As a person that likes to cook I have been trying to buy nicer pans and tools for my kitchen. I want to try my best to take care of them and not be lazy, like I have been in the past, and throw them in the dishwasher. That only led to finding them ruined. Here are 10 kitchen tools you should always wash by hand and never put in your dishwasher so you will keep them looking great and in working order.
- Pizza Stones – Your baking stone is porous which means it will absorb water, if it gets a good soaking in your dishwasher and you use it afterwards the steam created in the stone will crack it. Your stone will also start to taste like soap because it’s porous the soap get’s in it and no matter how long you soak it in plain water you won’t get the taste out.
- Wooden Spoons and Cutting Boards – The heat from your dishwasher swells the wood. When it dries and contracts cracking will occur.
- Cast Iron – Putting your cast iron in the dishwasher will rust it. If you have to wash it with soap and water you must oil it down after to keep it in good working order. I recommend using coconut oil.
- Knives – Putting your knives in the dishwasher will dull the knives from all the banging around and rubbing together.
- Stemmed Wine Glasses – Stemmed glasses are very delicate and can break easy from knocking around and getting stuck in the top rack.
- Crystal – Dishwasher detergent will etch your delicate crystal especially if it has citrus in it.
- Non stick Cookware – It will break down the coating and it will no longer be non stick which is what you bought it for in the first place!
- Copper – Heat and the alkalies in dish soap will tarnish it and may ruin that beautiful finish.
- Gold Trim – The dishwasher will dull the finish and chip away your pretty gold accents.
- Sterling Silver – It’s way risky to wash silver in the dishwasher – Stainless steel will leave marks on your sterling that is difficult to get out and detergents with lemon or citrus will etch and scratch your expensive silver why chance it?
When I hand wash my dishes I want them to dry fast and safe. In the past I would use dish towels and pile them up. Things would get broken and they wouldn’t dry very well. I went looking for a dish rack but many of them were ugly plastic that wouldn’t hold bigger pieces. I finally found this Rubbermaid dish rack. It’s open on the sides so you can put baking pans and large skillets in it with no problem. I love it!
One of my favorite things about this sink drainer is the low profile. It’s not too high but it still supports big items like my 2″ thick wood cutting board. The small drain board is perfect for wine glasses and the utensil holder is removable. When I’m not using it I can fold up the mat and put it in my cabinet.
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