The Fisher Paykel Dishdrawers are fabulous for me, living by myself. I run the top drawer once a week or so for just my dishes, and both drawers every week when I host a dozen people for Tuesday dinners.

BTW, I run everything through the dishwasher, and it had better survive. (It’s like my gardening philosophy - it had better be tough to make it.)

A few years ago I got rid of my “daily” dishes and use only the silver-trim, colored bone china, which is doing just fine. The silver trim on the Waterford is pretty trashed, which actually works ok as it’s easier to find the plain-rim version when replacing. I’ll make that tradeoff as I’d probably break more pieces hand-washing along the way.

This is an excellent solution if you live in an apartment or condo where you aren’t allowed to install a dishwasher or if, in my case, you have a tiny little galley kitchen and you need the dishwasher’s floorspace for something else (a second-hand booth from a diner in my case, but more cabinet storage always works, too).

1) Almost all bone china can go in the dishwasher, not just white. What does NOT go in: china edged in gilt or gold or silver.

2) Believe it or not, silver and silver-plate can go in the dishwasher so long as it does not come in contact with any other metal. I promise. I learned this from a cousin who is a scientist, held my breath and tried it, and have never gone back!

And thanks for a helpful blog. Now would you like to come over and redo my apartment for me, please?

That said, I still wash certain things by hand, either because they’re valuable, or delicate, or too big to make sense taking up room in the dishwasher.

I’ve also learned that lemon/citrus dishwashing products can cause reactions with certain metals - lost a cheap but nice set of flatware that way.

In fact, I like to throw other things in the dishwasher too. Like my hairbrushes once in a while, desk pen holder, bathroom soap dish and toothbrush holder, the rubber duckie, cleaning scrub brushes, even the cup-holder from my car.

Now what I would LOVE is an “all top shelf” dishwasher, because I find I load the top shelf more quickly than the bottom, so as to not shorten the life span of kinves, plastics or delicate things.

My girlfriend really likes using the dishwasher though, and we sporadically debate over which technique is more appropriate. Raf’s balanced approach is great, but with only two of us sometimes the dishwasher doesn’t fill up fast enough and — ewww — food bits dry on the dishes. Then you end up washing them by hand anyway. Doing a preliminary wash seems silly because why not spend an extra three seconds and finish the job?

Having on of those split dishwashers would be ideal, but that isn’t in the budget right now. Someday….

Wow, talk about a productivity surge. All I had to do was leave the dishes to soak in the sink and last thing before going to bed, load the dishwasher and whammo, clean dishes in the morning.

Now, I have a more balanced view. Using a dishwasher and handwashing is rather akin to doing laundry with your clothes. The stuff you use everyday, you throw into the dishwasher/clotheswasher. The knifeset that’s been passed down, or the cast iron set that you bought for x amount, that’s like the stuff you wouldn’t dare throw with the rest of your clothes. That’s what you hand wash.

Why does it have to be an either or choice? Who says that you can’t use both according to the specific item? Hmmm?

With kids though, I don’t see the point of using dishware or utensils that are not dishwasher-friendly. So, we use plastic cups, tupperware, dishes from Ikea, inexpensive steak knives and stainless steel utensils. Even our glassware is safe… If it can survive dinner with the kids a the table, it can make it through the washer.

http://store.lamsonsharp.com/c.....h=56_64_66

I believe that most (all?) NSF certified products are dishwasher safe.