When the dishwasher was available to consumers in 1950, it changed how we cleaned dishes. The instruction manual tells you what your dishwasher can do and how to troubleshoot it. We’re here to discuss some surprising facts you likely didn’t know.
1. Running the Dishwasher at Night Has Budget-Saving Benefits
Most people use hot water in the morning and evening for showering, cooking, and cleaning. That’s also when they use the most electricity. Well, you can save yourself some money by doing your dishes at night. A dishwasher doesn’t use less energy then; in fact, the amount of energy required doesn’t change. However, it will cost less to run it at night because this tends to be off-peak hours for energy companies when the cost of running any appliance is a little lower. It’s not about energy consumption; it’s about billing.
2. Dishwashers Use 50% Less Water Than Handwashing
While water use varies by household, the dishwasher uses less water than handwashing. Handwashing uses 20 gallons of water on average. Meanwhile, dishwashers use 10 gallons on a full rack, which benefits households that want to conserve water. Less water usage means less energy consumed to create hot water. Modern dishwashers are naturally energy efficient, using 4 gallons of water on average.
3. Two People Invented the Dishwasher
The dishwasher invention is over 100 years old, but consumer access is far less than that. In addition, two people get credit for inventing the dishwasher. Joel Houghton invented the prototype: a wooden box with scrubbers and a wheel. When you turned the wheel, it splashed water on the dishes and scrubbed them.
The other person, Josephine Cochrane (also spelled Cochran), gets credit for making the modern dishwasher. She invented a water-pressure device that cleaned dishes faster while preserving her China for future dinner parties. It was born out of frustration that neither she nor her servants could clean her expensive dinnerware without damage. While she had no technical background, the wealthy socialite did come from a family of engineers and inventors.
4. Dishwashers Clean More Than Dishes
Most people use a dishwasher to clean dinnerware, cookware, bakeware, and silverware. However, it also cleans non-dish plastic, silicone, and glass items. Kitchen items to clean using the dishwasher include kitchen sponges, tableware, and kitchen brushes. The dishwasher can also clean non-kitchen items that can withstand heat of over 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Nevertheless, cleaning those items will cause cross-contamination, so clean them when nothing else is in the unit. Examples are pet bowls, combs, brushes, soap trays, toothbrushes, toothbrush holders, and hard toys. Regardless of what you put in your dishwasher, always contact an appliance professional for routine maintenance and repair.
We want our customers to learn as much as they can about their dishwashers. These facts may change their views about the device’s usefulness, and we hope that’s an encouragement to learn more. In the meantime, contact us at The Bargain Buster Appliance Sales and Service for dishwasher repair or installation in the Phoenix, AZ area.
