How best to stack your dishwasher
It’s an age-old debate in households around the country: how to best stack the dishwasher.
It’s an age-old debate in households around the country: how to best stack the dishwasher.
Different designs, manufacturer advice and the shapes and sizes of dishes mean there isn’t a 100% correct way of stacking a dishwasher. But, for peace in your household, there are some golden rules you should follow.
Water needs to be able to reach your dishes to clean, so here’s how you can help it:
This is a good place for your drinking glasses and mugs. Most top baskets have dividers to keep items from knocking about in a wash to prevent chipping and cracking. Larger cooking utensils, such as spatulas and tongs, can also be laid flat in the bottom of this basket.
Generally, the top basket doesn’t get as hot as the bottom, so plastic is less likely to warp. Make sure your plastic containers are facing down so that they don’t have water pooling in them after the wash.
Most dishwashers let you drop this basket down so you can fit taller items, such as wine glasses.
Top tip: To help your dishes dry, leave the dishwasher open for a few minutes after washing to let water evaporate.
Use the tines (the prongs) to keep plates separate. This prevents damage and lets water in for cleaning (but it isn’t the end of the world if your dishes lightly touch).
Many dishwashers have folding tines in the lower basket so you can fit in oddly shaped or large dishes, such as pots and pans.
Place your plates in the bottom rack (unless they’re delicate or prone to chipping). Stack from the middle outwards as it helps avoid over-stacking.
To ensure really dirty items – such as crockery, pots, and chopping boards – get the best clean, place them towards the centre back of the bottom basket. This tends to be the warmer part of the dishwasher with a more intense clean.
Top tip: Empty the bottom drawer first so you don’t spill any water from the top basket on to dry dishes below.
Some dishwashers come with a cutlery tray (a shallow drawer above the top basket with dividers to prevent cutlery nesting). You can also place larger cooking utensils such as tongs, spatulas here. If you’re comfortable washing your kitchen knives in the dishwasher – as some knives can be damaged this way – they’re best placed in the cutlery tray so that they’re separated from other utensils and don’t become dull.
There is one simple rule to follow with cutlery – the pointy end goes down. To prevent accidental stabbing, place the pointy end down and handle up, including forks. Spoons can be placed either way and mixing direction helps stop them nesting.
You don’t need to pre-rinse dishes before placing them in the dishwasher, but do scrape off food scraps. Dishwashers often have a rinse cycle as part of their wash, so if you pre-rinse you’re just wasting water. If you think your dishes aren’t clean enough without rinsing, then next time you wash, use a more intense wash cycle or try a different detergent.
Leave these items aside for hand washing:
Every dishwasher has different wash cycles/programmes. When we test dishwashers, we test on the default or “normal” cycle, which is what the machine uses when first turned on. Here are our top tips for wash cycles.
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