Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Rinse Dishes Before Loading Them In The Dishwasher

Do you regularly rinse your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher? Most of us do, or else you might find a plate that is still covered in stuck-on food or simply isn’t clean after the dishwasher ran. However, the real reason that dishes don’t get clean in the dishwasher is that you rinsed the dishes before you load the dishwasher.

Confused? Here’s the explanation. Modern dishwashers have sensors in them. These sensors measure how dirty the dishes are and how much food debris is floating around in there. If all but one dish has been rinsed, it won’t trigger the sensor that really scrubs those dishes clean. Even if you choose a heavy duty rinse cycle, your dishwasher is smart, and it will do whatever it wants according to that sensor. This isn’t a super high tech feature either. The sensor is in most dishwashers in the past five years or so.

Just Don’t Rinse First

Detergent companies say the same thing with their products. There are certain cleaning enzymes in dishwashing detergent that are supposed to attach to leftover food particles. If there are no food particles, the detergent doesn’t do its job effectively. Keep in mind that you should scrape off large chunks of food first and leave only smaller particles on your plate. No rinsing required.

Not rinsing your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher will also save you time and water, which means you might save a little money on your next water bill too. As you test out this new theory with your dishes, don’t forget to regularly clean out your dishwasher’s filter because it can get clogged more easily if it is cleaning off food particles.

More Dishwasher Questions Answered

Let’s settle a few other dishwasher debates. Do you ever wonder if utensils should go in handle up or handle down? Should you put spoons with spoons, forks with forks, and knives with knives? It really doesn’t matter for cleanliness which side the handle is, but for safety reasons, you should probably put forks and knives handle up.

Make sure to put glass and plastic cups in the top rack where they are more likely to get clean and less likely to get ruined. They will also be more stable if you put them between the prongs. Lastly, regardless of what your mother tells you, it is okay to put pots and pans in the dishwasher, unless that certain brand says not to on the bottom of the pan or pot.

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What do you think about these dishwasher tips? Do you usually rinse your dishes before loading them in the dishwasher or not?

If you found this article informative, please SHARE with your friends and family to settle the dishwashing debate!