Recipe Station

Loading it One Piece at A Time

Nobody wants dirty dishes to pile in the sink, but it is the best strategy for an efficient load. You'll be able to use the space in the dishwasher the best if you load it all at once, starting with your largest dishes and filling in the space with the smaller pieces.

Not Sorting the Flatware First

This one isn't a major faux pas, but rather a simple tip that makes dishwasher life a little easier. As you load your flatware into the silverware caddy, keep forks with forks and spoons with spoons. It makes easy work of unloading clean pieces into the drawer.

Letting Your Spoons Spoon

Perfectly nested spoons might save space, but it means that water and detergent can't clean between them. Instead, alternative your spoons (and maybe the forks, too) between heads up and heads down.

Putting Good Knives in the Dishwasher

The abrasive detergent, high heat, and jostling with other dishwasher items will cause the blade to dull prematurely and give your knife nicks in the edge.

Loading Cookie Sheets in the Wrong Spot

Your big, flat trays and pans should be on the sides of the bottom rack, never the front. You don't want them to block access to the detergent dispenser.

Ignoring the Sprayer Arm

That arm in the center of the dishwasher is the source of all the magic that makes dirty dishes clean. Your job is just to make sure that every dish has a clear path to the sprayer arm. That means loading plates so that they face the center of the dishwasher (and the arm), but also taking care not to overload the dishwasher. You might need to run it more often, but it will pay off in the long run when you don't have to rinse afterwards, or ever run the cycle again.

Unloading the Top First

Like socks that go missing in the dryer, upturned cups are a given in the homekeeping world. Those cups collect gross dish water, just waiting to be spilled all over the clean dishes below. To avoid having to set the dishwasher for a repeat performance, unload the bottom rack first, then handle the cups up top.

A lot of these seem like common sense, but it's amazing how many people fail to do them. What's even funnier is how different people are when it comes to loading their dishwashers. Habits that we picked up from childhood or simply from the way that we have always done them. Makes it feel strange to break those habits.

Also, here is another good tip on how to load your dishwasher.

Ok, Now that I have driven you all batty with my way of doing things how about yours? What habits do you have when it comes to loading your dishwashers?

Source: The Kitchen.