How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dishwasher

I will admit to you that a lot of issues with kitchen wares arise out of putting them in the dishwasher. I grew up without a dishwasher, so I'm pretty great at hand washing them and don't have an issue doing them that way. I'm also pretty fast at it so it doesn't take up hours of my day. 

I have used dishwashers since then. I've known people to have lovely looking dishes come out of theirs. I've lived with people who bought cheap dishwasher soap that didn't work and had nightmarish issues with them at jobs. But now that I understand them a little bit more, how various products react in them, and have been using one in my own home a little more regularly - I have learned to stop worrying and love using my dishwasher!

The Basics:

• Don't put things in the dishwasher that aren't dishwasher safe. They usually say that for a reason.
• Cheap plastics leach BPA, some ceramics aren't strong enough to handle bumping each other with the shaking motion of the washer, and certain finishes can't handle the harsh environment, etc.
• Pans on the bottom, plastic on the top. Some items will specify they are top-rack only. The heating element in the dishwasher is on the bottom, so this is to keep the item away from the heat.
• Do not lay knives down on the top rack! If they don't fit in the utensil holder, hand wash them.
• Wood does not ever go in the dishwasher. (Epicurean brand can because it's a special compressed wood that is dishwasher safe.)

Notice the heating element is in the center of the inside of the machine.

Dishwashers get EXTREMELY hot, so that's the reason a lot of items can't go in them in the first place. They are the problem with plastic leaching BPA, so if you don't have a dishwasher you really don't need to worry about it. Plastic baby bottles are almost never dishwasher safe and unfortunately a lot of parents try putting them in on "sanitize mode" which is usually the hottest setting on the dishwasher. Not a good idea!

I have overcome this issue by sticking to the lower-level settings on my dishwasher. I have a couple of settings above "pots and pans" and I have never touched them. If you have anything dirtier than that it's not even worth trying in the dishwasher, in my opinion. Whatever is stuck to the pan will just get baked on inside of the machine.

Which brings me my next tip - turn off the "heated dry" setting if your dishwasher allows you to. This is just a waste of electricity (in my opinion!) that literally just bakes the dishes after they are washed, so if anything is still stuck to them, it just got baked on harder. The dishes are hot and usually still moist anyway if you do use it, so what I do is turn it off and when the wash cycle is over I just open it up and pull the racks out so they can air-dry. The plastic storage stuff doesn't seem to dry well so I pull them out and put them in the counter dish rack to dry. Of course this is easiest when done later in the evening so they can dry overnight.

Your dishwasher shakes. A lot. Think about your dishes getting bumped around into each other inside of that thing for an hour while it runs. This is why ceramic dishes chip in the dishwasher, because they bump edges with each other. Same with your nonstick finish, if something is bumping into it in the same spot over and over - chipping. I worry about my ceramic bowls even though I put them on the top shelf and they are a really good brand name, so I put the dishwasher safe plastic items between all of the ceramic items to try to avoid them bumping into each other.

The worst is if you put your sharp knives flat on the top rack - they shake and cut into the plastic rungs. This is what causes  your flatware to rust, when the plastic coating is exposed inside of your dishwasher. You can sometimes remove this staining with Barkeeper's Friend but usually you will end up having to replace all of your flatware and also replacing the racks inside of your dishwasher, which is very costly.

As I already said, if my pans are really dirty, I just resolve to hand washing them. I let them soak overnight and wash them with any other items I have that are not dishwasher safe.  Sometimes you can get away with scrubbing the pan with a dish brush or a scrub sponge and getting all the big stuff off of it so it is dishwasher-ready, however. I pretty much end up cleaning them first if I do this because if anything is stuck to the pan, it will be baked on in the dishwasher, usually. And if it does come out this way, dirty, resign yourself to hand washing them at that point - putting them in for another dishwasher cycle will not get it off!

My motto is, "If you love it, hand wash it," so even a lot of the things I own that are dishwasher safe - I still hand wash. Some items I will throw in the dishwasher every now and again and it's not the end of the world, but some little thing will happen that reminds me that I do indeed love it and I better wash it by hand next time. And actually, sometimes putting your stainless steel Kitchen Aid mixer bowl or stainless pot in the machine actually helps bring back its luster - just not every time so I only do it every handful of uses. One of my dearest kitchen store friend (and mentor) had the best saying about dishwashers: "It's called a dishwasher for a reason. It's not a pots and pans washer. It's not a glassware washer." So keep that in mind when putting items other than dishes in that machine, even if it does have special settings for those other things.

