Dishwasher Discord

I thought this slightly edited (by me) info from Bosch's PR pro was rather amusing, so I thought I'd share it with my Gold Notes readers, especially the married and co-habitating ones! (Thanks, Heather!) I'm also going to share it with my relatives who insist on wasting water pre-rinsing.  

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Bosch recently launched a survey that found that while infidelity and financials are frequently cited causes, a new culprit is creating tumultuous relationships in homes across the country—the dishwasher. 

In fact, the study found that more than 40% of Americans fight about loading the dishwasher. Is loading utensils into a dishwasher becoming a knife through the heart of your marriage? Is the bond between you and your mate disintegrating faster than a plastic container on the bottom of a dishwasher? The top five reasons men and women fight about loading the dishwasher are listed below. 

No fights on this front... This Bosch 800 Series ultra-quiet dishwasher is the one I want next!

61% fight over whether dishes should be pre-rinsed or not 

Nearly two thirds of all men and women cited this issue as their leading cause for argument, proving the pre-rinse, rinse debate to be a universal annoyance. The truth is that you should not pre-rinse as the detergent needs to cling to food to avoid scratching your dishes. 


41% clash about separating dishes or cramming as much as possible to tackle a larger load 

Perhaps a case of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, Women (48%) are more likely to fight about doubling together dishes than men (33%). 


39% argue over placing sharp knives point down or point up 

Out of the group of women who were concerned with this issue, 43% argue about whether knives should be placed point up or down, compared to 34% of males. Using safety as your guide, the final say is to load knives point down for safety, while forks and spoons can be placed either handle up or down.  [JG:  I vote for forks down for the same safety reasons.] A third rack can separate utensils to make it safer and easier to clean, load and unload. 


34% insist on placing cups on the top rack and plates on the bottom rack while their mate believe it’s every dish for themselves 

The biggest division in the dishwasher deliberation comes in the form of organization: nearly one third (32%) of all females who fight about loading the dishwasher insist that cups and plates not mix. Like any good relationship where each person needs their space, each dish should be separated by a dishwasher’s tines. Often, couples can keep the peace by splitting up large loads of dishes into smaller loads. A half load option tackles smaller loads so dirty dishes don’t sit in the dishwasher. 


30% debate about placing plastic containers on the top rack to prevent a major plastic meltdown, or placing containers wherever space is available 

You may think that loading the dishwasher could smooth over a fight, but your efforts could have the opposite effect if your dishes are ruined in the process. If destroying an entire collection of plastic storage containers has plagued your marriage, Bosch dishwashers feature a concealed flow-through water heating element to prevent plastic containers from dissolving, no matter where they are placed.  [JG:  I left this specific "commercial" in because I thought it was worth noting.]


The survey also revealed that almost four out of ten men (38%) admit to finding excuses for getting out of loading the dishwasher altogether. 

Perhaps a tactic for avoiding the dreaded dishwasher dispute, the most common excuses included deferring the cleanup because they cooked the meal and demand chore equality (16%), blatantly admitting to being too lazy to clean the dishes (12%), and feeling as though their time is too important to be spent loading the dishwasher (10%).

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FYI, I've specified more Bosch dishwashers than I can count... And they've won scads of awards, so I'd consider them a legitimate authority on this topic.  Wouldn't you?  

Furthermore, I'd like to dedicate this post to my lovely stepdaughter, Megan, whose dishwasher loading and unloading skills were beyond reproach and are greatly missed now that she's at college and I'm 2500 miles away, doing that chore myself.