How to Load Your Dishwasher

When the very kind people at Frigidaire sent me a new dishwasher I jumped on the opportunity to show my husband how to properly load a dishwasher. 

I truly love my husband. He's this fantastic mix of Grizzly Adams, MacGyver, and Gordon Ramsey. It seems there's nothing he can't do, except load the darn dishwasher correctly. And if that's the only thing that's keeping him from being perfect, then I can handle it.

Sort of.

The truth is it drives me batty. So I'll be emailing this post to him since he never comes to visit this space unless I lead him to it ;) Feel free to share with your spouses too!

Loading Your Dishwasher in Ten Easy Steps
 

1) Don't worry about rinsing! That's so old school and so wasteful. A good dishwasher *ahem* like the Frigidaire OrbitClean will not require you to rinse. Just scrape and load.

2) Make sure you're using the recommended detergent from the manufacturer. My Frigidaire dishwasher came with samples of Finish.

3) Load cutlery in the cutlery basket with the handles down. This is important because you want the part that goes into your mouth to be extra clean. Just a thought.

4) Glasses go in the top rack. Same with plastic. Putting these things on the bottom may cause damage.

5) If it has an open end, place it face down. Yes, I had to put this in here. *shakes head*

6) Big pots and dishes go on the bottom, yes, facing down again. The Frigidaire Gallery also has this really cool feature that allows you to fold the tines down at the back so larger items don't have to be squeezed in or worse, washed by hand! (Dear Husband, ask me about this feature)

7) Run a full load. Even though the Frigidaire is incredibly efficient—costing only $23 a year to run—we have University tuition to think about.

8) Lay long utensils down flat on the top rack or in the Versa-Tray Frigidaire provided.

9) Keep delicate items away from each other in the dishwasher to prevent breakage. Think wedding gifts.

10) Don't overload it. It's a very good dishwasher but it doesn't have ninja moves.

Finally, the dishwasher does not empty itself. This is not really a step, so much as it's a statement. And a hint.

If you're in the market for a dishwasher, I'd like to point out some very cool features of the Frigidaire OrbitClean Dishwasher that I'm currently loving.

  Time-delay start. This is important in today's age of conservation. In Ontario, it's cheaper to run appliances like this after 7pm. Now I can set the timer and not worry about forgetting it.

  It's super quiet. This means I can run it while entertaining and not worry about shouting.

  Sahara Dry feature means that my dishes don't come out drippy, but dry. Really dry, so they can go right into the cabinet.

  The tines fold down at the back on the bottom rack. Loading the dishwasher shouldn't require complex manoeuvres.

  Top rack adjustment. The top rack adjusts up or down to provide more space for larger, delicate items on top.

  Orbit Clean Technology provides 4X the water coverage and cleans unlike any traditional dishwasher on the market today.