Recovering the Lost Art of Hand Dishwashing (Tips for When Your Dishwasher is Broken)
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In case you hadn’t heard, our dishwasher broke three weeks ago. I didn’t realize what a vital member of the household it was until it broke. I know, a dishwasher is a luxury. Our pioneer mothers lived quite productive lives without them. Our sisters in other countries regularly experience dishpan hands. I didn’t know how good I had it.
Believe it or not, the last three weeks have not been a crisis. In fact, I’ve discovered lots of ways to thrive despite the fact that I must wash dishes at least three times a day. For all you peeps without an automatic dishwasher, hearken unto the voice of my cry:
- Wash as you go. Whatever you do, do not let the dishes pile up. Do not pass go; do not collect $200. If the meal is over, wash up. If the snack is over, wash up. It isn’t going to get easier. Trust me.
- Put them away right away. The secret of the dishwasher is that it hides your dishes, whether clean or dirty. Don’t let the grass grow under your feet. Deal with the dishes right away.
- Get good soap. I prefer Dawn. We’ve tried other bargain brands, truly we have. This is not an infomercial. Dawn really does cut grease out of the way.
- Wear gloves. This is absolutely necessary, especially in winter. I pick up several packages on sale at Walgreens, usually 3/$1, and stash them until I need a new pair.
- Use the racks from the dishwasher! Normally, we load the dishwasher with cups, plates, and flatware and then handwash pots and pans. We have a small countertop drying rack for this purpose. However, we quickly outgrew this drying rack once we started handwashing complete dinner sets for 8+ people. (The dishwasher broke prior to our Kansas friends coming for a visit.) What a brilliant idea to use the dishwasher racks to dry dishes. I’m hoping that when the new machine is installed tomorrow, that they’ll let me keep one of these mammoth drying racks.
- Limit your children to one cup per person. I told you how my children are all color coded? Well, I hid all their extra cups after a few days of washing 20 cups per day. They each get one cup – ONE. And this has worked amazingly well. I already told them they’re not getting the extra cups back!
- Teach your kids to wash dishes. I learned to wash dishes when I was seven, but recently realized that NONE of my children knew how to handwash dishes. This has proven to be a wonderful bonding experience – a silver lining, if you will, to the stormy cloud. One night while washing and rinsing with FishBoy7, he struck up the most amazing conversation:
FB: Mama, what was your best part of the day?
Mama: Our talk during dinner tonight. I loved your answers to my questions. I could tell you were thinking about them carefully. {continues washing dishes}
FB: Aren’t you going to ask me the best part of my day?
Mama: Oh, yes, what was the best part of your day?
FB: Right now. Washing dishes with you.
Be still my heart. Handwashing with my boy certainly works for me, even if the dishwasher doesn’t.
I was recently thinking of getting rid of my dishwasher. It doesn’t clean very well…I have to almost hand wash each dish anyway. And I could use that space! I have a rolling storage bin that would fit nicely there and leave room to hide the trash can as well.
I’m still considering it. After all, my grandmother, who is in her mid-80’s, has lived her entire life without one. I’m sure it won’t kill me!
What a great idea to ask to keep the dishwasher rack out of the old machine to pull out whenever it is necessary!
We are a small family of 4, but definitely use the 1 cup per person per day rule and it works great. We also keep any other dishes that can be re-used accessible. A kids sandwich plate from lunch can easily be re-used for dinner and likewise for the adults! This helps us to only have to run the dishwasher about once every 5 days!
Enjoy your new washer!
I have a post about dishwashing:
http://www.redgreenlellow.com/2009/12/longcuts-are-best.html
I enjoy washing dishes…it’s my escape!
We have a lot in common – our dishwasher broke also and the children had the dishes to do in addition to the pots and pans! You are right, it is a wonderful experience for them and myself as well as we work together (your #7). It also makes us all appreciate what we have!
One thing I do whether we have a dishwasher or not, is to keep one color coded cup per child per day (your #6). With a dishwasher we can wash once per day and that is when their cups get washed. We have 10 children so when everyone is home, each cup adds up!
I will have to try gloves (your #4) because our hands do dry out!
I’m currently right there with you! Our dishwasher broke before Christmas and we are a family of 8, so I whole-heartedly “Amen!” your above list. We have always tried to be a one-cup-per-day family, though the 2-year-old sometimes forgets where she dropped hers and gets a clean one! I’m with you on the dish soap! Dawn is the only kind we use around here. While I don’t always stay on top of the dishes and they sometimes start to pile up, usually because the baby is crying and needs me (babies trump dishes around here!) this season has not been as bad as I anticipated. Although, I am looking forward to getting mine fixed or replaced!
The one cup rule works around here, too. Otherwise, my 4 year old will take a sip, deposit his cup in the sink of soaking stuff (I’m not so good at the “wash immediately” line item!) and pull out another clean cup 5 minutes later.
A friend from high school had a non-functional dishwasher and they just used it to store the dishes. They were washed, stuck in the dishwasher to dry, and never transferred to a cabinet. In their small apartment, the cabinet space was otherwise needed as pantry space. Worked for them!
We’ve been on again off again w/ a dishwasher for years. Even with a dishwasher, I limit the kids’ cups b/c that’s a lot of cups if I don’t! Much of what you said are the same things I’ve done to ease the “pain” of handwashing.
Amy
My dishwasher, while not broken completely, just does not CLEAN anymore. It hasn’t for well over a year now. We planned to renovate our kitchen in 2009, and get a new one then, but with my husband’s illness and ultimate death, it never happened. So, I continue to do the dishes by hand. Your first “rule” above is absolutely the most important one, and I’m trying to keep on top of that. I must air-dry my dishes because using a towel results in dog hair everywhere, even if the towel is fresh from the wash. Crazy! But on the whole I don’t entirely mind my dishes being done by hand, except when I get behind (refer again to Rule #1), and even though it was my most loathed chore growing up (simply because it was ALWAYS my turn to do them) I don’t entirely mind doing them now.
Sweet post and very good advice. I love Dawn too.
I have always washed my dishes by hand, actually I like to. My children know how to wash dishes by hand.