Speaking of glassware, I don't put anything with a painted design in the dishwasher, nor any stemware. If you have really inexpensive, sturdy stemware like Libbey, that will probably hold up. Anything shaped like a martini glass is just asking to break because of the bumping. Luckily most stemware is too tall for most dishwashers unless you purchase one that has specific glassware settings. Use at your own risk! I find that the glassware tends to come out with a teensy bit of spotting, but maybe that's because I don't steam clean them afterwards with the "heated dry" setting!

If you just can't stand to hand wash, make sure you read the labels of what you're buying and avoid items that aren't dishwasher safe. There are still kitchen items that you cannot find dishwasher safe, and I'm sorry, you're just either going to have to not use it, hand wash it, or buy really cheap so you can afford to keep replacing it because you put it in the dishwasher anyway. :P (Meat tenderizer is the item I know you can't find as dishwasher safe. Even the OXO one can't go in there - it's a kind of metal that will oxidize. All the generic metal meat tenderizers I have seen are the same kind of metal so there must be a reason for it.)

Cascade Complete Pac

My last tip will be on dishwasher detergent. The only thing I have found to work almost all the time are the Cascade dishwasher pacs. They now make a few different versions of this, and I find the Cascade Complete work the best. (Although now there is a "platinum" version I will have to try!)

Just use your best judgement, and the dishwasher can be a great help in your kitchen without costing you a fortune in replacement costs if you're smart about how you utilize it. Of course spending the extra money for more durable kitchen wares always helps, but clearly we can't always afford that. So the Dollar Tree items...those get hand washed in my house. ;)

And remember...if you love it, hand wash it!

Happy Cleaning! :)

Leave dishes to air dry, like this!

Read more about my favorite cleaning gadgets.

Ode to Pepper Grinders (& Salt, Too!)

I love fresh ground pepper! I put it on EVERYTHING! Which actually probably makes me a poor reviewer because I just leave all of my grinders set on "coarse" and rarely test out the other options. But I have used quite a few and can offer some insight and tips for maintenance, of course! First and foremost, the proper terminology is "mill" not "grinder" but I will mostly refer to them as grinders since that's what everybody calls them.

Peugeot mill in various sizes

Buying a Pepper or Salt Mill

Can't I just buy one grinder and do everything in one? 

The simple answer is yes, but there are always technicalities that lead you to lean more towards no. :) A lot of inexpensive grinders will have a ceramic grinding mechanism which is safe for anything. However, you can't really "clean" any type of mill entirely, so if you want to grind multiple things, you will probably get residuals of other things you've used the grinder for.

The more important thing to consider is with metal mechanisms. Salt is highly corrosive so the metal in these grinders is usually an 18/10 stainless steel that's been chemically treated, versus a pepper mill just having a hardened steel to make it stronger for the peppercorns.

The next thing you need to consider is if you want the mill to have multiple grind settings. A lot of basic, inexpensive grinders will not come with options. The majority with settings will have three: coarse, medium, and fine. Sometimes you can find a mill with just two settings, but that's it! Peugeot, a French manufacturer, boasts "infinite" grind settings because you can stop the selector anywhere you want (on other models the selection you make "clicks" into place).

Trudeau Graviti mill

Other features you can find are upside-down grinders that store with the "top" side down to reduce the mess they can leave on your counter or table. You can also buy battery-operated grinders that work with the push of a button. Trudeau makes one of the most inexpensive and best-rated electric grinders I've seen, the Graviti mill. It actually works just by turning it upside down - you don't have to push a button! Peugeot pushes the bar further by selling one that also lights up while it's grinding for you. Hey - you've got to be able to see when you're dining by candlelight! :P

Picking a Brand

Metal Mechanism Brands*
*Most brands that make steel pepper mills produce their salt mills with either ceramic or nylon.

Peugeot made the first pepper mill in 1841 and are still made in France today. While the guarantee on their manual grinders is only 5 years, the mechanism itself is guaranteed for life under normal use. Their most popular mills come in the same style in a plethora of sizes for you to choose from. To avoid the hassle that can sometimes come with filling your grinder, they offer some models with magnetic tops that just latch right on to the mill without any fuss. They also produce electric mills and even a classic-looking box mill. I mentioned already that they boast "infinite" grind settings, but in my personal experience, I did not notice huge differences other than coarse/medium/fine.

Peugeot's salt mills are an 18/10 stainless steel that's been treated to prevent corrosion.

William Bounds mills

William Bounds is my favorite brand and made in the USA! They have been in business since 1963 and have a patented mill mechanism that evenly crushes instead of grinds.Since it's not grinding the mill components together, they can guarantee it will work for life. This is where their slogan "We've got a CRUSH on pepper" comes from!

