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• #2

I can completely relate to this article. As many members here are aware I’ve not used my DW since April 2018 when just before the 1 year warranty was up and it conked out.

I had to wait almost 3 weeks for the warranty repair to be completed. During that time I realized how liberating it was to just do the dishes by hand and have the task over with in 10 minutes, rather than have to wait for almost 2 hours for the DW cycle to be complete and then have to either haul my ass into the kitchen, interrupting whatever TV show I may have been watching, to put the dishes away, often having to wash one or two items by hand anyway that didn’t get completely clean. Or wait until the next morning, when the last thing I wanted to do was unload the DW.

I also found that I always had every pot, pan, bowl and utensil available for use at a moments notice and didn’t have to fish a crusty pan I needed outta the DW to wash it by hand anyway.

Plus I learned that the hands on task of washing the dishes was strangely calming, which in these last few years of strife and upheaval was a welcome benefit.

I now use the DW to store things I don’t often use or need very often.

It works for me.

Eddie

Last edited: Aug 28, 2025

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• #3

Not surprised. Nobody is going to do the exact same thing twice. Especially when the second round of washing gobbles up 4 hours of time.

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• #4

GEE!!!! I hope not! Why the heck would I wash dishes by hand? I hate doing it.

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• #5

Between long cycles and poor reliability with the newest models, people are getting fed up and not sinking money into them. The cost for a repairmen to show up at the door combined with parts and labor can exceed a cost of a new one. Liquid detergent with a bit of hot water is cheap and reliable. I really don’t blame them.

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• #6

Between long cycles and poor reliability with the newest models, people are getting fed up and not sinking money into them. The cost for a repairmen to show up at the door combined with parts and labor can exceed a cost of a new one. Liquid detergent with a bit of hot water is cheap and reliable. I really don’t blame them.

All I can say is, keep your old Whirlpool power clean dishwasher on running or keep your old one period!

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• #7

There are at least three houses I know of in my block that don’t have dishwashers. When my neighbor Marilynn and her late husband renovated their kitchen they took out the machine that was there when they moved in. They preferred the cabinet space.

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• #8

There are at least three houses I know of in my block that don’t have dishwashers. When my neighbor Marilynn and her late husband renovated their kitchen they took out the machine that was there when they moved in. They preferred the cabinet space.

What brand was it? Was it taken to the dump or used by somebody else?

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• #9

I rarely use my dishwasher, for a few items that I use for dinners, etc, I hand wash them. A bottle of Casacde Complete lasts me for almost a year.

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• #10

With a million times a day the Dawn ad with the ducks is getting old. People with those nice kitchens dont wash dishes by hand. I only run my 30 year old Whirlpool usually Sunday nights when its full.

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• #11

I rarely use my dishwasher, for a few items that I use for dinners, etc, I hand wash them. A bottle of Casacde Complete lasts me for almost a year.

Ugh! I hate washing dishes by hand! I don’t like today’s dishwashers either! Except maybe Maytag!

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• #12

What brand was it? Was it taken to the dump or used by somebody else?

It was a GE from around 1965. Not sure what was done with it, as that was over 25 years ago. I think it was out of order. Cabinets went to basement and garage.

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• #13

I’ve noticed that the neighbor without a dishwasher has Pyrex that is over 60 years old, and still looks new - no fading of the color finish. The same with her Regal cookware. Another neighbor (now deceased) who also did hand dishwashing had new looking 50 year old Pyrex and Ekco Flint cookware. We had a machine starting in 1958, and our colored Pyrex and Revere Ware looked dull.

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• #14

GEE!!!! I hope not! Why the heck would I wash dishes by hand? I hate doing it.

I couldn’t agree more. There’s very few things that I like less than the feeling that my hands have after about 15 minutes worth of exposure to dish water. The only things I’ll hand wash are things that either don’t come clean in the DW (I.E. pans with stuck on egg), or things that aren’t DW safe.

Between long cycles and poor reliability with the newest models, people are getting fed up and not sinking money into them. The cost for a repairmen to show up at the door combined with parts and labor can exceed a cost of a new one. Liquid detergent with a bit of hot water is cheap and reliable. I really don’t blame them.

