It’s all too common to hear Singaporeans quip that dishwashers are unnecessary. Handwashing is cleaner, they say, and besides, helpers are here to help with chores such as washing dishes.
Then come other objections: You still have to rinse the dishes first, our oily Asian cooking is too much for dishwashers to handle, and surely, running an entire machine requires more water and electricity than washing dishes by hand.
But plenty of these assumptions are based on previous-gen dishwashers, or simply from never having used one. So before you rule out getting one for your small home, here are 4 common dishwasher myths, debunked.
Myth 1: You should rinse plates before loading them
Picture for illustrative purposes only.
You should, of course, scrape your plates and bowls clean of large scraps such as bones, vegetable chunks, strands of noodles, or grains of rice. But there’s a difference between scraping and thoroughly pre-rinsing them before you load your dishes into the dishwasher.
Modern dishwashers are designed to clean dirty dishes, not merely sanitise plates you’ve already washed by hand. Depending on the machine, sensors can also monitor what’s happening during the wash and adjust the cycle accordingly, so loading cleaned dishes defeats the point of having a dishwasher in the first place.
Dishwashing tablets are also designed to work with some grime on the plates, giving components such as enzymatic cleaners something to break down. More importantly, the machines have been designed so water and detergent can actually reach the grime from all directions.
Enter LG QuadWash, where instead of the conventional 2 spray arms, the system has 4 Multi-Motion spray arms that rotate back and forth while spinning, with high-pressure jets ensuring that your dishes are cleaned from multiple angles throughout the cycle.
Scrape off the chunky bits, load properly, and let the dishwasher do its job.
Myth 2: A dishwasher won’t fit a small HDB or condo kitchen
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Yes, the average BTO kitchen is rather short on space, and between the fridge, washing machine, and all the other appliance bits and bobs, finding space for another machine seems tough.
But the dishwasher is truly a workhorse that deserves every square foot of space it occupies. When you have an appliance like an LG dishwasher, equipped with their EasyRack Plus system, that statement holds even truer.
With this system, the racks in the dishwasher can be adjusted to accommodate different combinations of crockery and cookware, rather than forcing every load into one fixed configuration.
That flexibility is especially useful when your dish load includes fry pans and stock pots of assorted sizes, small rice bowls, bigger noodle dishes, chopsticks, and long tongs. Rather than upsizing your dishwasher simply because you occasionally wash bulky cookware, an adjustable interior lets you make better use of a standard-sized machine.
Of course, you’ll still want to measure carefully during your renovation planning. Check the appliance dimensions, cabinet opening and door clearance, including whether an open dishwasher door will turn your already-narrow kitchen aisle into a blocked passageway.
Myth 3: Dishwashers can’t handle heavy cooking
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The average Singaporean household’s dinner, one might generalise, involves a lot more than salad and roasts. And if the plates sometimes stack up over the course of a day, you’d end up with crusty dried curries and grains of rice that have dried down and gotten stuck to your dishes.
That’s where newer dishwashers, with their updated cleaning functions, prove themselves to be exceptionally useful. Take, for example, LG’s TrueSteam technology, which uses steam to help break down stubborn stuck-on food, while improving drying performance and reducing the appearance of water spots on dishes.
Yes, the dishwashers have 4 rotating spray arms, but steam can reach around dishes and into areas where sprays alone may have a harder time loosening residue. And if you have glassware, the reduction in water spots is an immediate bonus, because having to polish the glasses after washing is an additional chore we don’t need.
That said, burnt food that’s welded onto the bottom of a pot may still need soaking, and your dishes should still be loaded in a way that doesn’t block the spray arms.
Myth 4: Dishwashers use more water & electricity than handwashing
Picture for illustrative purposes only.
It’s easy to think that an appliance the size of a standard dishwasher uses a lot of water, especially if it’s going to be operating for a lengthy period of time during each wash. We’re here to tell you that it’s, in fact, not true.
You might not realise, but having the tap on to wash your dishes each meal and in between actually uses a fair bit of water; you’re likely to have your kitchen lights on as well. Conversely, a dishwasher uses a controlled amount of water within a wash cycle. The precise water and electricity consumption varies according to the machine and programme you select, so you’d have to check the details on the dishwasher you’re looking at.
Besides the water and electricity costs incurred, there’s also the matter of your time.
Loading all your pots and plates after dinner, starting a cycle and waking up to clean dishes takes an everyday chore off your plate. This is especially so with the LG dishwasher range’s large load capacity, adjustable racks, and automated cleaning that’s designed to make kitchen clean-up easier and reduce some of the mental load around the home.
Should you get a dishwasher for your home?
Ultimately, however, a dishwasher might not always make sense for every household. We’re talking about those who live alone and rarely cook, or DINKs who similarly eat out or dabao meals most of the time.
But for couples and families who cook regularly, it’s the convenience, plus features such as EasyRack Plus, QuadWash, and TrueSteam that make life that much easier. If you number amongst these folk, and are currently planning your new or upgraded kitchen, it may be worth allocating the space and plumbing for one, even if you don’t buy it immediately.
Check out LG’s range of dishwashers at all leading electronics retailers, or on the LG website, with prices starting from $1,299.
Find out more about LG’s range of dishwashers here
This post was brought to you by LG Electronics.
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