Two dishwashers?

[Ferdinand]

I know a couple of people have gone for kitchen designs with two dishwashers, used alternately?

 

Is this successful?

What compromises are involved?

 

(Just thinking about it ... having one each side of the sink ... as a way of reducing travel around the kitchen to make it more suitable for mum as she becomes. A little less mobile.)

 

Ferdinand

Edited September 21, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Dreadnaught]

The circumstances where I saw this was in a large household with a maid. The maid would be the only person to run the dishwashers and having two prevented crockery piling-up on the surfaces or in the sink, especially at weekends.

 

I imagine one would need copious crockery.

[Adrian Walker]

Most dishwasher won't take a full load of kitchen dirty stuff.

[Jeremy Harris]

4 minutes ago, Adrian Walker said:

Most dishwasher won't take a full load of kitchen dirty stuff.

 

 

I'm glad it's not just me that's noticed this.  There are only two of us, yet we often find that the thing just doesn't have space inside for the stuff from just a single meal.  The biggest single problem seems to me to be poor use of the internal space.  The space allotted to cutlery seems large enough for a family of six or eight, yet the space allotted for pans and their lids is barely enough for a household of just two.  Spaces for things like cooking utensils are also poorly laid out, and the internal racks seem to be just the wrong size for most of our plates, bowls, pan lids etc.

 

Just changing the layout of the racks would make a significant difference.  It would be really great if someone could come up with better designs for these.  For example, putting the cutlery rack down one side would free up room in the centre of the lower rack.  Removing some of the near-vertical elements from the racks would allow pans to be placed more sensibly,  Adding simple open trays to hold cooking utensils would be another good feature to have.

[ryder72]

Its quite popular and a very good idea especially with modern open plan spaces. I have this at home and we tend to use one dishwasher for crockery and the other for pans allowing for the pans to be washed daily and the crockery every 2/3 days as required. While entertaining it is quite normal for us to throw everything in the dishwasher and not have the sight of pots piling up for washing.

 

Where space is available, I recommend this solution.

[Cpd]

32 minutes ago, ryder72 said:

Where space is available, I recommend this solution.

Totally agree, I have a busy household, mum x2 kids, me and additional “live in friends” who do there own cooking  so there is a constant pile of dishes waiting to go through the dishwasher, drives me bloody mad when I come in in the morning and the stuff I need for cooking breakfast is sitting on the counter crusting up !!!!!!! I never thought of two dishwashers.... now I am thinking hard. 

[newhome]

Seems like a good idea. I only have one but as I’m here on my own I only need to run it every couple of days anyway. There is plumbing for 2 washing machines but not 2 dishwashers. 

[ryder72]

14 minutes ago, newhome said:

Seems like a good idea. I only have one but as I’m here on my own I only need to run it every couple of days anyway. There is plumbing for 2 washing machines but not 2 dishwashers. 

People tend to get too wound up about not having a dishwasher or not having two on the basis that they dont put everything in their dishwasher. Get a half load one and it solves the problem of the dishwasher getting smelly.

 

Ultimately its a dishwasher and its not a living space. Its going to be a bit smelly and unpleasant. Deal with it!!!

[vivienz]

I would argue that if you have double Ds in constant rotation, it would reduce the amount of cupboard space you need. My old dishwasher and the one in the new house both have very shallow drawers at the top specifically for cutlery and do away with the need for a basket in the main internal area. Far more efficient use of space . 

[Lesgrandepotato]

We have two dishwashers. It works for an open plan space. Use it, load it. 

We don't wear them out any faster as we do the same number of loads. 

 

If you cook with guests it’s an essential for an open plan home imho. 

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, vivienz said:

I would argue that if you have double Ds in constant rotation, it would reduce the amount of cupboard space you need. My old dishwasher and the one in the new house both have very shallow drawers at the top specifically for cutlery and do away with the need for a basket in the main internal area. Far more efficient use of space . 

 

(Brief visions of Two Tassle Tessie until I regrouped. Paul Daniels and his Bunco Booth - gone, but not forgiven.)

 

For me it will be tidiness, and also that the plates cupboard is on the other side of the room. Useful to keep mum moving as the Dr ordered, but perhaps now a bit much.)

 

I can see the benefit for everyday crocks, and keep the more special stuff in cupboards.

 

Will respond to the thread later when I have a time in space. Or should that be space in time?

 

F

 

 

Edited September 21, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Bitpipe]

And there was me thinking four ovens was the last word in appliance overload (to be fair we only really needed three but couldn't decide what to put in the empty spot.