Truth. I used to work at an appliance repair company, and we condemned so many dishwashers that it was not even funny. Most of them were only about 5-8 years old too. In fact, I recently scrapped a 2017 G.E. Dishwasher that was given to me with a bad UI. Today’s DWs really do seem to have about the same longevity as a crappy pen. That’s one of the main reasons my collection now includes a 1985 KitchenAid.

Thatwasherguy.

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• #15

I am to this day just blown away how the US supposedly still has DWs using more than 4gal and takeing 4h if my DW connected to hot water uses just shy of 3gal in 2 1/4h - and that’s not even the Eco cycle. Maybe add like 20min for the lower heating power - but that’s still not 3h.

I am further amazed how many people apparently don’t look at the DW and see most have a 1h cycle if cycle time is still important that’s probably still cheaper to do run than hand washing.

If it’s meditative for you, sure, that’s certainly a point. I "waste time" sitting in front of my washing machine in my free time, just because it relaxes me.

But a bad dishwasher is a bad dishwasher because it is a bad dishwasher, not because dishwashers in general are bad.

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• #16

To each his own, but I cook a lot and rely on my dishwasher. I feel the dishwasher does a far superior job than I can do by hand and frankly I did way too many dishes by hand growing up, so I will never hand wash again.

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• #17

I am further amazed how many people apparently don’t look at the DW and see most have a 1h cycle if cycle time is still important that’s probably still cheaper to do run than hand washing.

In the US 1 hour cycles skimp on heat and doing so give terrible results. Clean dishes and fresh interiors come from 4 hour cycles. However even the 4 hour cycles can not handle the amount of soil that a Whirlpool Power Clean Filter Module could, forcing some level of pre-rinsing.

People thought they would be happier with a quieter dishwasher at the expense of taking longer and as it turns out people would rather put up with 45 minutes of noise than design their day around a 4 hour cycle.

Some people want to put the dishes away after lunch or dinner, others want to load up their dirty pan after being outside and have it ready in an hour for the next meal. Some people actually find it more convenient to run smaller loads with a full standard tub than wait for their tall tub to fill up with everything in the kitchen including utensils and bowls which they might need more than once in a full wash period.

I myself much to frequently run partial loads because when ever a meal fills my tall tub full half the dirty dishes and bowls end up being left on the counter because there is no room for them inside the machine. I rarely had this problem with my standard tub. 3 meals were just enough to fill the machine 1/3 full each time. So at the end of dinner typically everything fit inside, cycle ran, and it was ready in 1 hour.

me

Well-known member

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• #18

A few years ago, I did think about replacing a cabinet with a second dishwasher, so I could be emptying one, while filling up the other and have much less stuff to put away.

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• #19

More seniors using fewer dish and table wear, so they hand wash? New machine prices and budget limits?

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• #20

I couldn’t agree more. There’s very few things that I like less than the feeling that my hands have after about 15 minutes worth of exposure to dish water. The only things I’ll hand wash are things that either don’t come clean in the DW (I.E. pans with stuck on egg), or things that aren’t DW safe.

Truth. I used to work at an appliance repair company, and we condemned so many dishwashers that it was not even funny. Most of them were only about 5-8 years old too. In fact, I recently scrapped a 2017 G.E. Dishwasher that was given to me with a bad UI. Today’s DWs really do seem to have about the same longevity as a crappy pen. That’s one of the main reasons my collection now includes a 1985 KitchenAid.

Thatwasherguy.

Give me a mint condition Whirlpool Power Clean if given the chance complete with the bells and whistles that actually work and do what they say. I want a complete nice detergent and rinse aid dispenser set.

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• #21

To each his own, but I cook a lot and rely on my dishwasher. I feel the dishwasher does a far superior job than I can do by hand and frankly I did way too many dishes by hand growing up, so I will never hand wash again.

I agree 100%.

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• #22

In the US 1 hour cycles skimp on heat and doing so give terrible results. Clean dishes and fresh interiors come from 4 hour cycles. However even the 4 hour cycles can not handle the amount of soil that a Whirlpool Power Clean Filter Module could, forcing some level of pre-rinsing.

People thought they would be happier with a quieter dishwasher at the expense of taking longer and as it turns out people would rather put up with 45 minutes of noise than design their day around a 4 hour cycle.

Some people want to put the dishes away after lunch or dinner, others want to load up their dirty pan after being outside and have it ready in an hour for the next meal. Some people actually find it more convenient to run smaller loads with a full standard tub than wait for their tall tub to fill up with everything in the kitchen including utensils and bowls which they might need more than once in a full wash period.

