How thick does IKEA think people are?

[PaulT]

Just bought a new dishwasher from IKEA. One of the pieces of literature included is:

Examples of the load of the baskets

which contains a number of drawings of the baskets with an assortment of pans, crockery and cutlery. I do not know how I have filled a dishwasher for all these years without a copy of the document.

[Quillan]

You would be supprised. It's a bit like how many men can't fit a 13A plug or change a lamp bulb, there are quite a few.

[suein56]

Quillan wrote :

It's a bit like how many men can't fit a 13A plug or change a lamp bulb.

Gosh, that surprises me ...I am female but even I learnt to wire a plug in high school when I was about 12 or 13. Having changed over lots of our UK plugs for French ones when we arrived 10 years ago I feel the lesson learnt was worthwhile.

Sue

[AnOther]

About as thick as the average member of the buying public is ?

[Mac]

When I worked in retail I remember an iron which had a warning in the instructions-' Do not use on clothes whilst wearing them'. Why would anyone need instructions like that? The only reason I can think of is that someone has tried it and sued the manufacturer using the reason-'You didn't tell me I couldn't'

[Quillan]

[quote user="Mac"]When I worked in retail I remember an iron which had a warning in the instructions-' Do not use on clothes whilst wearing them'. Why would anyone need instructions like that? The only reason I can think of is that someone has tried it and sued the manufacturer using the reason-'You didn't tell me I couldn't'[/quote]

Was it a steam iron by chance? Ours has the same instruction but that’s because it is a steam generator type (separate tank) and one picture shows a person using just the steam to take wrinkles out of cloths hung on a mannequin.

[mint]

Actually, when loading up a dishwasher, I am not sure whether the pointy bits of knives and forks should point up or down![:-))]

Haven't had a dishwasher for about 10 years but am buying one for the new kitchen.  For one thicko at least, pictures of loading up dishwashers would be very welcome[:)]

[Chancer]

Thick or ignorant?

The latter when not used as a pejorative just means someone that has never done or experienced something.

I have never owned a dishwasher and sincerelet hope I never will in my lifetime, too many people think they are too precious to do basic daily tasks and the offspring of such will in turn become ignorant of how to wash up by hand.

Whenever I have eaten at someones house and offer to do the washing up they say, oh no, just put it in the dishwasher, I start to do so and then they bawl me out for not doing it properly, things have to go a certain way round, cutlery here but facing down, you must rinse stuff first etc etc.

I can only conclude that if I am ever forced to buy and install a dishwasher, no doubt by some female that I am smitten with who thinks "because I'm Worth it" [Www], then I would indeed be so thick that I would need an instruction manual of how to load it.

Being a man however I would not read it until having had several abortive attempts to get the thing to work properly, "if all else fails RTFM" [;-)]

Since starting the tourist lettings a fortnight ago I am using a tumble drier for the first time in my life, second hand so no manual and I'm Learning as I go along but an idiots guide would be well appreciated.

I'm not too proud to admit my ignorance so if any of you out there feel like being a surrogate Mum then could you give me a few tips please?

[woolybanana]

My delightful little sparrow and I have a simple agreement: she loads the dishwasher at her house and I at mine as we are both rather particular about what goes where. No, hang on, I am easy going, she is particular!!!

[Rabbie]

As P T Barnum is supposed to have said "no-one ever went bust underestimating the intelligence of the public".

[PaulT]

Chancer wrote:

'I have never owned a dishwasher and sincerelet hope I never will in my lifetime, too many people think they are too precious to do basic daily tasks and the offspring of such will in turn become ignorant of how to wash up by hand.'

So does that mean that inspite of now owner a tumble drier that you do all your washing by hand after all, a washing machine would mean that you are too precious to do a basic daily task :)

[Quillan]

Have to say I never used one till I came to France and now I have two. I couldn't manage without them.

[Rabbie]

I have done my share of washing up and washing clothes and bedding by hand but I see nothing wrong in having and using a dishwasher and washing machine. Quite frankly I have other things to do with my time than repetitive tasks which are done as well by machine. There are still some things that I wash manually so I don't think being "precious" comes into it.

[nectarine]

Chancer, if you've got a tumble drier then always have a clean white trainer shoe to hand, and throw it in with the towels to fluff them up. Also, chuck pillows in from time to time with the trainer, particularly if the pillows get lumpy.

We have a dishwasher, used about twice a year, and no tumble drier. I only miss the drier in winter and hate hanging stuff over radiators and airers in the house.

By the way, I always read the manual, cover to cover, whereas Mr. Nectarine tends to push every button and bang the side of a machine to get it to work, rather than give in and read how to work something!

[mint]

But still, no one's told me whether you load the pointy bits of knives and forks, up or down........aaarrrggghhh!

I hope that when the Electrolux dishwasher arrives, it will have pictures like the Ikea ones![;-)]

[idun]

In our house, I now use the baskets with the lid  so that each cutlery  item goes in individually, this after years of taking these lids off and then ie having spoons........ spooning...... and not cleaning properly!!! and as I used to put them into the open basket, they would be put in, any old way.

So now very sharp small knives, like steak knives are put in point down and all the other cutlery goes in handle down inside the basketand the 'pointy'ish' bits exposed. Frankly, I have no choice, using the lid on the cutlery basket means that for the most part one has to have the handle in the basket.

I bought a new iron recently and frankly, could have done with some operating instructions, I looked on youtube and AEG and it didn't explain properly how to use it.