 

We run our DW more or less every day, I set the timer to have it come on first thing when sun is up and electricity is free (our PV faces south east) and it's ready to empty when we get up.

 

Ours is a NEFF and also has a slim cutlery tray at the top, great design and you can get a surprising amount in.

[Nick1c]

We have 2 compact ones. There is only 2 of us in the house so one goes on every day or two, if people come round we can use both. We tend to use the same stuff most of the time so it rotates from the clean to the dirty one. I wouldn’t go back to one. 

[newhome]

I need an dishwasher emptying fairy as that’s the thing I like least ?. Maybe if I had 2 I could just rotate the stuff from one to the other without needing to empty it? ?

 

First world problems! ?

[AliG]

We have two. First time we have had two and it is great.

 

Particularly good if you have a party or a big meal with lots of pots, pans and bowls.

 

I would also recommend an extra tall dishwasher. We had one in the last house, but not this time as we didn't have the height in a handleless kitchen. Siemens do an 86.5cm tall dishwasher and it is much easier to load than a standard height dishwasher. Siemens SX736X03ME for example or Neff S723M60X1G.

 

I would also look for a sink big enough to take a full oven sheet/shelf. These do not clean well in a dishwasher and if your sink isn't wide enough then you cannot easily steep them in hot water.

[Ed Davies]

Those with two dishwashers who follow the-use-from-one/put-away-in-the-other protocol, do you have some sort of flag to remind you which is which at any time? Should usually be obvious once you open the wrong one , I imagine, but still annoying. And there's potential for confusion when one dishwasher contains only a few apparently clean but not necessarily actually clean items.

[Lesgrandepotato]

Just now, Ed Davies said:

Those with two dishwashers who follow the-use-from-one/put-away-in-the-other protocol, do you have some sort of flag to remind you which is which at any time? Should usually be obvious once you open the wrong one , I imagine, but still annoying. And there's potential for confusion when one dishwasher contains only a few apparently clean but not necessarily actually clean items.

We put the stuff away. What happens I guess is perhaps we put more pots in that if we didn’t have capacity you’d perhaps pot wash. 

This means they turn over fairly fast. You can fill a dishwasher quite quickly with a few pots. 

[newhome]

29 minutes ago, Lesgrandepotato said:

You can fill a dishwasher quite quickly with a few pots. 

 

The secret is not to cook too often 

[PeterW]

I know of somewhere with two. One Miele and one Samsung. The Miele is the one for plates and pans, the Samsung is much better for glassware, for a dinner party for 8, the whole lot fits into the two perfectly. 

[Nick1c]

We have a fridge magnet we stick on the door of the dirty one ?

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, Nick1c said:

We have a fridge magnet we stick on the door of the dirty one ?

 

You've got two fridges? ?

[Ferdinand]

5 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

You've got two fridges? ?

 

No. I have a Bear Fridge ('Lie-bherr"), made from 2 halves one of which is a freezer. It is still the best fridge on the forum, I assert. 

 

In my case the two dishwashers is very much to do with saving walking around and keeping the main crocks close together, and keeping movements simple and repetitive. Pans tend to get handwashed. Probably would be identical for simplicity of controls.

 

I have umpteen fridge magnets, including potentially one which says "Who attached Thanet to Kent?".

 

I have the flag aspect sorted, but have concerns about getting two dishwashers past someone who refuses to buy even slightly posh jars of marmalade. Paddington Bear, where are thou in my hour of need? *

 

Ferdinand

 

(* Apropos of not very much, I would go a long way to see a production of A Winters' Tale where "Exit, pursued by a bear" turned out to be Paddington Bear carrying a handsaw and half a kitchen table, or Yogi Bear in search of a sandwich.)

 

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by Ferdinand

[oldkettle]

Does anybody have a dishwasher installed in an elevated position? My sister has one and it seems a great idea, the only problem is it will inevitably be some way away from the sink, and the second dishwasher would be even further. 

 

[Sue B]

I am definitely going for 2 dishwashers if we ever get planning permission through on this place!

 

Loving the idea of a raised dishwasher to save all that bending but worry about the appliances above it in that picture - steam would be a concern to me.

[Dreadnaught]

27 minutes ago, oldkettle said:

Does anybody have a dishwasher installed in an elevated position?

 

Good idea for full-sized one. In a previous flat, I had a mini counter-top dishwasher on the draining board next to the sink. Worked really well.

 

Talking of which, how about a counter-top dishwasher for pans instead of two full-sized dishwashwers? Perhaps located in a utility room or built-in somewhere?

 

(By the way, I picked up that counter-top dishwasher for peanuts on eBay.)

Edited September 22, 2019 by Dreadnaught