Okay Chefs, my marriage (and love for Chives) needs you.
My wife and I got into a completely unserious but shockingly passionate argument today about the proper way to load plates in the dishwasher. I refuse to say which side is mine because I need an unbiased verdict.
Here are the two styles in question (pics included):
• Orientation A: Plates facing towards the utensils
• Orientation B: Plates facing the other way
I swear we’ve both built full scientific arguments about water spray angles, drying efficiency, “what the manuals say,” and childhood trauma from poorly stacked dishes. We may never recover.
So tell me, which is the correct orientation for plates in the dishwasher?
Do you load them leaning inward, outward, all the same direction, always pointed towards the equator?
Or does none of this matter and we’re both unhinged?
Drop your vote, roast us, and help save a perfectly good marriage.
by stsegal
47 Comments
These people are eating from frisbees
Let your wife win this battle. Save the battle for something more important.
B team
As long as they are faced the same way and there is room between them they are fine
I defer to have the dirty side or side that could catch water on the “bottom” of the dishes lean
I no longer work in professional kitchens but repair residential dishwashers and appliances. You have a Whirlpool/Maytag/KitchenAid brand dishwasher.
Dude is married and yet still hasn’t heard the advice “pick your battles”
It doesn’t matter man, happy wife happy life
B
As my father taught me; “When it comes to marriage, you can be happy or you can be right. Pick your battles, son.”
Just print the manual out and follow if you both can’t decide and are willing to follow best practise 😂
For most dishwashers it won’t matter
<Insert the ackchyually meme>
But, to be pedantic, it honestly depends on a few factors. How the water splashes around, how forceful, what volume.
You want them facing in a way they get the most coverage
) – in this poorly “drawn” example, if the water is splashing over the backside of the plates, it may not create good coverage of the tops if the water isn’t forceful enough
( – if the water is too forceful on the front side then there will be poor coverage.
Then angle also matters
<End ackchyually>
The ones where they are angled more and the tops of the plates aren’t dry humping the cutler holder is the best
Facing the center
I like leaning towards the silverware so ootion 2. My brain tells me it rinses better this way.
I would be inclined to agree with your wife no matter what. My girlfriend has a very specific way she wants bath towels folded. Its different than I had been doing for my whole life but it’s a small change to keep her happy.
I’m sorry, your only option is divorce
Whoever is loading the dishwasher is correct.
My suggestion:
Watch [Technology Connection](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHP942Livy0)’s video on dishwashers together. It’s full of useful info and actually shows how it functions so you both can decide what works best.
they’re in the same position in the dishwasher though, doesn’t matter
Are they coming out clean either way? Then who gives a shit.
B
Anyone saying pick your battles or let her win or whatever missed the “unserious” part of OPs post.
My wife and I have a long standing, passionate, and VERY unserious debate about the rules governing the “how much did we spend today on groceries” guessing game before seeing the total at the register. I say the default rule is whomever is closest, over or under. She insists that Price is Right rules apply (closest WITHOUT going over), which is madness to me.
Passionate and all in fun and part of a healthy relationship.
To weight in: same direction, all facing the same way is all that matters, though I’d face them toward the center for maybe more spray.
Facing the utensils because there’s more room between them to get clean
Do they come out clean?
You don’t answer to answer that, I know they do.
The correct answer is, these are functionally the same picture and you’re have a pedantic argument over nothing.
Take your wife on a date, enjoy the good times, give her an orgasm. Stop sweating the shit that means nothing
I used to think it made a difference and then I tried the other way and I realized it truly doesn’t fucking matter
Your putter and your driver are switched
2
Both wrong, face the center that’s where the water comes from
Slide B personally
if you load it, you get to decide how it works.
Orientation A and use the lip of the plater to help deter shit from getting onto your silverware. Deflected it onto the front dish and be rinsed down the smooth surface.
My guys and gals over at r/dishwashers may be the best judges of this.
That’s the professional, and not methed up rolling on bath salts about to bum a smoke (mostly) washing community.
As long as the water jets can get to all surfaces, direction doesn’t really matter.
Both wrong. Face center. However, never argue will the one loading the dishes unless you are unloading and find remnants (that are not clearly just stubborn and would have resisted any orientation). Even then, pick your battles.
As a side note, I made the big meal for my little family this year and thanked my sibling when I finished. ‘Why, I didn’t do anything?’ ‘You did the dishes :D’ I went for a happy post dinner nap and woke up to a clean kitchen. A couple dishes needed an extra scrubbing, but not by me. Pick your battles.
Honestly it depends on the location of the sprayers, you want the face of the plates in a location that will get sprayed the most. Generally that will have the face of the plates towards the center, you want them leaning down if you don’t have sprayer that sprays down on them, if you do, it doesn’t matter which way they lean.
I don’t like that you brought chives into the post unnecessarily. Shit is like KC stolen valor, and I won’t fuckin stand for it.
Dishwashers have different loading recommendations. You should look into your specific model and see what method is recommended.
I diagnose you both as needing hobbies
Your dishwasher user manual will answer this question for you with pictures. They typically have loading diagrams for all shelves.
Are y’all disc golf players?
Yummy microplastics
They should all face the most dirty side towards the center to the best of your ability. There’s a spinny spray arm and water kinda flies outward as it’s cleaning, so you get the most water hitting the dirty surfaces by facing them inward.
Both unhinged for not having it in ascending color, should also leave more space for waterflow between utensils basket by moving the teal Frisbee.
Why are you washing your disc golf drivers in the dishwasher
Jk
.
.
.
.
.
.
Kinda
Try this experiment, put the dishes in your way one night, then her way the next night.
If one way cleans the dishes and the other way doesn’t then you have your answer.
If both ways clean the dishes then this argument isn’t about the dishes.
Both are wrong. Or not.
Whichever direction causes the plates to lean most facing downwards towards the water stream.
You’re both crazy. Start from the other side and work your way towards the utensil tray. Also plates face the utensil tray.
Facing the utensils is the only way I’ve ever done it
For gods sake keep the same color dishes together. You don’t want colors to run.
Since the plates have a curved lip, 1. It lets the water from below hit the entire surface