1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,639 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Vogelbomb, and this is another classic episode of 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: the podcast. In this one, we dig into what science 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: has to say about how to load a dishwasher. Not 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: that we can tell you what to do. We would 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: never presume. Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and look, 7 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: I'm not here to start any fights among your family. 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: Many people have very strong ideas about how to best 9 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: tetris a load of dishes into a dishwasher, but I 10 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 1: am here to give you some scientific advice because if 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:40,279 Speaker 1: the dishes are not coming out of your dishwasher as 12 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: clean as you'd like, you might be tempted to blame 13 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: the appliance or you're a brand of detergent, but the 14 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:47,879 Speaker 1: problem might just be what and how you're stacking in 15 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: the machine. When you're loading in, it's first important to 16 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: consider what's dishwasher safe and what isn't. Some of the 17 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: items on the no fly list are fairly obvious. A 18 00:00:57,240 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: cast iron will rest and lose seasoning if placed in 19 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: a machine. A fine china and crystal can't handle the 20 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: intense heat, but you should also leave out insulated travel mugs, 21 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: the high heat of the machine can ruin the vacuum 22 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: seal and reduce the mug's ability to retain heat. Aluminum 23 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:13,680 Speaker 1: pots are very prone to scratching and can develop a 24 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:15,840 Speaker 1: dull finish or turn a blackish color in the wash, 25 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: and wooden spoons or cutting boards can crack from the 26 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:22,479 Speaker 1: heat and humidity, allowing germs to set up shop. Also, 27 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: although most nonstick pans on the market today are dishwasher safe, 28 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: check the washing instructions first and limit dishwasher time. Even 29 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: if it is allowed. Frequent high temperature washes can cause 30 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: the coating to wear off. Secondly, either rinse all of 31 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: your dishes before stacking them or none at all. Most 32 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: modern dishwashers come with a sensor that evaluates the water 33 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 1: to determine how long the cycle should be and how 34 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: much water is necessary to produce a thorough clean. During 35 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: an initial rinse cycle, it'll measure how cloudy the water 36 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: is and run more or less thorough wash cycles Accordingly, 37 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: if only some of your dishes are rinsed, it won't 38 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: be able to properly evaluate how to run its wash cycle. 39 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: A plus on the side of not hand rinsing first 40 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: at all. The dish detergent you use likely has compounds 41 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: in it that are specifically designed to break up food particles. Basically, 42 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: the companies that make those detergents assume you won't pre wash. 43 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: If you do, those compounds may leave a powdery residue 44 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: on your dishes. Because of that, we'd recommend that users 45 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: of modern dishwashers and commercial detergents scrape off chunks or 46 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: anything that might clog the machine, but not be fussed 47 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,679 Speaker 1: about rinsing sauces or crumbs. A Third, you want to 48 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: fill the machine to your best advantage, load the dishes 49 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: to face the center of the machine. The spray arms 50 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: sprays out in a circular motion, so plates that aren't 51 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,840 Speaker 1: facing the center will get a heavy cleaning on the 52 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: wrong side. Also, because the heating unit is located on 53 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,640 Speaker 1: the bottom of most machines, heat sensitive plastics should go 54 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: on the top rack to avoid risk of melting. Forks 55 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,520 Speaker 1: and spoons should face up to minimize the risk of 56 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: nesting inside a packed utensil basket. This also keeps the 57 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 1: basket from getting in the way of the wash, making 58 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: sure the head of the utensils gets nice and clean. 59 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: If you have a ton of silverware to wash, try 60 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 1: to spread out similar pieces to avoid nesting, or alternate 61 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,920 Speaker 1: them head down head up along the same lines. Resist 62 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,079 Speaker 1: the urge to overload the dishwasher. In general, if one 63 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: item is completely blocking another, neither will get truly clean. Finally, 64 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: you should run occasional maintenance on your machine. Your dishwasher 65 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: likely has a filter that needs to be removed and 66 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,799 Speaker 1: cleaned out on occasion. Most soils like saucer crumbs will 67 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:33,280 Speaker 1: slip right through the filter, but any aerrant chunks of 68 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: food will get caught and clog it up. To clean, 69 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 1: simply remove and rinse with a little bit of dish soap. 70 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 1: Be sure to rinse it completely or it will cause 71 00:03:40,920 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: sudzing during the next cycle. Also, lime scale, especially in 72 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,400 Speaker 1: areas with hard water and grease, can build up in 73 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: these spray arms and filter over time. To prevent any 74 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: problems from escalating, it's a good idea to clean your 75 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: machine about once a month. There are dishwasher specific cleansers 76 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,360 Speaker 1: on the market, or you can google to learn how 77 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:05,840 Speaker 1: to run a cleansing cycle with vinegar. Today's episode is 78 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: based on the article What's the best way to load 79 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: a Dishwasher, unhostuffworks dot Com written by Leah Hoyt. Brain 80 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with howstuffwork dot 81 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts 82 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 83 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.