kitchen whispers
Well, it never ceases to amaze me how the strangest things can happen in life... in fact DO happen.
For those among you who have been here to visit me inside Emma's World before, you'll see that I've added a new section, called "kitchen whispers". The newcomers among you will simply have to walk through that door too! Welcome...
"kitchen whispers" is born out of an idea that had lain slumbering in the back of my mind for a little while now and was fired up by a single, rather unusual happening. My FB friend Elvie Look posted a query yesterday as to how we load our dishwashers and I felt compelled to answer.
Her response to my reply surprised me so much that I thought, Wow, there's obviously some kind of need for people to "solve" everyday little problems and answer questions related to household and kitchen happenings... Being a very practical person -despite the fact that household is not my forte- and having been told by hubs on numerous occasions that "you're a clever girl!", for sorting something out in that department, I thought: Why don't I share my Encyclopaedia of Useless Bits of Information with my readers... thus kitchen whispers was born!
As this is really New Territory for me, I have not yet really planned the lay-out for this page, so for the beginning it will be a loose collection of all sorts of items until I can see a structure beginning to form, after which I shall categorize.
I hope you'll enjoy reading and learning from this section as much as I enjoy writing it.
Btw: your active participation with useful gems is always welcome and you will always be credited with supplying it!
Have fun!
Smiles,
Emm xx
How to properly load my dishwasher

As luck would have it, we had a full load today - (Emm's kitchen 19 feb 2011) Click to enlarge
So, yesterday Elvie Look put out the following query:
Hey, do you put your silverware facing down and the handles up in the dishwasher, or the part you eat with facing up??
I have actually embroidered on my initial reply to Elvie and added a couple of things that popped up in my mind as I am writing this; it concerns loading the dishwasher in general.
First of all remove most of the sticky food remnants into your bin. There’s no need to thoroughly pre-clean, just scrape worst off. In fact, for the dishwasher to do a proper job, it needs some bits and pieces of food sticking on the items so that soap particles have something to cling to and do their work! I know, it sounds mad, but it’s true.
Stack your plates and dishes in such a way that they’re staggered, i.e, don’t line all the same sized plates up like soldiers. The reason is that it will be much easier for the water spray to reach everywhere it needs to get.
Glassware, tea and coffee cups, mugs and beakers, i.e. smaller items all go in the top tray, while pots and plates are meant to go in the bottom tray.
Make sure the sprinkler arm can rotate without hindrance!
Dealing with cutlery:
I put forks and spoons: handles DOWN, knives : handles UP . The water spray cleans the cutlery better when they're placed like this- I don't put silver cutlery items in the dishwasher - prefer to hand wash them. That’s why I use it rather on very rare occasions! I keep it in its canteen with a few pieces of chalk...(HINT!) Cleaning silver is a PAIN! As to handling the cutlery I had the same dilemma you face; I solved the problem by always taking the items out with a tea towel. Our dishwasher has a basket that holds the cutlery as opposed to the types that have a special tray at the top, so I just take the basket out, stand it on another tea towel on the worktop close to the drawers and remove the items with the tea towel in my hand...
Another tip: while you're loading the dishwasher collect all the cutlery and stick it "heads" down in a high container with warm soapy suds to soak the bits of food that might be left in the nooks and crannies; I simply give the dirtiest a quick brush before putting them in.
Something else that is in general totally overlooked: when using the newest type of dishwasher TABS, make sure you read the instructions on the box carefully; if you live in a area where the water is hard, (you should be able to get that information from your local Water Board or municipality) you're better off taking the most basic form of tab (and NOT those all-singing-and-dancing types that promise the earth) PLUS filling the salt + liquid rinse containers with the traditional products! You will obtain better results for all your crockery, glassware and anything else you put in.
Also remember: NEVER put any of the following in your dishwasher:
wooden items, sharp knives, lead crystal, hand-painted stuff and the like. Check out that the plastic stuff is dishwasher proof! There should be a sign on the plastic indicating as to whether this is the case or not.
Last but not least: if you’re a frequent dishwasher user: as daft as it sounds, run a regular cleaning program (we do this once a month, we use the dishwasher I’d say every two days). There are liquid products on the market to do so, but you can also use a couple of cups of white vinegar or sprinkle a cup of baking soda around the bottom of the dishwasher and run a full hot program.
Your dishwasher comes with a manual or guide: read the instructions! They’ve been printed for a reason...
Hope this was helpful!
Smiles,
Emm
(added 19 February 2011)
Hey, do you put your silverware facing down and the handles up in the dishwasher, or the part you eat with facing up??
I have actually embroidered on my initial reply to Elvie and added a couple of things that popped up in my mind as I am writing this; it concerns loading the dishwasher in general.
First of all remove most of the sticky food remnants into your bin. There’s no need to thoroughly pre-clean, just scrape worst off. In fact, for the dishwasher to do a proper job, it needs some bits and pieces of food sticking on the items so that soap particles have something to cling to and do their work! I know, it sounds mad, but it’s true.
Stack your plates and dishes in such a way that they’re staggered, i.e, don’t line all the same sized plates up like soldiers. The reason is that it will be much easier for the water spray to reach everywhere it needs to get.
Glassware, tea and coffee cups, mugs and beakers, i.e. smaller items all go in the top tray, while pots and plates are meant to go in the bottom tray.
Make sure the sprinkler arm can rotate without hindrance!
Dealing with cutlery:
I put forks and spoons: handles DOWN, knives : handles UP . The water spray cleans the cutlery better when they're placed like this- I don't put silver cutlery items in the dishwasher - prefer to hand wash them. That’s why I use it rather on very rare occasions! I keep it in its canteen with a few pieces of chalk...(HINT!) Cleaning silver is a PAIN! As to handling the cutlery I had the same dilemma you face; I solved the problem by always taking the items out with a tea towel. Our dishwasher has a basket that holds the cutlery as opposed to the types that have a special tray at the top, so I just take the basket out, stand it on another tea towel on the worktop close to the drawers and remove the items with the tea towel in my hand...
Another tip: while you're loading the dishwasher collect all the cutlery and stick it "heads" down in a high container with warm soapy suds to soak the bits of food that might be left in the nooks and crannies; I simply give the dirtiest a quick brush before putting them in.
Something else that is in general totally overlooked: when using the newest type of dishwasher TABS, make sure you read the instructions on the box carefully; if you live in a area where the water is hard, (you should be able to get that information from your local Water Board or municipality) you're better off taking the most basic form of tab (and NOT those all-singing-and-dancing types that promise the earth) PLUS filling the salt + liquid rinse containers with the traditional products! You will obtain better results for all your crockery, glassware and anything else you put in.
Also remember: NEVER put any of the following in your dishwasher:
wooden items, sharp knives, lead crystal, hand-painted stuff and the like. Check out that the plastic stuff is dishwasher proof! There should be a sign on the plastic indicating as to whether this is the case or not.
Last but not least: if you’re a frequent dishwasher user: as daft as it sounds, run a regular cleaning program (we do this once a month, we use the dishwasher I’d say every two days). There are liquid products on the market to do so, but you can also use a couple of cups of white vinegar or sprinkle a cup of baking soda around the bottom of the dishwasher and run a full hot program.
Your dishwasher comes with a manual or guide: read the instructions! They’ve been printed for a reason...
Hope this was helpful!
Smiles,
Emm
(added 19 February 2011)