I'm just curious how other people use their dishwashers, so I made a little poll. Dishwasher options are 1-3, but I included other poll options so others wouldn't feel left out. :-)

How do you deal with dishes and electric dishwashers?

1. I practically wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. The dishwasher is for sanitizing them.
2. I rinse things, and scrub a bit if something is stuck on, then put them in.
3. I just put them in however they end up -- dish Darwinism, if a dish doesn't come clean in the wash, it obviously wasn't fit!
4. I have someone else deal with the dishes. E.g., spouse, SO, children, kitchen fairies, semi-annual biohazard team, etc.
5. I don't really use dishes, or not that many. E.g., students living in dorms, pre-packaged meal eaters, paper and plastic users, restaurant diners, anti-cooks, etc.
6. I wash dishes manually in the sink, with soap, water, and elbow grease.
7. I let the dirty dishes pile up in the sink, where I store them. Then when I need a dish, I take whatever is the least disastrous, clean it, use it, and add it back to the sink pile. E.g. Slobby bachelor(ette)s, college kids, etc.

For me, it's option #2 now. My parents do option #1, it seems. When I was college, I shifted between #6 and #7.

I'm somewhere between a 1 and a 2. i generally rinse to remove all food particles because i don't like it when junk gets caught in that trap at the bottom of the machine, but if a dish is nasty (think pasta sauce on tupperware) i will prewash it with soap prior to going in the machine in an attempt to cut the grease a little more in order have an extra clean dish.

#6. I don't have a dishwasher, so I wash all dishes by hand at my house. It's not too bad since it's just me and my boyfriend. I kinda like the feeling of washing them and then when I'm done the sink is all empty and clean!
I would like to have a dishwasher because they don't use as much water as hand washing though!!!

#3 and #6 WE got a wonderful dishwasher when we moved,and it cleans practically everything. Depending on how many dishes though I will still hand wash.

3 - we didn't have a dishwasher for so many years that I am DONE with handwashing. If it's really gross I may give it a quick rinse, but no more.

I'm in the middle of 2 and 3. I don't rinse but will scrub a bit if something is stuck on.

I'm also a 6. I always have some that I wash in the sink.

I am a 3.If something doesn't come clean after the 3or 4th try I will wash it by hand.

I chose #6 - I don't have a dishwasher! I am the dishwasher. And on rare occasions DH is the dishwasher

I'm #6. DH washes and I dry.

I'm a 3 too I think!

I wash my dishes by hand and use the dishwasher for glasses.

Annie

I'm between a 2 and a 3 (with a little 6 thrown in).

We got a new dishwasher a few years ago and it'll clean anything and has a disposer for food bits, but there's only 2 of us so we don't run it every day, if it's going to sit in there we rinse, if we're running it, we just stick it in. Pots and knives we do by hand (along with a few other things that can't take dishwasher heat).

-Tech

PS old dishwasher definitely a 1

We're 2 & 6. There are some things that should NEVER see the inside of a DW. However, we will rinse and get the food particles off the dishes before we put them in the dish drawer. It's nice having 2 drawers. Since it is just the 2 of us, trying to fill the entire DW was taking 3 or 4 days. Now we send one of the drawers through every other day.

I've never heard of a DW with a disposer. That sounds interesting!

DW cooks; I wash.

Rinse #2, particularly to get the grease off so the glasses get clean.

Must scrub off peanut butter by hand before knives go in washer. This fooled me for a while - I was about to replace the dishwasher to get clean knives again, LOL.
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I am somewhere between a 2.75 and a 4

dh does the dishes mostly and he puts most things in as is with only oatmeal, pb, mayo, grapenuts and spinach getting special attention (they DONT come off in the dishwasher). If I do the dishes I usually rinse, but I dont put much effort in to it. Ours has a disposal also...nice but loud

dh will handwash large items rather than take up space in the dishwasher. If I am stuck with the dishes, everything goes in even if that means only 2 items fit on the bottom rack.

Although now my new fancy pans we hand wash those always.