Think your dishwasher has it bad? To test this workhorse appliance, Consumer Reports slathers plates, cups, and silverware with an imposing mix of peanut butter, egg yolk, and other gooey stuff, then lets it all sit out overnight before running the wash cycle. Dishwashers that make our list of top dishwasher picks deliver sparkling results every time. [More]
dishes
Have You Stayed Current On Your Dishwasher-Loading Methods?
By 12.18.15
We’ve long emphasized the importance of not pre-rinsing dishes for your newer dishwasher, since modern appliances now assume that you don’t. What else has changed since you first learned how to line up plates facing the water jets and place knives facing down in the basket? A surprising amount, actually. [More]
These Dishwasher Additives Remove Gross Hard Water Stains
By 11.19.13
I love having deep royal blue glassware, but hard water stains look especially gross on dark-colored glass. Fortunately, detergent manufacturers are here to save us all from their new phosphate-free formulas with improved versions that pollute the environment less, but pollute our dishes more. Our sparkling colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports learned that additives meant to clean up this gross residue actually work. [More]
Eco-Friendly Dish Detergents: Do They Clean The Earth And Your Plates?
By 7.1.09
What’s with these purported “green” cleaning chemicals? I’ve been known to mutter “it’s all a bunch of tree-hugging hippie crap” while I coat every surface in my house with the strongest, cheapest chemicals I can find. I’m fond of bleach. But other people have consciences or something, and it’s for them that Consumer Reports evaluated eco-friendly dishwasher detergents.
Gourmet Settings Dishes Out Excellent Customer Service
By 6.21.09
Jeanpaul wanted to buy several replacement spoons for his Gourmet Settings flatware set, but the company didn’t seem to sell the pieces individually. After fruitlessly searching both the company’s site and eBay, Jeanpaul wrote in asking if there was any way to replace just his missing spoons. Rather than turn him away spoonless, Gourmet Settings asked for Jeanpaul’s address and then offered to send the replacement spoons free of charge.
Use Your Dishwasher Properly
By 5.24.09
Listen parents, we told you all those years that cleaning the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was silly and duplicative, and now we have the Times telling us we were right! Ha! Pre-rinsing dishes is “actually triple bad” according a “senior dishwasher design engineer,” because dishwasher detergent exists to attack food, and when it doesn’t find any, it instead attacks your glasses. It also wastes electricity and water. And that’s not the only mistake most people make. Inside, the Times’ tips for keeping your dishwasher happy…
Ric Romero Reports: Battle Of The Dishwashing Detergents
By 3.29.08
Consumer Reports cut through the greasy claims of competing dishwasher detergents to find out which one is best suited for Ric Romero’s “dirty dish-duty.” The winner? Much like the Special Olympics, everyone won. Each detergent works fine if you scrub long enough. Efficiency comes with a price, and Dawn direct foam was the costliest and speediest of the twelve brands tested, followed closely by Ajax Lemon Dish Liquid.
Lawsuit: Martha Stewart Dishes Not Microwave Safe
By 1.12.07
Ooooh, internal documents! Holy crap, we want a Martha Stewart whistle blower of our very own. We are so jealous. —MEGHANN MARCO
