h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I used to enjoy doing the washing up as, after a taxing day at w*rk, I often needed the 'space' to chill out and unwind, without talking to anyone. It was quite therapeutic to gaze out over the garden for 20 minutes whilst doing the days washing up.

Then I started being sent for moderately lengthy trips abroad and so, at this timem, Mrs Big Al bought a dishwasher

I find it as much of a fag loading and unloading this as doing the washing up in the fist place, especially, as B'El says, there are frequently items such as pans, casserole dishes etc that don't conveniently fit into it.

Sometimes, we take things out of the DW as and when we need them rather than unloadinbg it completely. Trouble with this is that son or daughter or one of the lodgers start refilling the DW without completeing the unloading

PS B'El, I've never thought of putting the post (or even junk mail) into the DW

Ooh, what a way of getting rid of junk mail that would be. I bet the paper would block the pump - just imagine the mess it would make.

Did anyone see the lady in the paper who put all her junk mail on a spike in the garden for a year, till it was taller than she was? We questioned the photo though as the paper was all dry It did make you realise just how much we get.

My son has a dishwasher, and I agree it takes as long to rinse and load it as it wouild to wash up, and the water used is rather a lot!! I hate washing up but I don't think I would have one. But then, I said that about all the other appliances I now have

Websailor

Good grief, you don't rinse the dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. What a waste of water and energy and time!
I know my m-i-l does this, but I think it's criminal. If I rinse a plate, I can just as well wash it properly.

My son follows instructions which apparently say waste should be rinsed off first and I agree with you, waste of water, time and effort, might just as well wash up in the old fashioned way.

But, B'El, if one wished to eat the Christmas dinner he had expertly and lovingly prepared, one was wise to keep one's mouth firmly shut!



Websailor

You're right about the latter, I guess.
If any dishwasher producer suggested such a thiong here, I guess they'd not only be dragged to court by some environmentalists, but could close their factory soon, because this would be a clear indication that their product is cr@p. But then every household here has a watermeter, and it is wise to save as much water as possible.
Waste should be scratched off if necessary, never rinsed.

I shall pass on that wisdom B'El. Water meters are coming in here slowly but people are far too free with water, taking it totally for granted. Off to see other half before he kicks up a ruckus!!!

Websailor

Have a good evening, Webbie.

just to expand on benefits of DW's over handwashing, and I hate them with a passion, but I am a convert after having them explained-ish!, but I can't swap the WM for a DW... You can't iron plates!!!

MMF

Housework seems to be a topic of endless and universal interest.
What I do with the dishes is scrape them into the compost, with a pre-dishwasher rinse reserved for those few starchy foods that resemble glue. (creamed corn, potatoes, oatmeal) Sometimes I also wipe out large amounts of oil/grease with a paper towel, though I seldom cook anything that requires this.
As for the fellows; I'm always impressed if one can cook me anything worth eating. Major brownie points for that!
Once I dated a fellow that, when I complained that I was too busy, would offer to help me. Trouble was, we could never find anything for him to do that he found sufficiently interesting. Helping me chop things while I was cooking for both of us would elicit the most profound disinterest. To make it worse, when I told him to just hang and talk to me while I did chores so that I could enjoy his company, he would get annoyed that I wasn't giving him my undivided attention. Don't know when he thought I'd have time to do all the other when he wasn't around.
His idea of making me dinner, BTW, was a ham sandwich. Mayo on it if I was lucky. For very special occasions, I'd rate some ground beef with canned mixed veggies. Somehow when I cooked,he managed to devour it all before I could get a second helping, and then pronounce the food mediocre. Needed more house training, I always said of that one.

Yes, I scrape the plates into the compost. We've got a special 'discarded food bin' with ventilation and a filter in the kitchen. When this is full we empty it out either into the wormery A13911752 or the ordinary compost bin. However, the ordinary compost bin is more like a wormery as I periodically decant my excess tiger worms into it. The difference between the wormery and the compost bin is that we can't collect liquid fertiliser from the compost bin.

