Dishwashers are the everyday household heroes of our times. I don’t think I could survive without my dishwasher, which has me quite spoiled. Except for my nice stainless steel pans (which I have to wash by hand — ugh), I throw any dish I can find into that thing.
My dishwasher is a life saver after a big party or holiday meal when there are more dishes than you can handle. But it can do more than just wash dishes.
Here are some other things I put in my dishwasher:
- My kitchen sponges
— Just before running a load, I’ll often grab the sponge off the sink and slip it into the top rack of the dishwasher. The hot water and detergent do a great job of cleaning all the gunk and germs out of the sponge, leaving it smelling fresh once again.
- The metal burner covers
from my stove top — They are constantly getting splattered with grease when I fry food, so whenever there’s room in the lower rack of my dishwasher, I slip them in like plates and they come out spotless.
- My husband’s dirty baseball caps — They get pretty dingy and dirty after a while, but you can’t put them in the washing machine or else they’ll get all bent out of shape. I’ve heard that those plastic ball cap washers
are great for keeping the form on the hat, but honestly I just throw the cap onto the top rack by itself and so far they’ve come out just fine. (Your mileage may vary!)
- The metal grate in the exhaust fan over the stove — Take a look at the bottom side of your exhaust fan sometime and I’ll bet you’ve got one of those metal grates with lots of criss-crossed wires. Mine gets really grimy and dirty over time, and it’s a pain to clean by hand. A quick trip in the dishwasher does wonders, though!
- Your reusable electrostatic filters
from your air conditioner — I don’t have one of these myself, but Jo does, and she loves them. These guys are washable and have permanent filters that usually have lifetime warranties. Jo says she always washes her filters in her dishwasher, which does a great job.
- Decorative platters and bowls — Okay, these are technically dishes, but I’m talking about those beautiful, decorative things that we all have sitting on shelves around our homes. Over time they get dusty and are never fun to clean. The next time you are about to run a load in the dishwasher that’s not quite full, take a quick look around and see if there’s something on a shelf that needs freshening up and fit it in.
What else do you put in your dishwasher besides dishes?
21 comments so far:
You can also put your cleaning brush (for doing the dishes) in the dishwasher. I hope you’ll understand what I mean with that, because I’m Dutch and I don’t know the exact word for it.
Thanks for the tip, Karlijn! Your English is great, and I know exactly what you mean
I wash my comb, brush and blow dryer attachments in the dishwasher. I clean all the hair out of the brush with the comb first. This is a great way to make sure that you are keeping them clean.
Brilliant, Karen. Thanks for sharing!
You might be better off putting the sponge in the microwave. A study showed that dishwashers CLEAN the sponge but don’t decontaminate.
http://www.webmd.com/news/20070124/microwave-kills-germs-sponges
Thanks for sharing, CC! As that article says, make sure the sponge is wet, not dry, when you microwave it. I’ve heard horror stories about what happens otherwise
I’m a chef, and if I am catering a large party, I will often load 2-3 bags of potatoes into the dishawasher to get them clean before baking them. It’s great for large quatities of carrots and other root veggies, too. (I do, ofcourse, make sure the dishwasher is clean before putting food items in there!)
That’s a very clever idea, Teresa! If a dishwasher’s good enough for plates you eat off of, it’s good enough for food, too (as long as you don’t use detergent!
)
You can put plastic flip flops on the top rack as well!
Hah, I love it!
I used to hang plastic baby bibs off the top rack. I hated putting my hand in a gooey pocket to get out mushed food.
Instead I would flip the pocket inside out to rinse. Then hang the bib for washing. I also avoided a heat dry cycle so they would not melt.
The result was a de-germ’d baby bib ready for the next meal.
Every few months I collect all the wicker type baskets and place in the dishwasher with a small amount of dish gel. Allow them to air dry. Wicker does dry out and washing them extends the life and keeps them from cracking.
Anita, I love that idea. Wicker is so hard to clean!
If it’s good enough for your husband’s baseball caps…why not your bras??
You spend over $30 on them and you darn sure don’t want the regular washer tearing them up.
I’ve often put in the soap dishes, toothbrush holders and like items from the bathrooms. Glass pieces than can be taken off light fixtures also clean up nicely.
Great ideas, DianeN! Light fixture pieces can be so frustrating to wash.
I used to work at a restaurant, and we would wash the dishtowels in there. Breadbaskets went in there too, cause we all fought to NOT wash the pesky things…lol
Also, at home, ceramic, glass and porcelain figurines get their bath every once in a while. Many toys get their spa treatment too…If it can be washed, it can be dishwashed!!! (heat levels depend on what I am washing)
Thanks for the great ideas, Esther!
I put my retainers in there, it is so much easier than brushing them! My orthodontist said my retainers were the cleanest she’s ever seen!
And it is also good for putting your toothbrushes in to keep them hygenic
I put my kids potty seats in it the kind that sits on top of the seat… works great to get all the yucky off from them, disinfects them. If this grosses you out, you can run the dishwasher again with a cup of white vinegar.
Lego & Duplo bricks come up a treat too – especially when bought second hand…