EXPECT MORE FROM YOUR APPLIANCES
When I think about what I’m looking for when I’m purchasing appliances, the first thing that comes to mind is reliability. Is this toaster going to toast my artisan loaf of sourdough bread evenly and to the crustiness I desire? Is this vacuum going to pick up all the dog hair without having to go over the same spot seventeen times? Does this fridge keep everything cold just the way I like it? The answer is probably yes, and if it’s not, you probably wouldn’t buy it. But then there’s the dilemma of the housecleaner. Do you clean your house before the housecleaner comes over? I know lots of people that do, saying that they wouldn’t want a stranger to see their mess. Which, I guess I can understand, but it still somewhat defeats the purpose of hiring someone to clean your house. If you’re going to do it anyway, why bother?
So when it comes to dishwashers, it seems people have a similar attitude as they do towards the housecleaner. I always see people rinsing their dishes before they put them into the dishwasher. Is it habit leftover from when dishwashers were only so-so? I’m sure it’s not because they are embarrassed about the dishwasher seeing the mess they’ve made, but I’m pretty sure it’s the dishwasher’s entire purpose to clean my dishes. So why would I clean them before I put them in?
I recently acquired a KitchenAid 24” 6-cycle/6-option architect Series II Dishwasher after the sad demise of my 13-year old not so awesome dishwasher. Going from what I had before to the best performing dishwasher brand was a bit like the story “Flowers for Algernon”, in which an intellectually disabled man becomes extraordinarily intelligent through a new medical procedure (I won’t spoil the ending for you). It was like, all of a sudden, a switch was turned on. This dishwasher really does all the heavy-lifting for you so you can focus on what really matters in the kitchen, the food! Let’s say I want to prepare one of our family’s traditional summer feast: the whole barbecued salmon. What I don’t want to do after making this dish, is have to worry about the clean-up. Salmon may taste great, but the leftovers are, well, less than desirable. The dishwasher’s ProWash Cycle takes that worry away with it’s real-time adjustments for the best cleaning performance. There is nothing worse than buying expensive seafood, preparing it, eating it’s deliciousness and then having to deal with it’s stinky leftovers. What better way to deal with all the stank, then to throw it all into the dishwasher and let it do the work?
Another little thing that always bothered me with that old dishwasher was the “drying” cycle. I say “drying” because it was really more like, “slightly heated and less moist than soaking wet”. Every cup would have a pool of water in the top, which would then get poured on to the other dishes as I unloaded the dishwasher. Frustrating, to say the least. Again though, the KitchenAid Architect Series II shines in this area with its amazing KitchenAid ProDry Option. It really, honestly dries your dishes! Like Sahara desert dry, not Pacific Northwest in November dry (which is to say, pretty much the opposite of dry).
After six months of using the best performing dishwasher in North America, I get it now. Cleaning your dishes before putting the in the dishwasher (literally, a machine to clean your dishes), is as silly as cleaning your clothes before putting them in the washing machine! It’s just not necessary when you have the highest rated KitchenAid® dishwasher.
So when it comes time to buy your next dishwasher, remember what you really want to spend time on in the kitchen, those delicious culinary escapades that bring that special magic to your home, not doing the work meant for your appliances.
