Yep, I do that all the time. EVERYTHING goes in my dishwashers (I have two), the only items that don't are my hand painted pottery items and anything that is too large to physically fit in the dishwasher.

I have never heard of cookware having to be hand washed!! I'm glad my cookware was never that delicate, that would drive me nuts.

I'm truly surprised to hear how many different things other people put in dishwashers! This is eye-opening. For example, our cat dishes have rubber bottoms, so I don't put them in. Items I've had with rubber gaskets have always gotten deformed in the dishwasher.

My KA bowl was damaged once (in a friend's DW that probably had a heating element), so I don't put it in. The KA attachments clearly say to handwash only, so I don't put them in.

Our new pots are cheap, so I think they can go in the dishwasher. We used to only buy $$$ pots. I won't put my cast iron or Le Creuset in there, though, which we use all the time (but the cast iron needs to be taken care of right away, so that doesn't sit out dripping or anything).

Knives... no way will I dishwash them! They were expensive, I don't want anything happening to them.

My plastic Blender Bottle... I put it in sometimes, but again, I really don't like plastic in the dishwasher because of the leaching/chemical problem that comes from heating up plastic. But, we don't have much plastic left in the kitchen.

I will try to get into the habit of running it more than once a day. Even daily loading/emptying has been a huge chore, but I finally got into a groove since we moved last month. We used to leave the clean dishes in for days while the dirty dishes piled up next to the sink... and had to wait for two separate loads because there was too much.

Thanks, all!

I have to say I'm a little relieved to hear that you all run your dishwashers more vs. you all hand-dry stuff all day long. I knew hand-drying wasn't a terribly realistic option for me.

Use a drying cloth and put them away or reuse as you go. You couldn't have used all those things at once. I find I make less of a mess when I rinse and reuse things as I go along.

I used all of those bowls within 10 minutes. My son was helping me bake, and we were making 3 different recipes at once, and each recipe took 2-3 bowls. Otherwise, I wash and reuse! ETA: I'm an avid baker, make tons of things at the same time, and do a lot of prep to make it possible within a very short amount of time. Hence, lots of bowls! There are times I have two KAs running, and use 3 KA bowls.

My folks don't have a dishwasher. They rinse with super hot water (I've read that ladies used to rinse with water from a tea kettle) and when rinsed with super hot water the dishes dry very fast. by the time the drying rack is full and you start drying with a towel there's very little water left on the dishes.

So I would say, wash as you go, rinse with a tea kettle, hand dry and put away.

Add a second DW to your kitchen and stop buying delicate items. Pots and pans can go in the DW. So can knives. So can plastics of any and all variety as long as they are on the top rack in a DW with a heated dry. There isn't anything that can't go in a DW if you buy the right kind of kitchen tools.

I still have my initial purchase just moved out of home Revereware stainless pots that have been in a real old fashioned Hobart built Kitchenaid with a real actual heating element and water pressure and not a one has suffered catastrophic meltdown of any of the handles. And that's 40 years of running them through the DW. Victoriaknox knives are great quality, inexpensive, and perfectly DW safe. Stainless steel cat bowls can go in the DW and will keep your cat free of chin acne. Even Ziploc baggies can go in the top rack of a DW with no loss of structural integrity.

I think most people don't realize that Calphalon hard-anodized and All-Clad LTD are hand-wash only; I didn't when I bought them. I don't consider them "delicate," but I did care for them as directed.

I also don't know about putting pricier Wusthof and Henckels knives into the dishwasher... I really don't see us switching to buying cheaper quality kitchen things -- or buying any replacements when what we have already will last a lifetime. Aside from our new pots, which are the inexpensive Wal-Mart Tramontina set that everyone seems to recommend for induction.

Plastics, I'm still not sold. Those were proven to leach when heated. I don't microwave plastic, either. But we don't have much plastic anyway, so it's a non-issue. I'll see what else we can start putting into the DW to make things less messy!

