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Finally: our dishes are the cleanest they’ve ever been! Here are our thoughts on our new Cove dishwasher, and solving the age old tension of how to load a dishwasher.
This post was created in partnership with Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove; all opinions are our own.
How many times have you argued over the best way to load a dishwasher? Every household seems locked into this eternal struggle: am I right? And Alex and I are no different. Over the years, we’ve had countless disagreements about how to load a dishwasher.
Well, thanks to our new Cove dishwasher, we’re finally starting to agree! The good people at Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove suggested that we try one out: and now we’re hooked. And our dishes are, in Alex’s words, “the cleanest they’ve ever been”. As people who use their kitchen A LOT, it’s been a fantastic change for us. Today, we’re sharing a few myths on the best way to load a dishwasher and how the Cove turns them upside down: and actually cleans our dishes.
Tip 1: Just scrape dishes before loading!
Myth: You have to fully rinse every smudge from your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher.
Anyone else this way? I was so used to pulling out dishes with leftover grime that I started cleaning the entire plate before putting it into the dishwasher. Basically, I was doing all the work of the dishwasher: before it went in! Did this cause some marital spats? A few, since Alex had to keep reminding me that all my elbow grease was not necessary.
With our new Cove dishwasher, it’s truly not necessary to do any heavy lifting on your own. Plates can go in with quite the amount of grime: and they come out clean every time. Our dishes are literally SHINY—cleaner than they’ve ever been—and we’re saving water.
Tip 2: Load it how you want!
Myth: There’s a best way to load a dishwasher. (And your partner is the only person in the world who knows it.)
So here’s the one that causes all the tensions: am I right? There’s some elusive “best dishwasher loading” strategy, and both people in the relationship know it. Alex and I have gotten up in arms about this for years! I’m the person who just shoves things in willy nilly, and Alex is the one who seems to understand the “best way”, which I’m always in the habit of forgetting.
Luckily with our new Cove dishwasher, there’s really no way to do it wrong. The inside has adjustable racks that you can tilt to accommodate different dish, pan, and glass sizes. And there’s a fancy silverware tray on the third level with slots for all your silverware. Something about loading it is kind of cathartic, actually! Even someone like me can enjoy loading it.
Tip 3: Don’t worry about blocking the sprayer.
Myth: Be paranoid about blocking the sprayer.
OK, maybe this is only a disagreement in our house. But there have been countless times that I’ve gotten in trouble for putting a dish in our dishwasher that blocks the sprayer. The result? Slime caked onto all of the dishes. (Sorry, Alex!) Well, the Cove dishwasher has three spray arms so dishes are sure to get clean. Genius! This is perfect error proofing for someone like me.
Tip 4: Let the dishwasher figure it out.
Myth: There’s one cycle for everything: make sure to fill the dishwasher to the brim every time!
After living with a dishwasher that wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed, I’ve been used to this: load it to the brim, then press Start.
The nice thing about the Cove dishwasher is that it’s actually smart! If you press the “Auto” cycle, Cove will choose the level of cleaning that’s right for you–by itself. The “Light Load” option lets us run a half load: which mainly happens after we’ve already run one full load that day (yes, we have a LOT of dishes over here). And, you can control the settings from a smart phone (iPhone only, for now).
Tip 5: Don’t live with hard water!
Myth: You need a water softener in your house to have really clean dishes.
This one isn’t a dishwasher area of marital conflict, per say, just a cool feature of our Cove dishwasher. Cove is available with or without a water softener inside the dishwasher itself. So you have the option to wash with softened water even if your house doesn’t have a water softener!
It might not seem like a big deal, but soft water optimizes the cleaning ability of the water. We’ve noticed this literally makes our dishes squeaky clean: something we’ve never been used to. Another plus: the inside of the dishwasher stays cleaner too!
A few other bells and whistles
As is pretty obvious, our Cove dishwasher is spoiling us a little! Here are a few more things that we love about it:
- It’s nearly silent. True story, our past dishwasher was so loud that when we’d run it at night, I’d think someone was breaking in downstairs.
- It’s light and bright! The interior has LED lighting, which makes easy to load after a late night dinner party.
- There’s a “dirty” and “clean” light indicator. So you can easily tell whether the load is in progress or clean, there’s a cool light that shines on the floor: green means clean and red means in progress
Any questions?
Questions? Does your household get in related arguments about the best way to load the dishwasher? Tell us your stories in the comments below!
Get a Cove dishwasher
To learn more about Cove dishwashers, go to the Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove website.
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