Handles down.

My preference would be to put them in handles up (our utensil basket is on the bottom rack of our dishwasher), so that when they are grabbed to be removed, they are grabbed by the handles.

HOWEVER, because the basket is on the bottom, if the utensils are handles up, the business end of the utensil is at the bottom of the dishwasher. I think they get more soap/water action on the top end, which would be the handles, so Hubs and I both put them in with the handles down.

Handles down

My flatware fits my utensil holders in the bottom rack of my dishwasher....table and butter knives, handles up and blade down. Reversing them doesn't work, they don't fit and my older KA dishwasher does not have the top third rack. Dinner and salad forks, teaspoons and soup spoons are business end up and handles down. I wash my hands before unloading the dishwasher, always have. That's not recent ;0)

Handles down so I can tell if it’s a spoon or a fork when I am putting them away.

Knives: handles up. All else: handles down.

Handles up. Not only less chance of getting hurt but why touch them with perhaps dirty hands.

Handles up. I have no qualms about touching my own utensils,for heavens sake. But I noticed my dishwasher cleans them better that way,so that is why handles go up.

from all that I've read about loading dishwashers properly, they should be both up and down so utensils don't stick together and can get washed properly.

Get a new dishwasher with a silverware tray. Problem solved!

I load spoons and butter knives handles down, but forks and sharp knives go handles up. Nothing sharp should be pointed up - a woman in England died when she fell on her dishwasher that had knives pointed up.

By utensils, I presume you mean flatware/eating utensils ?

Here's my take - many dishwashers do a poor job of washing flatware. You can help by rinsing/wiping off food before you load the dishwasher.

Dishwashers aren't magic chambers - items get washed by being exposed to water spray. Make sure items aren't blocked or nested together (spoons want to do that especially). Put the dirty part closest to where the water spray is - meaning spoons and knives with handles up. You'd want to do that with forks too except you don't want the tines passing through the bottom of the basket, if that's the kind you have.

Cooking utensils and kitchen knives usually do better being washed by hand.

I have two dishwashers with silverware trays at the top. The top quality one has a rotating spray arm next to the flatware and it washes them well. A lower quality GE one has just a spray nozzle below the tray and it's worthless. Fortunately the GE also has a standard basket and we use that.

I do handles up because of the safety factor.

Handles down. I mix knives,forks and spoons to avoid nesting.

Handles down; I most often do a top rack only wash, and the basket is in the top rack. I noticed that there was more problem with insufficient cleaning with the handles up. I use the grid to separate them, no nesting.

When I am emptying the basket I grasp the fork or whatever below the head of the utensil - where the handle meets it

Handles up. Each type has it's own bin, so I know what I'm grabbing.

We have the door utensil rack so it’s flat and skinny compared to the type that stands in the bottom rack. I went to grab something out of the rack and I agree you can’t tell what’s what..I’ll stick with handles down.

Handles down. Hands are washed before I remove anything anyway.

Handles down. Knives never go in the dishwasher. When I unload my hands are clean and I can grab below to the handles.

My utensils go in a basket that sits on the lower rack. Sharp knives point down, forks spoons and butter knives point up. To unload, I pull the basket out and dump it on a fresh kitchen towel on the counter. Dry as necessary and put away from there.

Hands are always clean when working in kitchen. Without thinking about it, I always put utensils away by their handle, not their eating end. Probably because that's the way my mom taught me ages ago.

Handles up for knives. Tines up for forks. I mix up the spoons so they don’t nest, but mostly spoon side up. I always wash kitchen knives and cookware by hand.

I never put sharp knives in the dishwasher. Not good for them. Flatware goes handles down but my basket is removable and it opens out so you can take them out easily. Larger utensils are supposed to go in a special basket on the door but I put them on the top with the glassware and cups-just scatter them about when I don't wash by hand. With just two of us we don't run the dishwasher as often as most do so I do wash a lot by hand on a daily basis.

My silverware rack is on the door and I pull it out to empty it and the front panel opens so you can grab up or down handles! Nice feature.

Handles up as instructed by the manual. I reached in once and someone had put knives in handle down and I got a cut. I mix up the Utensils.

I too mix up the utensils so that they get washed properly by not being too close to each other. Definitely knives go handles up and preferably in a spot by themselves so they are easily spotted when emptying the dw.

I've read to mix up your utensils so they don't rest/stack on each other for getter cleaning and then I've read to "group" them together for faster/easier put away since they are grouped together...I mix mine so they don't stack.

Lay flat, 3rd level flatware rack, best clean outside of hand washing.

When I used a basket, fork and knife handles up, others down. Now I have a 3rd rack.

Handles down. I like to see what I'm grabbing. It's a rare day that I pull an eating utensil out of the dishwasher and find that it's not clean.

Ladles, spatulas and tongs lay flat in the top rack with the drinking glasses. Kitchen knives are washed by hand.

Handles down, except knives.

Handles down, sharp paring knife handles up for safety (mine and the dogs). Those were the loading instructions, plus I feel that gives working ends better exposure to soap and water pressure. No nesting. Basket on door removes and flips open to expose entire utensils. Kitchen knives are always washed by hand.

I have a 3rd tier cutlery rack, and the pieces are placed on their sides, each separated by slots. When we first got this dishwasher, I thought the cutlery rack would be a pain in the neck, having to gather them up from a horizontal position when putting them away. But when you are putting your soiled cutlery in the dishwasher, you can easily place them in groups of where they go in your drawers. Then it's so quick to just kind of swoop all the teaspoons up at a time and put them in your drawer, followed by the forks, etc. Now I actually find the separate rack for cutlery is my favourite thing about my dishwasher!

Handles up. Always.

Amicus - I agree, I can empty a full 3rd drawer of flatware in a four to five handfuls. No sorting needed.

What ever your dishwasher manual says to do. Mine, handles up.

Sue