Your question is "ditching the drying rack." It seems as though you are set on hand washing and air drying all these things you use, apparently simultaneously, on the counter. Perhaps you are doomed to a life of a few metal and plastic things on the counter a few hours a day.

re: 3 recipes at once. I can't see where making each at a time takes longer than all at once, especially if your goal is fewer things to later wash and dry.

keep a stack of highquality drying cloths-linen or burpcloth utility material you can buy-and make a bunch......grab a drying towel from a handy position and dry the stuff and put away. The better quality towels will dry in one or two swipes..this can become effortless. The stuff just needs to get put away quickly. Your use of all these items, frequently, might not be customary......but so what... The dishwasher can probably take more than what you put in.....but you'd have to load and unload more...in a way it might be easier to just wash them up.....I think the issue really is getting them dried and put away. Your dishwashing by hand vs machine is kind of a personal discretionary thing.

I put almost everything in the DW. Even my knives. I don't see how it has ever hurt them. Even pottery and good china. And my KA bowls and paddles/whisks/dough hook. After some 20 years, all the KA things are just fine. The only thing I don't put in the DW is the silverplate and the few sterling pieces I have.

So what if a few mixing bowls fill the whole DW! Test studies where people have hand-washed vs. the DW have proven that the DW uses less water and, thus, less fuel to heat the water, too. Run it several times a day if need be.

If I'm going to need to re-use an item, I will still hand wash it. Like if I used my KA bowl to make cookies but am going to use it to whip up mashed potatoes for dinner. And my biggest pots that don't fit get hand-washed.

The best trick I know for keeping dishes from piling up is to empty the DW ASAP after it's done. It takes about 3-4 minutes tops. And then things can go in it immediately after use keeping the counters and sink area clear.

If you're not willing to use your DW more, then rinse with the hottest water because things really do dry quicker and then put them away ASAP. If need be, do a quick wipe with a dish towel. It doesn't take more than a couple seconds to do that. And there are some items that can be put away a bit damp, too, without harming anything.

I guess I don't understand why people buy nice DWs and then don't use them. To me, that would be like buying a nice fridge but using a camping ice chest instead.

I have Calphalon and they go in the DW. So do my Henckel knives and my Japanese knives. I have a third rack on top for silverware and I put them on there. The only thing I don't put in the DW is my cast iron. I've been doing so for 30 years with no problem. My mother put her sterling silver utensils in with no problems ever.

The only other thing I hand wash is my extra large metal mixing bowl because it would take up 3/4 of the dishwasher. When I use it, I wash it and dry it right away. All my smaller metal mixing bowls go in the DW.

My F&P dish drawers have several cycles. They dry without heat. I usually use the 54 minute cycle -- less often need the 120 minute Normal cycle. I could put heavily soiled items in the lower drawer on a longer cycle and the other items in the upper drawer on a shorter cycle. The drawers also have 5 minute Rinse cycles.

I hand-wash knives and a few bulky pots. I don't use my china, crystal or silver. I would have swished and dried and put away the bowls you have pictured. The clear heavy plastic 'drain board' to the right of my sinks is almost invisible, letting the granite show through.

We are just two adults, and I don't 'cook, cook'. I don't completely fill the top drawer daily, but run it after dinner very night anyway. One of the advantages of a DW is to be able to store the clutter until you run a cycle. In your place, I would just run the DW when it's full, twice a day...or whatever. I would not be 'servant' to my cookware; it's there to serve me, not the other way 'round!

I don't put our Le Creuset cookware in the dishwasher. I do put our All-Clad in the dishwasher and it's lasted years with hopefully many more to go. When we first got Wusthof knives I washed them by hand, now they get dishwashed as well and seem fine.

I am surprised that people put their pet dishes in the dishwasher. That seems quite unappealing!

Use the dishwasher as a drying rack. I hand wash a ton of stuff, and just stick it in the dishwasher to dry with the door cracked. Same time commitment as running the thing, but it will free up your countertops.

If your pet bowls really have rubber bases, maybe you could swap them for ones with silicone bases. I am sure most recent items with non slip bases are made of silicone which can take up to 500F. Same for spatulas. And all those stainless steel bowls if used in a restaurant would be in a hot dishwasher. I always think my stuff is cleaner and more sanitary if it went in the dishwasher. If I am baking multiple things and need a couple handy sized bowls over again, then I do wash and dry and re-use them right away but once they are done being used, it goes in the dishwasher. Most 'plastic' bowls etc. that I have say dishwasher safe and I put them in.