William Bounds' salt mills are made with a ceramic crushing mechanism.

Vic Firth is a tad newer to the game, but also made in the USA. This is a company that is famous for making drumsticks and drum equipment - Vic Firth was a tympanist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and happens to love cooking. Mario Batalli's pepper mills are Vic Firth brand with Mario's signature green and orange colors, as well as his signature on the side.

Vic Firth salt mills are made with a nylon grinding mechanism.

Vic Firth mills

Non-Metal Mill Brands

Most inexpensive pepper and salt mills you find are nylon or ceramic grinders.

Chef'n PepperBall

Chef'n makes some pretty cool grinders, although I have to say they are very hit and miss with their salt and pepper grinders. I'm a huge Chef'n lover, but I got a lot of these returned in various models, from a simple table grinder to their more unique ergonomic styles. But when they work, they work forever, so just make sure you buy from a store that will not hassle you if you need to return it. It does look like they've updated the designs slightly so they might be even sturdier now.

They make some amazing ergonomic models, so if you have arthritis issues, think about the repetitive wrist movements you have to make to grind your pepper. My first pepper grinder use was a friend's Chef'n pepper ball and I thought it was the coolest thing ever - you just squeeze! They also make some 2-in-1 options that let you grind both salt and pepper in one unit.

These models all utilize a metal rasp, but they do make ceramic grinders, too.

Kuhn Rikon has a couple of ceramic models, their vase grinder being the most popular. As I mentioned, they make theirs in lots of fun colors so you can color-code your spices. They make an ergonomic lever-model for those with arthritis pain.

Kuhn Rikon vase grinders

OXO's ceramic grinders are only a few years old, but they look great, feel very sturdy, and I'm a huge fan of OXO so I would think should be good!

**Buying tip - Williams Sonoma has a pepper grinding area where you can actually test out the grinders before purchasing. I'm not sure if this is available at all locations, but it's really fun!**

How To Use & Maintain Your Mill

Basic mills have a body, a piece at the top (the "lid") that turns to activate the grinding mechanism inside, and a little ball on top that screws on to the mechanism to keep the lid in place. If you have coarseness settings, there is usually a circular piece just below the lid that you can turn and hear clicking into place at the next setting. Usually there is some sort of marking to indicate fine (smaller mark) to coarse (larger mark). Left to right = fine to coarse.

To fill the grinder, you unscrew the ball on the top, remove the lid and fill the base. There will usually be something in the way to indicate the "fill line". You always want to fill to BELOW this piece of the mill. Not even, and definitely not above. You need to leave room for the mechanism to turn. This was the most common problem when people tried to say their mill was broken - I would open it up, dump out a few peppercorns, and VOILA! It would work.

Kuhn Rikon is "upside-down"

As I mentioned before, you can find mills that work "upside-down" to keep the mess off of your counter or table. These fool a lot of people, so read the instructions first! Yes, even with something as simple as a pepper grinder, you should always read the instructions!! The Kuhn Rikon vase grinder is a great example of this and I sold them for a couple of years before I actually used one. People returned them all the time for not working but they would always return them empty so none of us working realized what the issue was - improper use! Someone finally brought it in with peppercorns and asked us what they were doing wrong and we realized they were the "upside-down" style!

There are special grinders you can buy for wet salt. You can only grind pink berry peppercorns within a pepper mix as long as there's not a lot of pink berries mixed in. Otherwise, put them in a ceramic or spice grinder, or use a mortar & pestle to grind them up. Putting either of these two items into a regular salt or pepper grinder will ruin your grinder.

Grinding Spices

Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder

As I mentioned above, you can use most grinders for spices, just be careful of anything that could corrode a pepper mill. You should be able to find many inexpensive ceramic mills for spices. The Kuhn Rikon vase grinders are great and you can get it in all sorts of different colors to help differentiate between your spices!

Some people use inexpensive coffee grinders to grind their spices. You can read more about that on my "Coffee Grinder" blog, where I also mention the alternative of the Cuisinart Spice and Nut Grinder. For a few extra bucks, get something larger that grinds spices better and you can also clean out between spices.

Grinding Herbs

Microplane recently came out with an actual herb mill to grind your fresh herbs! I would love to test this out. There are a few gadgets you can find to chop herbs with, as well, but that's for another blog!

Grinding Nuts

William Bounds Nut Twister nutmeg grinder

As already mentioned, Cuisinart has a great electric spice and nut grinder. Many of the manufacturers listed make several special nutmeg grinder models since that is a very popular spice. Peugeot and William Bounds probably have the most variety of other specific grinders (chocolate, cinnamon, chilies, etc.), as well.