Dishwashers are wonderful tools to have in today’s kitchens, taking a load off of our weekly to-do lists. While they have multiple settings to clean different kinds of loads in various ways, they are still not the best tool to clean everything in the kitchen. Learn what not to put in a dishwasher below!
Don’t Put These Things in a Dishwasher!
Cooking Knives
It is perfectly fine to wash your butter knives with stainless steel handles in the dishwasher. On the other hand, it is not okay to put your cooking knives in the dishwasher. The dishwasher’s high heat and detergents can dull your sharp knives and damage the wood handles. If you continually place the knives blade down, then it could wear out the plastic utensil holder.
Wooden Cooking Tools
Wooden cooking tools like wooden spoons, salad tongs, cutting boards, and more might be water resistant, but they are not waterproof. Wood absorbs water and can crack from exposure to lots of moisture and fluctuating temperatures. It is best to wash your wooden cooking tools (as well as the other items to never put in a dishwasher) by hand.
Cast Iron, Copper, or Non-Stick Pots & Pans
Unless you have stainless steel pots and pans, it is better to wash them by hand. Cast iron and non-stick cookware both have a patina that makes them non-stick, and the dishwasher’s strong wash cycle could scour it off. Copper cookware could discolor and deteriorate through dishwashing.
Pre-Rinsed or Clean Dishware
Dishwasher detergent is a chemical that behaves in a certain way when it contacts other particles, namely hot water and debris. If the dishware is already clean, the detergent will not be able to function the way it should. It is actually better to put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher without pre-rinsing them. Today’s dishwashers and dish detergents are not like yesterday’s.
Non-Dishwasher Safe Items
Non-dishwasher safe items can include delicate dishes, crystal glassware, some plastics, some thermoses, and anything that does not have the dishwasher-safe label or says to hand wash.