I think Mrs. Architectrunnerguy wins! lol. As for putting things in the DW. The new ones are sooooo slooooowwwww. And, if I rush the DW, everything is wet and needs a final cloth drying anyway. So, for us, we sink wash and towel dry a lot of the big things to keep them off the counter and/or to use again quickly. Especially during canning season and when entertaining a crowd.

I have hard anodized Calphalon pots and pans which are hand wash only. Since I am switching to induction in the near future and will have to get new pans that work on induction I thought I'd throw one into the dishwasher. It came out with a white-ish coating which took me "forever" to remove. I won't do it again.

I had to pull out my KA instruction book. It says the bowl, white paddle and white dough hook can all be put in a dishwasher. Perhaps you have different accessories than I do? The burnished ones?

Hum. my KA is >30 years old. I still have all the original parts and everything goes in the DW most of the time. It all still looks and functions like new. I LOVE that thing!

I put absolutely everything into the dishwasher, except my two good knives and my collection hand-painted porcelain china with gold rims. Those legitimately cannot be washed any other way but by hand. Believe me, I wish it wasn't so!

I suggest that you work on your guilt...so what that you run the dishwasher with only two things in it! So what that it doesn't air dry! As long as it makes it easier on you, who cares? When I lived alone, I would run the dishwasher every other day even though it had only a handful of dishes in it.

Texas_Gem -- yes, I have the burnished attachments.

Sherri1085 -- oh no! That's the kind of thing I'd be worried about.

nightowl -- that's the main reason we picked the Miele with auto-open at the end of the cycle. Nothing is wet anymore by the time I go to empty it. LOVE that!!

cpartist, good to hear your mom had no problems with her sterling in the DW. I should clarify what I meant. I never put my silverplate or sterling in the DW when there is stainless in it. I have read that it can cause the silver to pit. Is that an old wive's tale? I do put the silver in the DW if there is no stainless needing to be washed. Or if there is only a tiny bit of stainless, I'll put the silver in the DW and hand wash the stainless. Perhaps these steps aren't necessary? I dunno. I don't get out that silver that often so it's not a regular issue anyway. I do put my good china in the DW. My mom broke the handle off of a cup of her china and kept it in the DW for several years to see if washing it in the DW harmed it. It never looked any different than her rarely used and washed china.

omelet, the DW sanitizes everything so what would be unsanitary about putting pet bowls in it, too? My pet licks me and sometimes, if I'm not careful, she catches me on the mouth. Ugh! THAT is unsanitary.

In your place, I would just run the DW when it's full, twice a day...or whatever. I would not be 'servant' to my cookware; it's there to serve me, not the other way 'round!

Bravo, chisue! Exactly. I wish I could find the study I read to provide a link but they tested people hand washing a DW sized pile of dishes vs. using a DW. IIRC, the most efficient hand-washer still used 1.5x the amount of hot water. Most used much more. Some 5x as much. Since much less hot water is used in a DW, that means also less electricity is used (or whatever fuel heats your water). The electrical usage to run the DW is negligible. Sure, it's most efficient to run the DW when it's completely full. However, even running a half-full DW is a more efficient use of water and energy than hand washing. Not to mention your time. So use the dang DW!

re: Miele. Yes, unless you want to rush it. If I want dry dishes out of my Miele (open door feature is great) - it is a minimum of 2.5 hours on turbo and longer on regular cycle. Back in "the day," we could run a load that came out hot and dry in an hour or so. Damn you Energy Star. Now, I would just as soon put the dishes, glasses and other small stuff in the DW and hand wash and dry the bigger stuff so it doesn't hang around the counter or in the sink for 3+ hours.

Texas Gem, I agree with you! Two dishwashers and the desire to put them to good use everyday keep my counters clear. There are very few things I don't put in the DW- I do put in my knives, All-Clad, KA mixer accessories, stemware, even my china. I don't put in my cast iron, although I think Le Creuset is DW safe as well. Maybe I will start!!

I found studies many years ago from Consumer's Report stating dishwashers, when used reasonably full were a water saver. We hand washed for years at our cabin. We have a 1,000 gallon holding tank for waste that must be pumped and trucked away and a 1,000 gallon clean water tank, of which water is delivered to. So the water usage is carefully monitored-both clean and dirty. When we got a dishwasher there, we never noticed an increase in the frequency of needing to empty our dirty water tank or the need to re-fill our clean water tank more often. I am so glad because it is nice to have a party or weekend company and not have to do all the dishes by hand.

