To Wash or Rinse? That Is the Question

Rinse (sometimes). . . that is why I have a dishwasher - LOL!
My MIL does the same thing. I think it depends on the kind of dishwasher you have. we used to have a horrible DW with no top rinse arm and all the particles ended up in the bottom (outside part) of the glasses. I rinsed a lot more before we got a new dw a few years ago:)

I usually just rinse it and then put it into the dishwasher. If there is something sticky or caked on, then I will scrub it first and then put it in the dishwasher

I rinse the easy stuff, presoak the harder stuff, then throw it all in there! My MIL washes everything first; I don't get the logic behind that. If something comes out still dirty, it goes in for round 2!!

Neither unless they're really nasty. Usually, I just scrape them and load them. Anything that doesn't get completely clean, I just leave in there for the next load.

She might as well unplug her dishwasher and just do them all by hand.
I scrap off the worst and let the dishwasher do it's job.

I think she needs a better dishwasher.

:(

If I wanted to wash my dishes first I would not have gotten a dishwasher. That said, I rinse the obvious: ketchup, mashed potatoes. I scrap the leftovers down the disposal and soak really nasty pots if needed. However everything else goes straight in.

Usually just scrape. We have a new dishwasher and it says to just scrape the food off and the dishwasher will do the rest. Colossal waste of water to wash each item before putting it in. What's the point of that.

I bought a really good dishwasher 3 or 4 years ago. It has three wash types: Economy, normal, pots and pans. I use the economy almost all the time and I turn off the "heated dry". We washed by hand for 3 decades and then let the dishes dry in a dish drainer, so why spend the electricity for something the air will take care of for free.

I've learned what "crusty food" the dishwasher won't wash off. I put those dishes in the sink and fill the sink with water and let the water soak the "crust" soft. Then the dishwasher will take care it. If I happen to burn something on, I fill the pot with water and put it on the stove to boil. Then I scrub the burnt off. It comes off easier that way. But I don't wash the pot and then wash it again in the dishwasher. What a waste of water and money!

If you have a tight budget, worry about money, and wash your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher to wash, you are literally throwing money down the sink.

Good luck to you and yours.

Nothing! My dishwasher has a disposal feature, so I just scrape off the big chunks. To me, having to wash or rinse something before putting it in the dishwasher seems kind of pointless.

rinse the really yucky dishes....& that's it.

Our appliance elf (retired guy with over 30 yrs experience from a high end appliance store) told us that the detergent HAS to have something to work on. So HIS answer is : Neither.
He suggests scraping and not even rinsing.

No way would I wash everything first! Who has time for that?

I rinse, and fairly well. I have been told you shouldn't have to even rinse well prior to dishwashing, but that has not proven true, at least at our house!

if you are going to wash, why not just put it in a strainer. why wash and then turn around and rewash in the dishwasher? i don't use my dishwasher because i wash by hand, but when i occassionally do use it, i just rinse. i'm not going to do double duty.

Neither, unless I think something is really stuck on, or could benefit from pre-moistening...mostly I just scrape and put them in.

depends on how good your dishwasher is. I used to scrub stuff off, with a little rinse. Some soap if it needed it.

Now I don't have a dishwasher, so I have to wash everything.

my MIL washes everything spotless and then puts it in the dishwasher to "sterilize" everything.

If she washed it why would she put it in the dishwasher, that makes no sense. I just rinse and use a little scrubby to get the hard stuff off.
I dont have a dishwasher currently, I cant imagine washing and then loading the dishwasher on top of it. I always hated unloading the dishwasher.
I think it's easier to do them by hand and you tend not to have as many dirty dishes because you have to keep up with them.

Well, in my personal opinion, dishwashers are for disinfecting, NOT washing. I rinse every dish clean with the hottest water possible (and scrub stuck-on food) without soap, and then I place it in the dishwasher. I do not allow dishes with any food on them whatsoever to go in the dishwasher. If little pieces of food accumulate at the bottom of the dishwasher, you will eventually have an issue, and disgusting bacteria can accumulate inside your dishwasher.

I also use the dishwasher to disinfect things like sponges/scrubbies, etc. And when I had babies, bottle scrubbers and pacifiers.

I see the ads announce no pre-rinsing is necessary for their dishwashers, but my friends tell me 't'ain't so. They say some work is necessary - rinsing (if you can do it fast enough) or pre-washing.

I haven't had a dishwashing machine for decades. My dishwasher is me - or anybody else I can get to do it.

LOL, my mother in law fills a sink with hot soapy water, scrubs her dishes and rinses them. She puts them in a dish rack on the counter. Then she loads the dishwasher and washes them on the longest full scrubber cycle it has! wierd..
I scrape or rinse dishes. I do let them soak in the sink sometimes if I left them sitting too long and stuff is caked on and dried. I run the dishwasher with soap in the closed section so they get rinsed in the first wash cycle, and then rinsed in the rinse cycle and then washed in the 2nd wash cycle and then rinsed for the last time.I just dont see the need for washing twice in the dishwasher so I certainly wouldnt see a need to hand wash first. BUT when my husband does the dishes, he does like his M. and fills the sink with soapy water and washes them, rinses them and loads the dishwasher an runs it on both wash cycles. Im not going to complain..after all HE DID THE DISHES!

I rinse or scrub my dishes if need be. My husband didn't for the longest time and still doesn't sometimes. I hate finding a dish in the dishwasher with crusty stuff on it! Uggh.

But I did grow up "washing" dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I guess my mom just never trusted the dishwasher.

Oh and one time my husband and I went shopping for a new dishwasher and the salesman there said that only the very expensive dishwashers were actually capable of getting rid the nasty food crumbs. He said, otherwise people are just rewashing their food in crumbs and filth if it does not have a built in garbage disposal or something of that sort. Not sure how right he was, but that is why I'm conscious to get food crusties off my dishes before putting them in there.

neither and they come out clean. and those that may not (if that ever happens) just wash those after the wash that way you only wash those that need it twice and not all of them....it wastes water AND time.

scrape and load-no rinsing-dishes get perfectly clean

I scrub and rinse without soap before loading. We don't have a garbage disposal, so I try to avoid any food residue in the dishwasher.

I rinse off the heavy foods, but I know that there are people out there who have dishwasher's that don't do their job and need to wash before washing. I think I would be getting rid of that type of dishwasher since it defeats the purpose of what it should be doing.