If you read my blog about the many ways I purpose my egg slicer, you will know that I believe my kitchen gadgets must earn their keep. And that does not only apply to the itty-bitty things like ice trays and muffin pans, but also large appliances like the dishwasher. Washing Lego and golf balls by hand is easy but just irritating and time consuming. Fortunately, my dishwasher is a dedicated member of our household.
I am sure you also have certain chores that you just hate doing, and therefore you push them to the back burner. I certainly have some of those, and I find nothing wrong with using my dishwasher to wash things that are not hard to clean, but just irritating chores.
Wash crusty silicone oven mitts in your dishwasher
I was told to toss my dirty oven mitts in with my regular loads of laundry. That won’t work for me because I don’t use hot water for my laundry, and I can’t believe cold water will clean them. Someone said I should use a simple hot water and baking soda concoction and clean them by hand. Yet another one suggested I boil the mitts in a water and disinfectant mixture in the microwave.
However, then I learned that my silicone mitts are BPA-free and could handle heat as high as 320 degrees. You guessed it, they went straight into my dishwasher and came out spotless.
Use your dishwasher for removable refrigerator shelves
Cleaning my fridge used to be one of those tasks that made me practice my procrastination skills. Those glass shelves are awkward and large, and difficult to handle. By the time I have dried them, they are covered with finger marks again. I checked my fridge’s manual and learned that all the shelves without fitted LED lighting are safe to wash in the dishwasher. However, it is best to remove them from the refrigerator and reach room temperature before putting them in the dishwasher. Now, there’s no more putting off when my fridge shelves need cleaning.
I wish I had a dishwasher when my kids were small
Dishwashers were not common in most houses 30 odd years ago. Oh, how much easier it would have been to wash my children’s Lego blocks in the dishwasher. All that baby slobber and dribble make kiddie toys germ traps. Now I see young mothers washing hard toys like plastic cars in the dishwasher. They use mesh bags to control small toys and select a cool drying process to prevent the plastic from warping. Electronics and plush toys are obviously not suitable for the dishwasher.
Cleaning stove knobs is a royal pain in the behind
Cleaning greasy stove knobs is a horrible job. Essentially, they’re not difficult to clean if you soak them in any of the variety of concoctions people suggest. However, I happily tell myself I could never get them as clean as my faithful dishwasher can.
Clean golf balls hit better and fly longer
Did you know that each golf ball has between 300 and 500 dimples depending on the manufacturer and the model? Do you know how stubborn dirt clings to those tiny indentations? It is often said that there is never an acceptable excuse for any golfer to play with dirty golf balls!
Those who say that also provide a FIVE-STEP(!) plan for washing golf balls. I only got to the first step, followed by “wait 20 minutes before moving to the next step.” That was when I heard the faraway call of my dishwasher offering a quicker and more efficient process.
Then there is the ridiculous!
When sharing my dishwasher’s magic abilities with friends, they shared their tips. Here’s the one that left me speechless. Rather than rinse potatoes in the sink, let a detergent-free cycle of the dishwasher do it for you. Well, I suppose if you use spuds by the bag, cooking meals at a hospital or a boarding school, it might be helpful, don’t you think?
