Thread: Dishwashers

Dishwashers are a great boon to a nuclear/small family where both the adults are working. The dishwasher removes any dependence on the maid but the question that many ask and should be asking are:

1. What is the cost?
2. Are dishwashers good enough to clean the greasy vessels from Indian cooking?
3. Are good detergents (low sud) available in the market?
4. What are the running costs?
5. Which is the best place to install?

1. In my opinion, the first question (initial cost) is not the prime question. A good dishwasher should cost around INR 25K to 30K. But this is a one time cost.
   
   The other three questions are more important.
   
2. To the second question, the answer is the cliched "Yes and No". I have not purchased a DW myself but my sister has. The DW will clean the greasy stuff provided that the greasy stuff is not stubbornly stuck to the vessel. My suggestion is to rinse and wash away the food particles before loading the vessels in the DW. In any case, if you don't do this, the large food particles may clog the drain.
   
   Secondly, I will advise using DW safe china, glass and melamine-ware instead of steel plates, katori's, etc. Not that steel-ware cannot be cleaned but steel may damage the powder coated vessel holders inside the DW.
   
3. The DW detergents are not available everywhere but are not very difficult to find either. You will have to go to super/hyper market for this. Till the time, the DWs come in vogue, count the neighbourhood baniye ki dukaan out.
   
4. The DW will be expensive to run. It will use at least 4 units per cycle. So be careful.
   
5. The best place to locate and install the DW is obviously the kitchen or adjoining cleaning balcony. This is the main reason why I don't have DW as yet at home.

Some tips:

• Use the DW at least twice a week.
• Do not use the DW only to dry rinse the vessels.
• Check for cocroach infestation regularly and treat it accordingly.

wow that is a great article

Wonderful post. Infact my mother follows some of your suggestions, I will certainly tell the rest of it.
Rep added.

Thanks, zooni. IFB and Seimens make excellent dishwashers.

And thanks for the rep's too - Zooni and Vignesh.

Great one.......
Cannot rep.........

great article

Will tell my Mom

Rep+

In countries like India for example where wages are very very low.. it would be costlier to use a dish washer as compared to hiring a kaam wali bai who would come twice a day and wash your dishes but (I might sound high headed but that is not my intention) the quality of service a kaam wali bai will provide is just not worth the amount of money they save for you.
Dish washers are also great for storing your washed utencils... The best thing about them is they dont break your costly dinner set and dont miss out on patches that would later embarras you infront of your guests..

Another difference between a kaam wali bai's wash and a dish washers wash is that dish washer uses extremely hot water which also gets rid of food stuck in the corners.. and if you tell off the dish washer (run another cycle) it wont give you an evil stare like a kaam wali bai would ha ha ha...

In my opinion dishwashers will not become a commonly used appliance in India till the wages of a kaam wali bai rise to a level that it makes using dish washers cheaper to use.

I would recomend IFB for both dish washer and washing machine.

I dont have a dish washer at home and the reason being we have a kaam wali bai and a dish washer wont fit into the kitchen.. Our family is renting at the moment because our house is being reconstructed and this time there is going to be a set place for a dish washer and the washing machine as well inside the kitchen.

agree dishwashers are an expensive deal not the intial cost but the maintainance is also a problem. It may result in high electricity bills

Personally we have an IFB dishwasher in our home and it is working quite well and I think it is worth every penny it costed.
As for maintainance, no home gadgets are easy to maintain. But the maintainance once becomes a routine, it just eases out just like keeping your house clean and in tip-top condition.
Nowadays dishwasher comes with energy star rating, so going for a 4-5 star rating can ease out your electricity bill to quite a low level as compared to earlier versions of dishwashers.

Great post J4K!

Of course it would be a bit costly to run, but are not all good things, some luxury items expensive to run i.e air conditioner!

Yes.

Very much agree with everyone that dishwashers will be very costly to buy and run. A kaam wali bai (maid) will be much cheaper.

But you know what?

Next to the place I live in Pune is one of the plush housing complexes of Pune - 1 Modibaug. The maids who work in that society are charging twice or triple the amounts; the drivers ask for Rs. 8k to 10K. And the society is a stone's throw away.

Also, as education sets in, it will be difficult to find maids. Already, the children of these maids do not want their mother to work as maids. Our maid "bunks classes" at least 4 days a month.

Maybe not today but in perhaps 10 years time, maids may not be affordable, especially in cities.

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Many thanks.

just wondering, which is more efficient, washing vessels manually or by using a dishwasher ? Which consumes more water ?

Definitely dishwasher will consume more - electricity, detergent and water.

But dishwasher will clean dishes - especially china and glass much better.

What happens when there are power cuts, does the machine resume again from where it stopped?

Cause if it doesn't then it would be using even more water it it starts the whole cycle again!

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

What happens when there are power cuts, does the machine resume again from where it stopped?

Cause if it doesn't then it would be using even more water it it starts the whole cycle again!

After power resume, machine resumes from where it left off - just like a washing m/c.

No worries there.

hello,
ifb dishwashers is good for us because IFB's advanced, user-friendly features are designed to combine technology and simplicity, to help you choose the perfect program like the unique hot wash option. It not only gives you the perfect wash, but also uses the least amount of water, electricity and detergent! more