This is what I read on ALL-CLADS internetpage:

Is All-Clad dishwasher safe?

"The ‘Stainless Steel’ collection is completely dishwasher-safe. It is recommended that before you use your Stainless Steel All-Clad you wash it in the dishwasher first to remove any manufacturing residues and this will help to keep it shiny. Do not put your non-stick cookware in the dishwasher because high heat and harsh detergents will corrode and dry out the surface. Copper-Core’ can be put in the dishwasher but it may result in some tarnishing of the copper band around the exterior. Prevent this by either hand-washing or drying the copper band immediately after the wash cycle in the dishwasher has finished."

Please read and please use the dishwasher, I agree with most of above that it is the kitchen thats supposed to work with you......

I would never, ever, put my knives in a DW (I am not talking about my flatware knives--those do go in the DW--I mean my chefs knife, boning knife, paring knife, etc.). A knife takes 5 seconds to wipe and dry, for goodness sakes.

I don't put my pots and pans in the DW because they take up so much room, and I give precedence to my glasses, dishes, and flatware in the DW. I wish I had the space for 2 DWs, then I definitely would have 2 DWs, or at least one adjunct DW drawer. But not everyone has a kitchen large enough Sophie Wheeler.

I simply dry my hand-washed things with a towel, as has been mentioned here already. It goes quickly, especially if you have a spouse or child to help. Taking the 5 or 10 minutes to towel-dry is much preferable to having to look at the clutter of drying things on the counter for hours like the pic the OP has posted.

Plus, any drying rack or mat I've ever had will itself become one more cleaning chore, as it gets rust spots, mineral deposits and crumbs on it.

A good towel to dry your things is key. If the towel is not absorbent, the drying task becomes frustrating and takes much longer.

I like the Now Designs towel, particularly their "Ripple" towels. I have been buying them for about 20 years, and can find nothing I like better. There was a year or two when the Ripple towels switched from being made in Turkey to being made in China, and the quality suffered, but the company has switched back to Turkey.

The Ripple towels come in many colors. They also come in two sizes. The larger size is perfect to dry pots and pans; the smaller size is better for glassware. Now Designs calls the larger size the "Towel", vs. the smaller size called the "Dishcloth".

Now Designs Ripple Towel 18 x 28 (set of 2)

Now Designs Ripple Dishcloth 13 x 13 (set of 4)

Also Ritz Royale Towels

I run my dishwasher at night and empty it first thing in the morning. I'm not creating as many dirty dishes as you, I don't think. If I have items I want to hand wash, lunch stuff say, that I need for the next day and I don't have enough to run the dishwasher, I wash them in the evening and leave them until the morning, when I do the same as the dishwasher; put everything away while waiting for the kettle to boil. If I'm using the mixer or baking throughout the day, I wash as I go and let everything drain and while I'm waiting for the timer, I dry and put away the dishes. Unless I'm feeling lazy, and then they can wait. I have had no issues with putting my pots and pans in the DW, or knives, but like others, I don't put my enameled cast iron in there, and certain knives, I do hand wash.

Some guys say you can clean your Glock in a dishwasher.

I used to put the kid's plastic toys in the DW. Recently, we had a friend with a little kid for dinner - I put a bunch of legos through as they had been sitting in a bag for years. I put my husband's ball caps on the top shelf and run with vinegar but no soap. I put all the refrigerator door shelfs a few times a year. Once/twice a year, I take off all the plastic switch plates and run them through.

We always throw the sponge and scrubbers in there.

Lol Joseph! And the author is a girl because, of COURSE a girl would think to use a dishwasher to clean a glock!!!

Looks like my kitchen after we've been cooking too (need to go watch the chocolate chip cookie makings, alas!). Other than "put in dishwasher"--which, like you, I don't because those metal bowls & pots & pans would take the whole thing up--seriously doubt that's what they used when testing efficiency!--my only suggestion is alternative drying placements. I find if they're all piled together like that, especially on towel/microfiber mat, they like to stay wet. I've got one of those stainless steel shelves over the range, and I'll tell you, if you put a bowl/pan up there, it's dry 1000x faster (especially if you're baking cookies under it!). On the stove works OK too (if clean, mine's gas).

