A Girl’s Best Friend…

…is, it turns out, her amazing new dishwasher!! When our vintage model, a KitchenAid Superba by Hobart…quite the machine in its day, my mother tells me…and indeed, I think ours had seen better days…

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gave up the ghost, I knew that ANYTHING would be a step up from washing all our dishes and utensils, pots and pans by hand. My month without a washer was helpful in demonstrating just how beneficial a real working dishwasher can be to the busy mommy of four. It was admittedly not a fun month, and I often felt as though I spent most of my waking hours in the kitchen, trying vainly to keep it somewhat tidy, while always staring at yet another stack of dirty dishes.

These past few weeks of having my new dishwasher has been a dream…I am very very grateful for this new convenience in our lives. I read a wee bit of the owner’s manual when we had the new washer installed (reading manuals is not my strong suit), enough to see that the company advises you NOT to prerinse your dishes before loading; only to scrape food from them, and place in the washer for cleaning. Never having owned a washer which would actually clean dishes that weren’t prerinsed, neither Jay nor I believed this would actually work, so we, being creatures of habit, loaded some well-rinsed dishes into the machine for its first cycle, and of course were pleased when they emerged an hour later, washed, hot and almost dry. And we were truthfully even a little surprised, especially since we couldn’t easily tell the hard-working washer was actually running….it was so quiet. (See? They have to put these nice little blue lights on the front so you can visually tell that it’s running, since you might not know otherwise.):

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We had been very used to a lot of noise coming from the dishwasher, given that our previous model pretty much made it sound like a train was crashing through the kitchen every time we ran it.

Well, about a week later we got gutsy and decided to see if the new washer actually lived up to its lofty claims. It was hard for us, but we resisted the urge to prerinse our dirty dishes. Instead we loaded the arrogant machine up with rubber scrapers caked in peanut butter, a broiler pan with crusted fish that had been cooked on at extremely high heat, a pie plate with some scattered remains of chicken pie which had hardened nicely over it, bowls covered with dried raw egg on the insides, well, you get the picture. We threw them in, poured in the scant amount of cleaner we were instructed to include, ran the dishwasher through its water-saving, whisper-quiet cycle, and were truly shocked when everything came out clean and fresh the next morning. Clean. Dry. Spotless. Not even a water spot. Wow.

Well, needless to say, I am in love. I have never owned a dishwasher like this. I honestly didn’t know such a thing even existed, much less at a price the average middle class homeowner could afford. As God is my witness, if we ever decide to move from this house, I will uninstall this precious dishwasher from its place under the countertop by myself, wrap it in a comfy blanket, and carry it on my back to our new place of residence.

Here’s a picture of my new best friend (IMHO it hardly does the wonderful machine justice, but of course after all this blathering I must include a photo):

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5 Replies to “A Girl’s Best Friend…”

  1. Coooool. We’re envious…. although at least our dishwasher still (mostly) works.

    And if you ever do move, and find that your promise is a bit too much to bear, I’ll be happy to tote the machine for you.

  2. I wonder if I could convince Brian we need a new one. Ours works but the girls (from using the door like a stool to get up on the counter 🙁 ) killed the support cable that makes the door come down nicely. You know without banging. So now it bangs down each time. I am sure I need a new one 🙂

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