10 Kitchen Tools You Should Wash By Hand

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.

10 Kitchen Tools you should always wash by hand and never put in the dishwasher

  1. 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.    10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  2. Wooden Spoons and Cutting Boards –  The heat from your dishwasher swells the wood. When it dries and contracts cracking will occur.10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  3. 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.10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  4. Knives – Putting your knives in the dishwasher will dull the knives from all the banging around and rubbing together.10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  5. Stemmed Wine Glasses – Stemmed glasses are very delicate and can break easy from knocking around and getting stuck in the top rack.10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  6. Crystal – Dishwasher detergent will etch your delicate crystal especially if it has citrus in it.Crystal Stemware Care
  7. 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!10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  8. Copper – Heat and the alkalies in dish soap will tarnish it and may ruin that beautiful finish.10 Kitchen Tools you should never put in the dishwasher
  9. Gold Trim – The dishwasher will dull the finish and chip away your pretty gold accents. 10 Kitchen tools you should not put in the dishwasher
  10. 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?silver

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!

Rubbermaid Dish Rack with open sides so you can put large trays in 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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 photo credit: Chiot’s Run via photopin cc ,   photo credit: andrewhallpics via photopin cc

23 Responses

  1. I must have a 'Super' edition pizza stone! 15 years in the dishwasher and have yet to taste the soap. But... I will rethink that because I don't want it to break. That thing cost me an arm & a leg back in the day!
  2. Jess @ Chaos & Love says:
    We break almost every single one of these rules in my house. :)
  3. I wash everything by hand (because I don't have a dishwasher!) but I do need a new drying rack. I've been putting off getting one for a while but now I know exactly the right one to get.
    1. Kelley Wilson says:
      You will love it!
  4. montessoricarrie says:
    Great reminders! I'm sure many of us have ruined something by putting it in dishwasher! Knives with wood handles for me! Funny about the china with gold trim as my parents have been putting their in the dishwasher since they were married (40+ years and it is well used) and it still looks wonderful. So I have always put mine in too.
  5. These are some great tips! Thank you so much. Just might check out that dish rack myself too.
    1. Kelley Wilson says:
      Thanks you should I hardly ever put it away now, I use it all the time!
  6. This is an awesome list! I've been guilty of breaking a few of these. Thanks for sharing.
  7. I love this! I don't use my dishwasher (and yes it works) so I would be clueless if I ever tried to use it. Thanks for sharing!
  8. Katelyn F says:
    I need to show this list to my husband! UGH! I can't believe how he just puts everything in the dishwasher - cast iron, check, copper bottomed pots, check, knives, check, non-stick pan, check. It drives me nuts! Ha. But I like the rubbermaid and I like that it fits in your drawer! How cool! We have actually gone without any sort of drying rack the entire time we've been in this apartment (three years) and just put down a towel next to the sink, mostly because who wants an ugly drying rack always sitting out taking up valuable counter space!
    1. Kelley Wilson says:
      That's the other thing I like about this one, it's a great color that can coordinate with upper end kitchens, it's really not ugly at all
  9. I didn't know about some of those. Some items seldom make it into our dishwasher, simply because there is no room for it, but I'll be paying closer attention to making sure these items stay out. And I looooove that dish rack. It's on my kitchen wishlist. We dont' have a dish rack at all since I toss our other one when it got all warped and deformed from larger items not fitting right.
  10. Kelly Wilson says:
    This is a terrific list... I'm guilty of putting quite a few of these items through the dishwasher. Now I know better!
  11. Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas says:
    I am guilty of two of these things. I put my wooden spoons and my knives in the dishwasher all the time. I don't have non-stick cook wear, so my pans can safely go in the dishwasher. Yay me!! Great lesson here. Also, if you follow these tips, you won't ruin your stuff, which will save you money in the end. I will try to do better with my wooden spoons and knives.
    1. Kelley Wilson says:
      I know it's hard when you cook a lot not to use the dishwasher isn't it! Glad my list helped!
  12. I do not have a dishwasher but am in desperate need of a new dish rack! I'm checking this one out this weekend!

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