It seems like you all like this type of video where I share my experience after one year of usage, what is working and what is not working. So here I am with another video doing the same for a dishwasher like I did for a robot vacuum cleaner a few weeks ago.
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WHAT'S WORKING
Let's start with what's working.
WHAT'S WORKING #1 Cleaning quality is brilliant
So, I love the cleaning quality of the dishwasher. Vessels, especially stainless steel and glass vessels, come out shining out of the dishwasher, no matter how stained they were. There are times when I would have put the tea or coffee glasses into the dishwasher without pre-rinsing where the tea or coffee would have caked at the bottom of the mugs, but it still comes out really, really clean, so I'm very, very happy with that.
WHAT'S WORKING #2 No prepping / pre-rinsing required
I love that I don't have to prep my dishes. You may have heard people say that you actually need to rinse your dishes and so on. That's absolutely not required because the dishwasher technology and the detergent technology these days require some amount of abrasion in the vessels. That is, it requires some dirt in the vessel so that it can do the cleaning a lot better. So, not pre-rinsing or not pre-washing actually works better.
WHAT'S WORKING #3 Kitchen sink can be always clean!
I love that my kitchen sink can be extremely clean at all times. We've set up a set schedule of when we will load the dishwasher, so the dishwasher is loaded every time we either eat a meal or cook a meal. So, that means that the kitchen sink is pretty much clean almost all the time.
And yes, I have received some questions on this: will there be a smell in your dishwasher if you keep vessels for a long time without washing it? Yes, there will be some smell obviously. These are used vessels, so actually, there will be some smell. But, after the wash cycle, the smell completely goes away both from the vessels and from the dishwasher as well. I'm perfectly fine with that. You may need to decide whether you're OK with that or not.
WHAT NEEDS CHANGES
Now, let's talk about what I would have liked to change. Now, I don't have a major issue with any of the topics that I'm talking about right now, but since we are nitpicking, let's get right to it.
WHAT NEEDS CHANGES #1 Aluminium, cast iron, non-stick had to be replaced
I have had to replace a few vessels in my kitchen, primarily aluminium. I used to have aluminum kadais which I have actually replaced right now.
Dishwasher manufacturers will tell you that aluminum, non-stick, as well as cast iron, cannot be used. If you're looking at what dishes can and cannot be used, here's a video that you might want to check. But in short, these are the vessels that primarily you should not be putting into your dishwasher because it completely harms the vessel itself.
So I have had to replace quite a few aluminum kadais with stainless steel ones. The ones that I could not replace and still use, I don't put it in the dishwasher. I still use cast iron dishes, but I don't put that in the dishwasher. And of course, I have never used non-stick, so I don't have that issue in my kitchen.
WHAT NEEDS CHANGES #2 Lack of provision in the kitchen
The second thing is about the provision for a dishwasher in the Indian kitchen. So, in general, we don't have a provision for a dishwasher in the Indian kitchen, both from a space point of view as well as the plumbing point of view.
So my dishwasher is actually in my utility area, which is connected to my kitchen, so, I do need to take my vessels a few steps from my kitchen sink to the dishwasher. In the process, I will be balancing the dishes and hoping that I don't have any spillages on the floor. So, that is a negative because the dishwasher is not directly in my kitchen. It might add a little bit extra work if you actually spill something.
WHAT NEEDS CHANGES #3 Getting the salt, rinse aid & detergent/tablet combination right
The third thing is that getting the dishwasher salt, detergent, rinse aid combination perfect for your usage is a trial and error approach. Now, a lot of people might say it is not, but truly it is because it depends on the water hardness level in your area. What this means is that if a Fortune tablet works for one person, it may not work for another person really well because the water hardness level in their area is very, very different. So, until that is actually settled, it can lead to a lot of frustration amongst people who purchase a dishwasher.
When I purchased my dishwasher, the dishwasher consumables were out of stock for almost 15 to 20 days. I was not able to use my dishwasher for 15 to 20 days, and whichever consumables were available, I actually purchased it right after. And at that point of time, I purchased a brand called ArNiGo, which is an Indian brand, and it did not work really well with my dishwasher, which was leading to a lot of frustration. And then, I bought the Finish as well as Crystale products, and Finish worked like a charm with my dishwasher and my hard water conditions.
So, like I said, it's a trial and error, so what works for somebody else, may not work for you. So, you need to try a few things before you finalize on which one you're going to continue for the rest of your dishwasher experience.
WHAT NEEDS CHANGES #4 Some vessels don't clean well.
So, some vessels don't clean well. Right? So I have mentioned this before. In general, 99% of vessels clean really well. There are a few that I have identified that don't clean well in my use case.
The first is rice ladles. So, I believe that it is because of a couple of things: one is, there is a little bit of starch in them, and second is since the ladle is kept in the topmost tray, it is not getting enough heat to actually clean it properly. So, the rice vessels get cleaned really well because it's kept in the bottommost tray where the heat is the maximum, but the rice ladles don't get cleaned very well because it's in the top rack.
The second is the kadais which are burnt. So, remember the ones that you had to really, really scrub and wash if they were burnt at the bottom. Yes, those don't get cleaned really well. So, normally what I do is that I put it in the dishwasher anyway, and only the burnt parts of it which are not cleaned by the dishwasher; then, I actually hand l-clean it right after.
So, these are the only two things that I have seen that don't clean well in my dishwasher. Are there others? Drop me a comment.
Now, this said, we've looked at what is working, what is not working. I'm extremely happy with a dishwasher, and I don't think that I would go back to a mode where I don't have a dishwasher in my house. It's pretty much almost become like having a washing machine in every single house. With this and all of the other automation that I have done in my house with a robot vacuum cleaner, with a washer-dryer, I don't think I would actually require a house help anymore in the future unless it is absolutely required.
So, what are your experiences? Drop me a comment, and let's have a chat there.
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