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View Full Version : Domestic Hour: Dishwasher or Hand Wash?


belloc
07-14-2005, 09:04 PM
My wife and I bought a house a few years ago with a nice little kitchen but no dishwasher. No problem, we said, we'll just get back to the basics and wash by hand. Dishwashers are for yuppy suckers, we thought.

Fast forward two years, and we're tired of washing by hand. It gets really bad when we have parties and other big dish-consuming events, which is fairly often. Even just our regular family dishes (we have kids) take a toll if we don't stay on top of it.

However, we have no under-counter room for a dishwasher to be installed. It would take a fairly serious kitchen remodel to make room for one. We have a little bit of space around the corner in the laundry room for a portable to be installed, but even there it would cramp things. And we think it would be a pain to roll it out, hook it up, and run the dishes overnight, then roll it back.

How 'bout it OOT? Should we just suck it up and keep doing dishes by hand until we remodel? Or is a portable worth the hassle? Is water usage an issue in the decision?

IronDragon1
07-14-2005, 09:25 PM
Don't be lazy.

RacersEdge
07-14-2005, 09:41 PM
2 words: paper plates

astroglide
07-14-2005, 09:49 PM
why would it take a serious remodel? you just need to rip out 30" of floor cabinets.

belloc
07-14-2005, 10:06 PM
[ QUOTE ]
why would it take a serious remodel? you just need to rip out 30" of floor cabinets.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is very little counter space in this kitchen, and what there is, is at a nonstandard height. I think the original owners were midgets or something. Most of the cabinet space is at table-height rather than counter-height. It would all have to come out, thus serious remodel.

belloc
07-14-2005, 10:07 PM
[ QUOTE ]
2 words: paper plates

[/ QUOTE ]

We're singlehandedly killing off rainforests in South America with all the paper products we already use.

belloc
07-14-2005, 10:08 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Don't be lazy.

[/ QUOTE ]

With three kids, at the end of the day, dishes are about 26th on the list of things we want to do. The top 25 have to do with sleeping. Lazy my ass. You haven't worked until you've had kids.

Nottom
07-14-2005, 10:13 PM
My kitchen is tiny, and we still found room for a dishwasher without any remodeling. Dishes arent that bad if it just 2 or 3 of you, but can easily get out of control if you get a little lazy just one time after a meal. I don't think the portable would be as bad as you think, but if you are planning on remodelling in the foreseable future it might not be worth it.

Of course if you have kids, you can just make them do the dishes if they are old enough :P

belloc
07-14-2005, 10:27 PM
[ QUOTE ]
My kitchen is tiny, and we still found room for a dishwasher without any remodeling.

[/ QUOTE ]

Here's a link to a picture (http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/9759/bellockitchen0cp.jpg) of the kitchen from a year ago while we were doing some painting and other minor remodeling. Clearly, no room for a dishwasher. That counter in the foreground is nonstandard--too short for a dishwasher to fit under.

Brainwalter
07-14-2005, 10:41 PM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2 words: paper plates

[/ QUOTE ]

We're singlehandedly killing off rainforests in South America with all the paper products we already use.

[/ QUOTE ]

3 words: recycled paper plates.

MrWookie47
07-14-2005, 11:25 PM
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/06/76/38/39/0006763839601_500X500.jpg

Link. (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1819478)

I got one of those. Goes right on the counter and plugs into your sink. Inexpensive, and worth every penny. No remodel necessary.

gorie
07-15-2005, 12:04 AM
remodel and get the dishwasher. it seems like it would be worth it.

belloc
07-15-2005, 03:56 AM
You are my hero. I'll take a look.

belloc
07-15-2005, 03:58 AM
[ QUOTE ]
remodel and get the dishwasher. it seems like it would be worth it.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's on the list, right below new driveway, some work on the backyard drainage, and hardwood flooring. Homeownership is fun.

jakethebake
07-15-2005, 08:38 AM
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
2 words: paper plates

[/ QUOTE ]

We're singlehandedly killing off rainforests in South America with all the paper products we already use.

[/ QUOTE ]

We have a dishwahser and still use mostly paper plates. The paper companies are in trouble. Think about all the good you'd be doing for the economy. Think about all the poor ignorant, uneducated, unskilled, union paper workers you'd be employing. Besides paper is mostly from cheap pine trees grown in the U.S., not South American forests. And they've got genetically engineered trees that grow so fast now that they grow new ones in just a few years and cut them down again.

Zurvan
07-15-2005, 10:09 AM
Get the portable. It takes about 20 seconds to hook up, it rolls easily across the floor, and will make your life much easier. I live in an apartment, with a tiny fridge, and we just throw the dishwasher in a corner. Added bonus - more counter space.

Do it. You won't regret it. Get a full size too, not the counter top ones. Those things are useless when you have a big dinner.

Freakin
07-15-2005, 10:31 AM
A minor remodel to make that short counter taller seems fairly painless. Probably 2-3 days of work, if that. You could also use that remodel to extend the lip for the counter to make it easier to eat from. It looks like the legspace for a non-baby would be pretty small.

Freakin

Patrick del Poker Grande
07-15-2005, 11:40 AM
Wait... I thought you said you had a wife?

<font color="white"> I can't believe nobody said this yet! </font>

Freakin
07-15-2005, 12:02 PM
[ QUOTE ]
Wait... I thought you said you had a wife?

<font color="white"> I can't believe nobody said this yet! </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

vnh.

But with the nonstandard counter height, she may not fit underneath.

Freakin

astroglide
07-15-2005, 12:14 PM
how can a driveway take precedence over this? unless my driveway was a gigantic crater with stalagmites i would do the kitchen first.

belloc
07-15-2005, 08:23 PM
[ QUOTE ]
how can a driveway take precedence over this? unless my driveway was a gigantic crater with stalagmites i would do the kitchen first.

[/ QUOTE ]

The kitchen is quite serviceable and looks pretty good (that pic is from a year ago, before a paint job and some other minor work). The only issue is the lack of dishwasher.

The driveway is a crumbling asphalt mess, which keeps getting dragged into the house and trashing the carpet. Driveway comes first, and it's not close.