Thread Number: 47370
6 Unconventional Uses for your Dishwasher
[Down to Last]

automaticwasher.org's exclusive eBay Watch:
scroll >>> for more items --- [As an eBay Partner, eBay may compensate automaticwasher.org if you make a purchase using any link to eBay on this page]
Post# 687904   7/8/2013 at 03:29 (3,917 days old) by ultramatic (New York City)        

ultramatic's profile picture
I've heard stories in the past, but who knew?

A rundown of the most unconventional uses for your home dishwasher.

It takes the right mix of ingenuity and desperation to discover new uses for old tools, but whoever first tried steaming a salmon fillet in their dishwasher must’ve been drunk. For folks who are curious about what else their kitchen contraptions can do, here’s a rundown of the most unconventional uses for your home dishwasher.

Steam Fish Fillets

The best part about steaming fish in your dishwasher—other than novelty of steaming fish in your dishwasher—is how simple it is. All you need to do is season a cut of your favorite fish, wrap it (tightly!) in aluminum foil, place it in the top rack, and allow it to run through an entire normal cycle. There’s no single recipe that works best; just make sure you wrap it tight enough to keep water out. Also, don’t forget to engage the dry cycle, and for the love of fish don’t load the detergent!

 

Fotolia_43554128_XS.jpg
Make this meal in your dishwasher—but don’t load the detergent!

If you’re feeling extra adventurous, check out these recipes for dishwasher lasagna and dishwasher potatoes. There’s a whole culture of dishwasher chefs with too much time on their hands!

Wash Baseball Caps

Baseball caps can fade and become misshapen in traditional washing machines. So instead of washing them that way, try loading them in the top rack of your dishwasher and running it on a full cycle. Of course, you don’t want to run the machine with dirty dishes in it; this will just spray food all over your precious Diamondbacks hat.

For fledgling roller derby enthusiasts, you can also clean knee pads, shin guards, and other sports equipment in your dishwasher. But we don’t recommend putting your jock strap in there. That’s just gross.

Clean Footwear

Okay, so maybe this is crossing the line, but some people aren’t weirded out by feet. We wouldn’t suggest tossing sweaty running shoes in your dishwasher, but flip-flops and rain boots are fair game. (Crocs, however, are not—does anybody still wear those anyway?) Just remove any lining, hang them from the top rack and run them through a full cycle—and don’t forget the dry cycle.

 

Fotolia_9332458_XS.jpg
One cycle in the dishwasher will clean up dirty rainboots, no problem.

Wash Tools

A proud man or woman will frown upon the idea of a pristine, unblemished tool kit, but sometimes your little analog gadgets need to be rinsed of all that gunk, mold, and rust. They can be placed anywhere in the tub (preferably the top rack); just make sure you don’t load any tools with wooden handles—metal and plastic only.

Sterilize Toys and Other Nasty Home Products

Action figures, brushes, dog toys, and even sponges—these are all notoriously filthy items found around the average home, and they can all be washed (more importantly, sanitized) in your dishwasher. Place small items in mesh bags, sponges in the cutlery basket, and be sure to rid brushes of all hair. Also, be wary of the high temperatures that Sanitize cycles reach (upwards of 155 degrees Fahrenheit), as you don’t want to melt the face off your daughter’s Barbie dolls… Or do you?

Clean With... Kool-Aid?

ohyeah.gif
It’s ironic that your dishwasher—a machine devoted to cleaning dishware—can itself get dirty. Apartment Therapy recommends using Kool-Aid drink mix (that’s right, Kool-Aid drink mix) to rinse out lime deposits and iron stains. Just empty a packet of the Lemonade flavor into the detergent dispenser and give it a go. As the big guy would say, Ohhhh yeah!

The fact that this popular sugary beverage can help clean stainless steel interiors makes us worry about what it can do to our stomachs, but we’ll leave that for Mythbusters.

 

Do you use your dishwasher in any odd or unconventional ways? Share them with us in the comments section below!

 

...

 

(Scroll to the bottom in link for comments)



CLICK HERE TO GO TO ultramatic's LINK




Post# 687918 , Reply# 1   7/8/2013 at 07:29 (3,917 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Cooking Fish in The DW

combo52's profile picture

Fish is so easy to cook that I cannot envision a reason why I would ever try wasting all that water time and electricity trying to do it in the DW.