Oh, and MY kitchenaid said I couldn't put the standard blender thingy in too (white thing)--how did I find out? It got damaged & I had to replace. So, yeah, I hand-wash the replacement...

A few thoughts-

-If your kiddo is big enough to help bake, he's probably big enough to dry dishes. And also at least unload the DW utensil caddy- which is also a great "sorting" activity for preschoolers . (I get my kids to wash their hands before drying or unloading).

- I can probably count on one hand the items I don't run thru the DW. Everything goes in! It is not uncommon for me to run my DW three times in a day. My only complaint is that the new DW cycles are so slow.

- I do put my knives and kitchen aid items in DW. I acknowledge that this will somewhat shorten their lifespan. My lifespan should not be used up by hand washing all the time ;)

- if an especially contagious illness hits your home, such as strep or stomach virus, DO consider running items thru DW to help reduce germ spreading.

What is the deal with knives in the DW? I've heard different things: the heat damages the blades or handles, or they get knocked around and the blades get dinged. Which is it? My wood handled spreaders, yes, the wood eventually loses its finish and one is separating, but I've had them for 25 years so if I need to replace them, it's not a big deal (and I did replace one with a plastic-handled Zyliss, which I like better anyway, easier to hold)

I clean with my Glock: hey, you, wash the dishes or else!

My daughter recently put my wooden spoon in the dishwasher after a cookie decorating session with her friends. I told her that she needed to be careful...destroy Mom's candy making equipment and there won't be any more Christmas toffee!

It's funny how we're all different. I guess I'm lazy because I like my kitchen counters clear and clean but I don't particularly like to work hard at it. I like what providencesparrow said "My lifespan should not be used up by hand washing all the time ;)".

I've been married 33.5 years and all my knives and wooden spoons were wedding gifts. My KA paddle is about 20 years old. All go in the DW most of the times I use them, which is almost daily, and all are just fine.

Here's an article comparing hand washing vs. DW.. Meganmca, you're right in that they used more dishes than mixing bowls (8 place settings and 6 serving pieces. But when I do larger bowls, I also have a lot of smaller items in the top shelf and then utensils in the trays for them so it's not like I'm just doing 3-5 mixing bowls and that's it. The article says DW's use between 4-6 gallons of water depending on model and Energy Star rating.

I toyed with the idea of washing that many items by hand the most efficient way I can think of and trying to measure the water I used by putting the stopper in on the rinse side to measure how much water I used while rinsing and by pre-measuring water for washing but I've never gotten around to it.

I don't put my good working knives in the DW or tupperware but just about everything else. but I still have to hand wash some stuff as my DW gets full fast. I hate to wash plates & glasses so they are the first things that go into the DW. No wood stuff in DW either. I have a drainboard with my sink & don't have a problem letting things air dry at night. If I have company coming then I put everything away….no problem.

I would consider getting a couple of those folding dish drying racks and pulling one or two out when you have a volume of large items that don't belong or cannot fit in the dishwasher. Having the bowls and pans not stacked directly on one another on a flat grate would shorten the air drying time, and you could whip the the folded racks back into the cabinet after.

SW suggested and I agree that if you have the real estate in your remodel, 2 dishwashers is the way to go. If you think about it,a dishwasher with plumbing is probably cheaper or equal to having a cabinet in that space with drawer pullouts, and you could use it for your pots and delicates only on an unheated or shortened cycle (or just a s a drying rack if you so desire, just run water through once every few weeks to keep everything primed). If you run it once a night you could even use one side to store clean pots and add dirty ones to the other side, doesn't matter if the clean ones get cleaned again.

I'd always wanted 2 dishwashers so that I could just take the dishes out of the clean and, after use, put them into the dirty one but my kitchen has never had the space for that. Pots and pans could be another use for two dishwashers.

We put runnels on the counter near the sink. That got rid of the ugly tray that went under the drying rack. I purchased a stainless steel drying rack that I first started putting in the sink cabinet when finished putting away the dishes. Now I just keep it out all the time as I prefer letting the dishes dry on their own and it always seems to have dishes in it or gets used for fruits that have been recently purchased and rinsed off.

The big thing was adding the runnels and getting rid of the tray that always looked bad with calcified water that never properly drained from it. Our counters generally look pretty cluttered unless we're entertaining but such is life.