I myself much to frequently run partial loads because when ever a meal fills my tall tub full half the dirty dishes and bowls end up being left on the counter because there is no room for them inside the machine. I rarely had this problem with my standard tub. 3 meals were just enough to fill the machine 1/3 full each time. So at the end of dinner typically everything fit inside, cycle ran, and it was ready in 1 hour.

I told you, quiet dishwashers are a scam. They use puny pumps and tiny sprays. They’re weak.

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• #23

I use ours on a day-to-day basis, usually prefer to hand wash pots and pans, and items I don’t want etched. It does an admiral job on flatware, and gets dishes clean without problems. I don’t think I’d want to do all my dishes every day by hand... I also disagree with the standard line that you use substantially more water washing dishes by hand. We grew up with a conservative dad who harped about every light, every drop of water, so I learned to be careful with resources. If you simply turn the hot water on and let it run until you’ve finished with the dishes, then yes, you do use way more...

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• #24

A neighbor never hand washes a dish! Of course now she is 81, so it took decades before she had the luxury.

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• #25

I love automatic dishwashers.

I’ve loved them since 1962 when I met my first dishwashers in the building where we lived.

I use my dishwasher all the time; I believe all the data that says that dishwashers (even the old ones) are more energy and water efficient, sanitary and convenient than doing them by hand unless one happens to be extremely efficient and obeys all the Serve Safe rules.

This is why I have a small collection of vintage dishwashers because I think current selections are ridiculously expensive, pre-crippled by built-in obsolescence and take too f**king long to do the job. Also they’re boring and monotonous, no color, stainless steel exteriors, monochromatic interiors (you may laugh at that but visual appeal still has importance to folks like me). The only good thing I can say about them is that they are unbelievably quiet. I am 68 years old and I will likely have KitchenAid and Maytag machines in my kitchen till they remove me from my house, feet first, if I’m lucky.

My vintage dishwashers not only do a great job on my tableware, but they can become the best damn proof-boxes for baking artisan and other yeast products because of their ability to create a humid, not-too-warm sealed environment for home bakers. And when you see that bitch Martha talking about it on any of her venues, she got that from me.

I question the claims of their efficiency because, even if they’re ridiculously stingy with water, a cycle that takes two hours or more cannot be energy efficient in my opinion.

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• #26

We grew up with a conservative dad who harped about every light, every drop of water, so I learned to be careful with resources. If you simply turn the hot water on and let it run until you’ve finished with the dishes, then yes, you do use way more...

My mother used to carry on endlessly about things like water usage, electrical use, and heater thermostat settings, and having the fridge door open for more than a few seconds. She was a good mom, taught us valuable lessons and values, however that obsession with the things I just mentioned is just that.... Obsessive behavior. Mind you, I’m not against being frugal, or being aware of how much things cost, but I don’t obsess over and make myself nuts over trivial, petty stuff.

I do however apply my talents and "perfectionism" to things when need be, and only if they’re required in order to maintain important operation, and reliability, mainly in electronics.

For instance, I hand-craft and custom design audio products, one-of-a-kind pieces. I tend to keep my designs relatively simple, traditional looking, yet with elevated performance that rivals or exceeds mass-produced expensive products, and confirm such performance through extensive and careful testing. At times, I also "modify" those mass-produced products to compensate for any cost-cutting or shortcuts the manufacturer has done to them.

Below is a high quality level stereo amplifier that I finished a few years ago that produces stunning performance with plenty of power reserves when needed. Between the internals, I also love doing the woodwork of the cabinetry. It’s actually a relaxing sort of "hobby" that keeps me busy in retirement.

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• #27

Well which ones would they be losing popularity in?

Not mine, I run lower rack only loads and often buy dishwasher soap more often than I do laundry soap…

— Dave

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• #28

Our folks were also depression kids. Penny pinchers.

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• #29

Perhaps the avoidance of dishwashers is related to a trend in "downsizing" of kitchenwares such that people don’t have enough dishware for once-a-day machine washing. Or something ridiculous like that.

I recall long-time family friends of whom the wife made a remark to mom upon their retirement that "all you need is two plates, two glasses, two sets of flatware."

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• #30

More seniors using fewer dish and table wear, so they hand wash? New machine prices and budget limits?

That, plus more younger people not getting married and living a single life without children.