 

As to cleaning a DW with Kool-Aid I am sure that there far more cost effective ways and better ways to clean the inside of your DW, and keep in mind that if you are using your DW properly it should NEVER need cleaning, my 25 YO WP DW is basically as clean as the day it was first installed with no buildups or staining of any kind inside.


Post# 687932 , Reply# 2   7/8/2013 at 09:11 (3,917 days old) by rockland1 ()        
Uses for Dishwasher

One of my first cars had wire wheel covers. I washed them in the KitchenAid.

Post# 687933 , Reply# 3   7/8/2013 at 09:15 (3,917 days old) by electron1100 (England)        
Bike Bits

electron1100's profile picture
Many years ago I put engine casings of a motorbike engine I had stripped in the dishwasher (very old Indesit) it got all the oil and gunk off them, the cleaners dulled the aluminium but that was not a problem.

Gary


Post# 687937 , Reply# 4   7/8/2013 at 10:18 (3,917 days old) by kb0nes (Burnsville, MN)        

kb0nes's profile picture
I used to work at an electronics manufacturing facility that loaded assembled printed circuit boards into a dishwasher for cleaning. They changed over to an aqueous soldering flux so a good bath in hot water did the trick. Before that all boards were cleaned in a vapor degreaser filled with a halogenated florocarbon solvent. The water filled dishwasher was much more environmentally friendly.

At home I have seen all kinds of items loaded into dishwashers for cleaning with few problems. I do remember a gunk filled fabric softener dispenser that didn't have the expected results... The dishes came out soft though!


Post# 688128 , Reply# 5   7/8/2013 at 23:55 (3,916 days old) by joeekaitis (Rialto, California, USA)        

joeekaitis's profile picture



Plastic fan blades, in their own load, of course.


Post# 688137 , Reply# 6   7/9/2013 at 02:41 (3,916 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        

Other electronics intems cleaning--reclaiming and salvaging audio patch bays-run thru dishwasher-rinse again to make sure there is no detergent to corrode jack contacts.Gets the dust and stuff off the patchbays to where they look like new.
Small transmitter tubes and vacuum capacitors-the dishwashwer gets the bug remains out of forced air tube radiator fins.Blasts the stuff and dust from vac caps-if you do run the variable ones thru the washer-be sure to relubricate the cap bellows screws with oil when done.And be sure all of those parts are dry before using them.And of course blower and fan blades as above.Transmitters and other gear have these.Small reusable metal air filters clean well in the dishwasher-for the parts and filters-try a cycle WITHOUT detergent so there is no danger of parts corroding from it later.


Post# 688263 , Reply# 7   7/9/2013 at 15:58 (3,915 days old) by jeb (Mansfield Ohiio)        

Many years ago, when I was a boy, my mom came home to a dishwasher completely loaded with hamster cages and parts. My brother and I had hamsters and a LARGE cage set up with tubes and rooms ect... we put them all in the dishwasher and started it before she got home but didn't take then out. After dinner that night she opened it to load dinner dishes...well lets just say we didn't do that again.

Post# 688288 , Reply# 8   7/9/2013 at 18:04 (3,915 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)        
Unbeatable as a home proofing cabinet

bajaespuma's profile picture
If you have flexible racks and some talent at balancing objects, the home dishwasher is an ideal proofing box for yeasted breads and pastries. The moisture is more important than the heat, but you'll achieve both by letting the machine fill and run for a minute or so and then shutting it off manually. The fact that you can close the door and it seals somewhat hermetically helps a lot. Just don't forget to check your stuff periodically to make sure that nothing is "overproofing" (increasing in size more than 175% as a general rule).

Post# 688372 , Reply# 9   7/10/2013 at 00:59 (3,915 days old) by dj-gabriele ()        
home proofing cabinet

Hopefully most current hi-end ovens now have a proofing programme!
Things like this www.smeg.it/prodotto/sc115a-1/... will make your cooking much much easier than putting dough in the dishwasher!


Post# 688422 , Reply# 10   7/10/2013 at 09:55 (3,915 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)        
Baseball Hats

mark_wpduet's profile picture
Well - what kind of detergent are you supposed to use in your dishwasher when washing baseballs hats and will the rinse cycles be enough to get them rinsed properly?