Once the plates have been scraped I put them straight into the DW. oCCASIONALLY, IF WARRENTED., I'll set this to 'rinse'at the end of the day if the DW isn't full enough to wash. I tend to wait until it is full before washing; howver, this means we have to take the occasional item out and hand-wash it for immediate use.

I am learning a great deal about how to use a new dishwasher that I may never have . thank you all!! Unfortunately my current dishwasher is very unreliable and only works when there is the minimum of washing up and nothing to be dealt with!

Websailor

Coming in late (as usual) to the discussion...

I'd never had a dishwasher, as an adult, until I moved into my current place 5 1/2 years ago. And if I ever move, it will be to another place with a dishwasher. I love cooking, but never used to do much of it, because I have neither the time nor the inclination to do all sorts of washing up afterward. Scrubbing the countertops, stove, sinks, etc, takes enough time, without scrubbing the dratted dishes, too.

We typically rinse off any visible bits and saucy residue, before putting dishes into the dishwasher, because it's just the two of us, so unless I've made something that involves using three or more large pans, we only need to run it about once a week.

I never use the heated dry cycle- we only run it when we're home, listen for the rinse cycle to end, then shut it off and let the dishes air dry. Perhaps it means a spot or two, but it's worth not wasting electricity.

Water is metered here, but not for each individual unit. Water and trash removal is typically added as an assessment to one's property tax statement, so our landlord is billed for all the water for all three apartments. It's included in our rent, and that hasn't increased but $10 since I've been here, so we can't be using *that* much.

We use a phosphate-free dishwasher detergent, though, to minimize environmental damage. (Same with laundry "soap")

It's good to see someone so conscientious about waste and the environment. I must admit I used to do a lot of cooking, but since there have been just the two or us I don't do very much now, largely because I hate the standing to wash up. I don't mind so much during the day when I can watch the birds but I hate it when the blind is down and it is dark.

Our electricity bills are shooting up. Gas is too (we don't have any) but the prices are going through the roof so I am going back to the old days when I really had a bit of a switch off mania! So long as I can have my computer on I don't care about the rest!!

Websailor

...a bit late my here my thoughts on this subject

kids don't bring back plates and cuttlery?
I had this problem once - and only once.
One evening I wanted to cook and realised there was nothing left to serve the meal upon (besides one or two plates). So I told the kids I would not cook that night, nor the next one or any day again until all the plates etc. were back in the kitchen and clean.

So all three of them had to go, bring the missing things and do the washing up - at that time I didn't have a dish washer.

They all know how to use the machine, but I admit I do it most of the time now because I am at home and they are at work or school.

kids leave their dirty clothes in their rooms?

Where is the problem? Clothes that are not in the laundry won't get washed - it is as simple as that. And if one day they turn up with two loadfuls for the washing machine they have to do it themselves.

The argument " I have never seen my father doing it " is a lame one - if the father is full time working and the kids are not they have more time to help. And it won't hurt them. Only takes some patience from the mothers side..... - and from time to time I need that patience as well, but usually it works all right here (they can't use the above argument anyway since I am a single mum).

But I know and knew men who know how to do the household and can cook well.

My sweetie helps with the housework, and while he's no , he can whip up a decent meal of a weeknight. He might not come up with complex menus, or elaborate curries from scratch, but he always prepares a balanced meal with protein (and he cooks veggie for me even though he is an omnivore ), starch and veggies. And he does laundry, and helps load and unload the dishwasher. Men *can* do it, if they really want to!

I hate taking out the trash/ recycling. Especially the recycling- it's so heavy, and there are so many steps!

" if the father is full time working "

reminds of "an idealistic commercial" in my country about family eating sunday dinner. you hear the thoughts of one of the kids: "who is that man at end of the table?".

phelixi, that was pretty much what my son #1 wondered for years, I think.
It's not nice, and I'm glad all this working overtime is over.