally used for cooking with non stick and anodized cookware - to void scratching to the surface. Both of these materials are extremely heat resistant. A lot of times, you will also find silicone baking utensils as well - so are microwave safe too. Silicone has a high heat resistance - at 600 F or 315 C and nylon has a high heat resistance too but lower than silicone - at 400 F or 204 C. So to cut a long story short - yes, both are dishwasher safe. Nothing related to dishwasher - but Nylon has a lower heat resistance than silicone and has ill effects when melted - so when you use this - just be careful to watch for melting.

CAN I WASH GRANITE VESSELS IN A DISHWASHER?

The next question was about granite vessels - this is dishwasher safe as per the manufacturers. However, one thing to be aware is that this granite is a coating similar to non-stick teflon coating. So you need to be careful when using this material - because if the coating comes off due to use of metal ladles or improper washing - it exposes aluminium underneath and can be toxic. However, unlike non stick teflon coating, the dishwasher detergents have not been known to have ill effects on the granite coating

CAN I IRON TAWA AND KADAI IN A DISHWASHER?

The next question was about iron tawa and kadai - So to answer this - let’s go back to the basics of cast iron maintenance. To build the non-stick capabilities of cast iron, these vessels are normally pre-oiled or oiled well after purchase. Now, this oiling takes a long time to build AND also to retain and make sure that the vessel does not rust - needs to be oiled before storing. So when you put it in the dishwasher, the high heat and detergents take off this coating and can cause it to rust. So no, do not use cast iron in the dishwasher

IS DISHWASHER NOT USEFUL FOR ME?

The last few are not a questions really but I thought I’d include it here - a few viewers said that based on this background - a dishwasher is not for my house as I use all of these equipment. I would say that - yes it is an initial adjustment as an indian household tends to use a lot of vessels - esp aluminium based and plastics - which are not dishwasher safe. A little adjustment is definitely required - so you may need to replace some of your kadais to stainless steel ones or your plastic storage containers to ceramic or glass. But in my opinion - some of these changes are better for our health in the long run - whether you use the dishwasher or not.