Post# 688475 , Reply# 11   7/10/2013 at 14:54 (3,914 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas)        
Well I never:

iheartmaytag's profile picture
I began reading saying to myself "I would never do that." As for the article I would never cook--it's too easy to just start a steamer without wasting a cycle. Then I kept reading.

Caps--ok well maybe,
Toys--I've done that, however, it sanitizes not sterilizes.
Shoes/boots--nope.

I do use the DW as a proofing cabinet for my bread when the kitchen is cooler in the winter.


Post# 688479 , Reply# 12   7/10/2013 at 15:04 (3,914 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

foraloysius's profile picture
I did a baseball cap a few times. I have a special cap holder for it. You use a normal dishwasher tab. No rinse aid ofcourse. Normal cycle. It was OK, not great. I washed the same cap with some items in a washing machine later. The cap came out much cleaner!

Post# 688545 , Reply# 13   7/10/2013 at 20:13 (3,914 days old) by electronicontrl (Grand Rapids, MI)        
aquarium parts

electronicontrl's profile picture
We used to wash aquarium parts and aquarium rocks in the dishwasher. Recently I took out the top rack and put in a vintage rubbermaid clothes basket that had 10 years worth of dust and grime on it. Came out like new. I like having spare dishwashers.

Post# 688648 , Reply# 14   7/11/2013 at 06:04 (3,914 days old) by AquaCycle (West Yorkshire, UK)        

aquacycle's profile picture
I put vacuum cleaner parts in the dishwasher when I'm working on old machines that need cleaning up. Hoses, tools and other parts come out clean as a whistle!

I've also put my computer keyboard through the dishwasher. As long as you let it dry afterwards before plugging it back in, it's no problem.

I do know people who have put their cat litter trays through the dishwasher (with bleach, obviously!) but this isn't something I've ever wanted to do.


Post# 688649 , Reply# 15   7/11/2013 at 06:07 (3,914 days old) by AquaCycle (West Yorkshire, UK)        

aquacycle's profile picture
Slightly unconventional use for dishwasher tablets...

Put 2-3 dishwasher tablets in your washing machine drum and run the machine empty on the hottest wash to clean the drum and pipes out. Works a treat!


Post# 688713 , Reply# 16   7/11/2013 at 10:15 (3,914 days old) by kb0nes (Burnsville, MN)        
Slightly unconventional use for dishwasher tablets...

kb0nes's profile picture
Chris,

Run a full load of rags instead of running it empty. Then all the water extracted during spins washes down the outer drum. Otherwise the top of the drum will barely get wet! The DW detergent does work well on buildups and its low sudsing too.


Post# 688852 , Reply# 17   7/11/2013 at 21:58 (3,913 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c )        
A good friend..

ALWAYS has a dishwasher in his vac shop, he runs fans,armature field coils..everything thru, I couldnt believe it, but everything comes out like new.

Post# 688954 , Reply# 18   7/12/2013 at 13:33 (3,912 days old) by Fredriksam (Sweden)        
Just for fun but not good

Oh well if you dont mind having to clean the floor afterwards, you can put in some regular dish soap in the dishwasher. Not very much just a few drops will do the trick. It will work great as a kitchen bubblebath.

Dont forget to clean the floor if you have parents. Otherwise they will go nuts ok.


Post# 689134 , Reply# 19   7/13/2013 at 08:05 (3,912 days old) by spookiness (Alexandria VA)        
any thing that fits inside it...

I've used a dishwasher to clean:
- computer keyboards (yes!)
- car floormats
- car wheel covers
- misc. parts: air conditioner filters/grills, dehumdifier, vacuum etc.

Naturally for some things you need to be prudent in your use of soap or heat, so select cycles and product/no product accordingly.



Forum Index:       Other Forums:                      



Comes to the Rescue!

The Discuss-o-Mat has stopped, buzzer is sounding!!!
If you would like to reply to this thread please log-in...

Discuss-O-MAT Log-In



New Members
Click Here To Sign Up.



                     


automaticwasher.org home
Discuss-o-Mat Forums
Vintage Brochures, Service and Owners Manuals
Fun Vintage Washer Ephemera
See It Wash!
Video Downloads
Audio Downloads
Picture of the Day
Patent of the Day
Photos of our Collections
The Old Aberdeen Farm
Vintage Service Manuals
Vintage washer/dryer/dishwasher to sell?
Technical/service questions?
Looking for Parts?
Website related questions?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy
Our Privacy Policy