6 HN users recommended this explainer5 months2024–2026score 5.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN people recommend it as the definitive, thorough guide to getting dishwashers to clean properly and often send it to friends.
Technology Connections explains how dishwashers work and how to use them well, including detergent use, the prewash cycle and why pre-rinsing hurts. It follows his earlier dishwasher videos.
“I’ve sent dozens of people the Technology Connections video on this topic to rave reviews” (HN, 2025)
You don’t need to pre-wash dishes before they go in the sink, beyond a basic scrapping of the plate into the garbage. Pre-washing dishes degrades the performance of the dishwasher. This is due to the use of enzymes in modern detergent formulations. I’ve sent dozens of people the Technology Connections video on this topic to rave reviews: [this video]
If you have soap residue: - Try running the dishwasher a second time with no soap, or on a rinse cycle - If you use soap pods, try putting it not in the soap tray, but directly in with the dishes. [0] [0] This video (starting at 11:40) explains how soap is used in a dishwasher. This guy (who has an excellent channel) gives tips to maximize soap exposure in your dishwasher, but you can do the opposite to minimize it instead. If you have a good machine, your dishes might still come out clean. [this video]
Explains how soap is used and how to maximize or minimize exposure.
Relevant - since there is more to learn about operating a dishwasher: Technology Connections' series on dishwashers - [link] [link] [this video] [link]
> I was minimizing time so spent while she was minimizing number of washes I'm probably just slow, but I'm not following. Do you mean because you went fast, you had to run another cycle to clean everything properly? If you haven't already, you should watch the Technology Connections series on dishwashers. [this video]
Article is wrong. Tablets/pods are silly. The most important thing to improve dishwasher performance is to put detergent in the prewash compartment as well as the main compartment, which you can't do with pods. Second most important (maybe North America-specific) is to run the hot water in the sink to flush the cold water out of the hot water line before starting, so the first fill of the dishwasher uses hot water. More than you ever wanted to know: [this video]
Thorough guide to improving dishwasher performance.
Hate to be that guy, but I'm not sure this is an HN worthy article to be honest. It's a listsicle that covers the title for a minority of its points. Perhaps one could look at this recent Technology Connections video and its accompanying blog for a more insightful look: [this video] Alternatively, perhaps a direct link to the video from this article is in order?
More insightful look at dishwashing than the article.
That's not my experience. I have a relatively new Energy Star-rated dishwasher (KitchenAid) and it works great. The trick, as re-discovered by Technology Connections, is to take advantage of the prewash cycle and use a bit of prewash detergent along with the main wash detergent, and not use too much. Check out the discussion: [this video]
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