My countertop dishwasher died in 2012 and I really missed it. Since then, I’ve been dreaming of replacing it with an 18″ portable model, but they are rare and the few times I’ve seen a used one at a reasonable price, I didn’t have the money for it. I decided that I was getting a dishwasher again this summer even if I had to pay full price.
It surprises me the number of people who say to me, “Dishwasher?! You’re one person! Stop being so lazy!” I don’t get this attitude. No one said that when I bought a washing machine and stopped washing my clothes by hand! The people who say this tend to fit into two categories that sometimes overlap: people who don’t do much cooking and people who have never been single and responsible for the entirety of running a household.
Yes, it takes about 20 minutes to do the dishes each day. That’s over two hours a week. I have to make a meal plan, drive to the store, buy the food, and prepare the food. I have to do the laundry. I have to clean the house. I have to mow the grass. I have to do all the repairs on my home. Oh, and I also run a business, so I not only work, but I also have to do all the admin stuff related to running a business. My life is very full. Don’t tell me I don’t need a machine that can save me more than two hours a week of a chore I despise. That’s 20 minutes I can go walk around the neighbourhood, watch an episode of a sitcom, or read a chapter of a book.
Every time I get a dishwasher, it’s a keystone moment. My kitchen stays neater and then the rest of the housekeeping seems more manageable. My budget also improves because I no longer find myself avoiding cooking marathons because I don’t feel like dealing with the cleanup. I need a dishwasher a lot more than I need a washing machine since, for some unfathomable reason, I actually enjoy doing laundry by hand!
So with that out of the way, I found the dishwasher I wanted on Kijiji for $450. Two hiccups, I couldn’t afford $450 and it was in Swift Current, six hours away round trip. I decided to keep an eye on the ad since I could afford $450 later this summer. A new one would be about $650, so $450 would be a really good deal and so I expected the dishwasher to go fast. It didn’t and I saw the price drop to $350 and then $250 in a couple of weeks!
I could do $250 by borrowing from July’s budget, so I emailed the person and said that I’d be willing to pay $200 since I’d have to use up so much gas to get it. I said that I understood if she wanted to wait for a better offer and to keep my contact information. She emailed back to say that she was happy to get an offer and her dad could meet me much closer than Swift Current (Lafleche) so that she could get the full $250. Perfect!
She had bought the dishwasher for an apartment and then had a chance to get into a house, so it is barely used! It’s a GE model, which is better quality than the Danby I was eying.
It just fits in the lounge between the loft ladder and the counter and gives me the extra bit of counterspace I wanted for my tortilla press and food processor. I have just enough floor space to easily roll it to the sink. I had originally planned to try to run it off the garden hose so I wouldn’t have to move it, but the manual says that it really does need hot water to run properly, so I’m going to run it off the sink after all. The seller thought to include the adapter I need to hook up the hose to the sink.
I ran a test load and was quite pleased. The dishes, pots, and cutlery came out clean, but everything that had sticky residue on it (ie. peanut buttery food processor parts) didn’t get cleaned at all. I know this is likely a water pressure issue in that I have none when hooked up to city water, as I was for the test.
I am going to do another test off the holding tank, just to see if that improves things. I don’t want to make a habit of it because I doubt it’s good for my water pump to run that long. This could end up being good motivation to MacGyver myself a Mexican-style tinaco system to accumulate water and then gravity feed it into the RV! I just can’t imagine where I could install such a tank since I wouldn’t want that weight on my RV roof! So in the meantime, I’ll make sure to give the peanut buttery stuff an extra rinse. 🙂
I’m so happy with my new purchase! It really feels like it was meant to be… and I will miss it this winter in Mexico. One more reason why I’ll be happy to get home in the spring. 😀
Oh, and it’s HEAVY. There is literally a huge cement slab installed into the bottom of it! Huh?! It’s impossible for two people to get something like this into the RV, so I used my brain and MacGyvered myself a series of ramps to get it out of the truck and into the house!
Great purchase! When I moved in with my BF (now husband), the very first thing I purchased was a dishwasher. And I was like, if we break up ever I’m taking that dishwasher with me lol. I have so many clothes I could go a month without doing laundry. So I’m like you, a dishwasher has priority over a washing machine any day! Which detergent are you using? Could that be why the peanut butter didn’t come off?
It’s probably the water pressure.
Yay, another person who is pro-dishwasher!
I just bought the cheapest box of detergent there is, store brand. I really have a hard time believing that a more expensive product would work better. I did forget to pick up some rinse stuff and will get some. Our water is really hard, so I had spots on everything.
The heavy blocks are probably removable. They are there so when the door is open, it doesn’t tip over. Installed ones are kept in place by screws into the counter.
Having just gotten a new one with samples, the new pod detergents do a much better job than the old cheap detergents. But then the new dishwasher is a lot better than the old 30 year old one ever was and I didn’t get a fancy one. They clean best with very hot water and good water pressure. I have hot water but so so pressure.