[nomoss]

After having been obliged in the distant past, as part of what was deemed to be my responsibility, to delve inside a couple of recalcitrant commercial dishwashers, and being horrified at what dwelled in their bowels (and I do mean bowels), I vowed never to own one, so tend to agree with Chancer.

Various relations have them, all are very fussy about how things are arranged, even to the point of insisting no-one else does it. Some do rinse stuff before it's put in, some don't. Some say their best china was ruined by the machine, so one has to sort out what can go in and what cannot, FGS.

All seem to leave the actual washing until the machine is full. As a result of this I can always unerringly locate the machine, even with the lights off - I just follow my nose [:-))]

My OH is surprised how few relations (none actually) have a clothes drier, which in her opinion saves a lot more time and effort than a dishwasher.

[Quillan]

[quote user="mint"]But still, no one's told me whether you load the pointy bits of knives and forks, up or down........aaarrrggghhh!

I hope that when the Electrolux dishwasher arrives, it will have pictures like the Ikea ones![;-)]
[/quote]

I have had three dishwashers in 13 years and the first two had baskets for knives and forks. I thought them pretty useless and decided to go for a machine that has a draw for cutlery at the top. This means you get quite a bit extra space, I believe it’s equivalent to a full places setting but where it does help is with those big difficult things.

If you must have one with a basket then they go in handle down else the knife blades puncture the basket over a few months piercing it then blocking the wash arm from turning, well that’s what happened with ours.

[Gardengirl]

I just used to put cutlery in any old how, but heard on BBC news about a youngster years ago who died when he fell onto a knife, blade up, in the open dishwasher. Knives and forks have been put in mine with blades and tines downwards since then.

[Kong]

If the bowels of your dishwasher are yucky then it ain't working properly. Whether using a dishwasher or washing up by hand a delicious emulsion of fats and water vanishes into the drains. If you have ever had to clean drains you will find the yuk that shouldn't have been in the dishwasher. We have a grease trap which collects these horrors on their way to the fosse. I have to decant the sulphurous deposits and dispose of them in an open pit. It all disappears, the birds eat it!

[Chancer]

[quote user="PaulT"]

So does that mean that inspite of now owner a tumble drier that you do all your washing by hand after all, a washing machine would mean that you are too precious to do a basic daily task :)[/quote]

I"ll let you guess.

I spent all of 2004 and maybe half of 2005 without a washing machine, spent from 2004 until maybe 4 years ago without a microwave although I was one of the first people to have one in around 1980, never in my life had a tumble drier till a couple of weeks ago but that and the commercial washer is because I now have to do changeovers pretty much every day, 2 flats at the moment soon to be 4 then 5 or even 6.

If I went back to just looking after my own household the drier would go or at least never be used, I am gradually getting rid of all rarely used domestic appliances, I had a huge clear out in the kitchen, even got rid of the oven 4 years ago and now use a table-top halogen one.

No longer own  a toaster, sandwich toaster, steamer, food mixer, loads of things really.

I really hope that I never get forced into having a dishwasher, I like washing up, and I like cooking and preparing food, I see too many people that dont do either, I think being a dirty scruffy part time mechanic when I was Young with permanantly filthy hands was what made me appreciate washing up.

[mint]

Many thanks to id, Q and GG for putting me right about the cutlery and which way up to put them.

However, I believe I remember from my visit to the shop that the dishwasher had a tray with slots in it so that must be for the cutlery to arrange like you would in a canteen..........[:$]

Thick?  Yes, that's me I guess..........sigh.

[idun]

As a family in France, we used less water when we bought our dishwasher. I use huge amounts of water when I wash up, what with changing the washing up water when it is dirty, to rinsing every thing, so a dish washer for me everytime.

[YCCMB]

As we are usually more than one, and frequently more than two people eating and preparing food, a dishwasher is more economical for us than washing up by hand. Setting aside the issue of personal choice and preference, and I accept that some may prefer to do hand washing, it simply works out cheaper.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/energy-bills/11250403/Dishwasher-vs-washing-up-which-is-cheaper.html

I don't believe we're lazy . I have other things to do whilst the dishwasher gets on with my washing up.

As for stacking the dishwasher, I am just happy if someone doe it. As for the how, the only thing which might prompt me to encourage someone to do it "my" way is that I know from experience that certain of my dishes don't get washed properly if they aren't loaded in a certain way. Otherwise, I'm more than happy for anyone to put things in there as they please. I do sometimes wish I had a fairy to come along and empty it, though!

[Jonzjob]

If I ever have a problem with my dishwasher then I just give her a bit of a bashing and she stops complaining and gets on with it! Well, that's what I married her for init [Www][Www][Www]

Not being totally serious here you understand so don't tell SWMBO [:-))]

We got rid of the dishwasher ages ago and installed something useful. A wine rack [8-|] It came with the house and was only used once in the first few years by a family member on a visit. Other than that, by the time we had finished rinsing the c r a p off of the things going in it was quicker to wash by hand.

As for the water saving? How many of you have a swimming pool as well? A neighbour told us that her new dishwasher only used a tiny amount of water, BUT she half empties her pool every winter to 'winterise' it!! Not too sure that the dishwasher saving is going to save  the planet in her case? Tops it up through the summer too!

Get my drift [8-)]

When it's not possible to dry the washing outside then it goes on the rack in our boiler room and the dehumidifier we got for when we had our caravan in the U.K. gets switched on and it does a double job by drying the clothes and supplying distilled water for the iRon. No good for the iMac or my iPod though [blink] But in our part of France that isn't normally a problem with all the sunshine we get [8-|]