If you're lucky enough to have a dishwasher, chances are you may well just bung everything and anything in there – but this habit could well be wasting your precious pennies. Now an eco-friendly homecare expert has shared the five things she would never dream of popping in the dishwasher, sparking a bit of a debate.
The expert, who is a spokeswoman for the environmentally friendly brand Tru Earth, recently shared a video via TikTok, asking which of her followers were "guilty" of these dishwasher crimes.
Advising that these items "are not recommend in the dishwasher as they simply become damaged", she encouraged people to instead "make these dishes last long by hand washing them".
1. Wood
The environmentally conscious woman advised against putting your wooden spoons in the dishwasher, a view that is shared by various cleaning experts.
As explained in an article for All Recipes, the high heat and excess moisture in the dishwasher could cause your spoons to crack, warp or even completely break. Therefore, good old fashioned hand washing is recommended instead.
2. Non-stick pans
Although many companies claim to supply dishwasher-safe nonstick pans, this apparently isn't always the best option. According to Pantry & Larder, even if the nonstick coating is indeed dishwasher safe, aluminium pans can end up corroding in the dishwasher, while high temperatures and harsh chemicals can end up weakening the nonstick coating.
3. Copper
As previously reported by Good Housekeeping, the harshness of the dishwasher can end up dulling copper surfaces to dull, meaning it's always better to handwash such items.
4. Cooking knives
According to Delish, knives can end up getting warped in the dishwasher, with the high temperatures capable of damaging the metal. It's also pretty dangerous.
5. Glass with prints
As per Compact Appliance, it's sensible to keep any glasses with prints well away from the dishwasher, which will only cause the patterns to fade over time.
The video has since divided opinions, with one person commenting: "Just saw someone putting their entire toilet lid in the dishwasher, I think the knives will be fine."
Another queried: "Okay then why do I need a dishwasher if it can't wash half the things I need to be washed?"
A third said: "I put everything in the dishwasher except cast iron. life is too short for me to do dishes when I have a perfectly working dishwasher."
Do you have a dishwasher tip to share? Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