Mary, that’s got to be it! Thank you!
I will have to do a comparison test with the pods and see if they do make a difference.
We always run out of silverware long before the dishwasher is ready to start so I end up having to wash the silverware by hand anyway. And while I have the sink full of hot water I wash the pots and pans.
One of the many reasons a smaller dishwasher is perfect for me. I run out of space in it for everything quickly! 😀
Congratulations!
Thanks, Nancy!
I’m not a brand loyal person. I try everything out from cheap to expensive. I have to say when it comes to dishwashing detergents, never ever go powdered. It tends to build up after time, damaging the machine, especially if your water is not hot enough to dissolve it. I also find powered detergents leave spots. I do like the liquid pods. Most brands are good. I do find them pricey.
I usually buy my detergent at Costco, the store brand, Kirkland. Two large (really large) bottles for about 8-10 bucks for both of them. It is a liquid detergent. I don’t know if you have a Costco around there.
Costco is too far away to justify a membership. I’ll look for a bottle of detergent locally. Didn’t realise you could get the liquid stuff for a dishwasher!
We use the pods as well. I watch for sales and stock up. I also think they do a better job.
I don’t know if pods will work in my machine in that I imagine I would need a smaller portion since it’s not a full sized machine. Thoughts?
I think if they fit in the thing you put your soap in, they will work. I think I have only seen the one size. If your friends use them, borrow one and try it.
The size probably doesn’t matter much. The less perfect your setup for the dishwasher, the more the newer detergent technology will help you. As for the liquids, they perform about as well as the old powders but leave less residue. You can also use white vinegar in the rinse agent to nearly the same result. The pods have the rinse agent in them so you aren’t supposed to need it. I can’t test that yet because I have yet to run out of the free bottle.
As for the judgements that you don’t need one: this is your life, your money, your priorities, and your decision. No one else’s opinion matters. It can be helpful to others as to your reasons but, really, if you want it, go for it.
Less residue sounds good and a plus for liquids. I’ll see if I can get some pods as a sample. I wondered about using vinegar as a rinse agent…
I know that no one else’s opinion matters. I just find that there are a lot of people out there who only see the world their way and I like to demonstrate how things might be different for someone else. Also, if a single person RVer is debating getting a dishwasher, my thoughts could help them make the decision.
I think what I have put in bold is your justification for the dishwasher forget about saving time as the justification. We can always find time to do those things that we enjoy, and can ‘make’ time for those things that must be done but there is NEVER any time to do those things that we despise.
“…save me more than two hours a week of a chore I despise. “
Yes, well, washing dishes is one of those things you HAVE to do, so it always happens and so the time always materializes. So saving the time is a perfectly valid justification for the purchase.
I have to say I do not mind washing dishes when we are in the motorhome. There are never that many and it is never more than a five or ten minute job. I do them after every meal. Back in the old pre-dishwasher days at home dishes used to pile up in the sink and then it became a real chore.
I think it depends on how much you cook and what you’re cooking. A normal meal for me has me pulling out nearly all my pots and pans, mixing bowls, four or five cooking utensils, several knives, etc. I’m not just reheating stuff. Really, it’s lovely to know that I can now turn the machine on and go do something more pleasurable for 20 minutes!
We seldom have more than two plates, cutlery and one or two pots. Different cooking habits for sure. A motorhome dishwasher would never get used, your case is different.
If I had just a few things at the end of the day, I’d also wash by hand rather than accumulate in the dishwasher. But I did a load yesterday and I’m having to run it again this morning!
We’ve seen Croft wash dishes many times while in their motorhome. Makes a great time for conversation. Norma can sit there and chat, Croft listens in and adds a comment now and then. You’re a good dishwasher Croft.
I don’t mind washing dishes in that scenario. I’m using the dishwasher when I visit my mother (she doesn’t put everything in her machine). I catch up with whomever is in the kitchen while I’m doing it. I really don’t mind because I didn’t have to meal plan, shop, and then prepare the meal!
Growing up, I did nearly 100% of the meal planning, shopping, and cooking at my dad’s and he and my sister did nearly 100% of the clean up, a perfect arrangement! 🙂
Why thanks Chris! I actually am a good dishwasher!
A dishwasher, how nice! They are necessary in a kitchen although I have lived without one and when I do my husband “drys” and that is a big help.
It’s lovely! I ran a load with last night’s and this morning’s dishes while I worked and when it was time for lunch, I was able to do something other than wash dishes! 😀
Pod recommendation: Cascade Complete
(if you have them there)
Thanks for the rec! I know we can get Cascade products here. I’ll see if I can get a sample!
In my whole life I’ve never had a dishwasher. All my other nine siblings, multitude of nieces and nephews and their kids all have dishwashers. No complaint on my part, I just don’t get the concept. Washing clothes by hand though is a chore, especially jeans, sheets and blankets and I did that for quite a few years here in Mexico before we got a washing machine.