I don't but good and/sharp knives in DW. Not good for steel and the blades can slice/damage the coating on the DW racks.

We just swapped out an old (still running) fast DW for a modern, slow one. I tend to wash large bowls, cast iron, pots, and Le Creuset by hand and let air dry, hand dry, sometimes put them next to or onto the woodstove.

After pans have drained even a bit, they are easy to quickly dry w a cotton towel. Sometimes I set them atop the stove if the oven is on.

Pipied, those ss bowls won't dry very well in that position. IDEA: if they have loops or rings, temporarily hang them from under-counter cup hooks. You can set up a small fan or a ceramic heater on low. But really, buy a dozen quality cotton dish towels and bite the bullet. Play a mental game, or chat with your young helper for the five minutes or less in which you'll be drying.

I can think of some Rube Goldberg systems if you really can't hand dry, but want that stuff of the counter....

1. Hang each item from your clothes line after you've bought some steel line and marine snaps.

2. Have a custom made wooden rack made up with large castors. Place the pots, pans, bowls on this. Wheel it into a room where you've set up a huge industrial fan...

We are heavy hand washers here. Even with a family of 4, I have to remember to use the dishwasher once a week (or it gets a slight odor). We use the dishwasher for plates, glasses, some mugs, and silverware (except sharp knives). Never do we put plastic, pots & pans, or Kitchenaid parts in the dishwasher.

We recently upgraded from Formica and a double bowl sink to quartzite counters and a single basin Kohler apron front sink. I normally keep a small dish drainer in one half of the sink, and I recently bought a drying mat to put on the counter for excess items. The mat easily folds up; it goes under the sink when not needed. With our new counters, I want to keep the kitchen looking nice, so we try to put away the dishes as soon as they dry. Sometimes we hand dry a little, but normally items just air dry. With pots and pans, we set them on the stove burners to finish drying. We do "clean as we go" as much as possible. We are all used to this routine, and it works for our family. Hard for us to change our habits despite the new counters!

I figured cold turkey would be best. Actually, more like cool turkey. I put the dish rack away yesterday.

Though I did put that mesh Bed Bath & Beyond mat in its place. It automatically opened up the space! I wonder if having that mat there will encourage me to dry larger items right away.

@linus2003 -- I have the All-Clad LTD set, which has a non-stick or hard-anodized material on the outside of the pots, which serve no purpose other than looks. And prevented me from putting in the dishwasher all these years.

Feel the freedom! Down with the Tyranny of Not Dishwasher Safe!

I ditched the rack years ago and now use drying mats.

Okay, confession: I do have a drying rack and it's out all the time. But. It's 6" wide and suspends over the sink, leaving the bottom of the sink clear. When I empty the DW the Ziplok that didn't dry in the crevices goes in there, and when I handwash the pan goes in there until I dry it. So you barely see it or the contents.

I'm in the everything-in camp. Except for a couple of knives which DH forbids dishwashing (wood handles), if it fits and the door closes, it goes in. Although I did recently learn that the stainless, insulated mugs, beer coozies, etc., should be hand washed. I thought it was because they accumulate water between the walls. Actually, I was told (and am willing to believe) that the temperature variation will eventually destroy the insulation. We only have a couple of insulated travel mugs, so hand washing is not a big deal.

I've actually never had a drying rack, my grandmother didn't either.

Growing up, my mom always had a drying rack that permanently lived in the bottom of the left side of the sink. When my grandfather got Alzhiemers and my parents moved in to care for him, my mom was complaining about how he didn't even have a drying rack!!! I looked at her and said, yeah, I don't either, nor do any of my friends.

Then she bought one but my grandad kept moving it which angered her and I had to remind her once again, that they NEVER had one so he is not used to seeing it and it confuses him.

Even before the advent of the dishwasher, my grandmother would immediately dry and put them up. She wasn't a member of the clean counters club as she did have coffee maker, cookie jar, canisters, napkin holder, etc on her counters but you better believe she was a member of the clean sink club!! That woman's house was NEVER dirty and that includes dishes.

I have 2 dishwashers and my kitchen tools range from very nice to very cheap. I put EVERYTHING in the DW. I purposely buy glass "tupperware" and try to put plastic items on the top. so far so good.