Just realized that pre-rinsing dishes doesn't help the dishwasher

I always thought rinsing all dishes before the washer made them cleaner. My repair person told me it actually messes with the machine's cleaning cycle, so I tried skipping it and got better results. What other home service myths have you guys tested out?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_hayes1mo ago

Fell for the dishwasher rinsing thing for years. My old laundry routine was probably just creating modern art out of soap scum.

nguyen.river1mo ago

Yeah the repair person thing totally got me too. I was the same with laundry detergent, using those full caps they show on TV. My cousin who fixes appliances told me most people use way too much and it gunks up the machine. Cut back to like half a cap and my clothes actually come out cleaner, no more weird residue.

the_mila1mo ago

Consider how hard your water is too, @nguyen.river. That totally changes how much soap you need. I moved from a city with soft water to a place with really hard water and kept using the same small amount of detergent. My clothes got this gross, stiff feeling because the minerals in the water weren't getting rinsed out. Honestly, you might need even less than half a cap if your water is soft, or a bit more if it's hard. It's not just the machine gunk, it's about the water chemistry fighting your soap. Took me forever to figure that one out.