The Dishwasher that Saved my Marriage!

When we first bought our 1927 Dutch Colonial Revival, we didn't even give the fact that it didn't come with a dishwasher a second thought. We are, after all, parsimonious New Englanders who were more than happy to suds up a sinkload of dishes. It was great for keeping our hands clean, too!

Then something we didn't expect happened. I got pregnant. And as the pregnancy progressed, I still, innocently, thought that there was no need for a dishwasher. I was going to nurse, so sterilizing bottles didn't seem to be an issue. What's the big deal?

I found out soon enough. Breast pump parts, sippy cups, the occasional bottle of frozen milk, pacifiers... all of these things were co-designed by the dishwasher industry to be virtually IMPOSSIBLE to wash by hand. Those little nipple brushes you can buy are guaranteed to RUIN anything they touch. Sippy cups with the fancy silicone valves are designed to virtually self destruct if you go near them with a brush. Plus, they are built with tiny nooks and crannies that cannot, under any circumstances, be cleaned by hand. The net result was that I had to boil everything, all the time. I felt like a halloween witch with a brew constantly bubbling on the stove.

I told my dear husband that when I got pregnant again... I wanted a dishwasher. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

I got pregnant. The belly got bigger. The dishwasher failed to materialize. I had the baby. Still nothing. I talked about it a lot. Nothing.

Finally, I took the issue into my own hands and threatened to go out and spend $500.00 on a tiny, 18 inch wide portable dishwasher.

That got his attention. He realized, finally, that I was dead serious, and that a portable was a truly awful solution for us. (We had nowhere to put the thing... never mind having to drag it over to the sink everytime you want to do a load...)

Now, I realized that this was going to be a big project. We were going to have to tear out a whole section of cabinet, run the electricity and plumbing, etc. etc. This wasn't going to be a simple retrofit. But, it was time.

We got in the station wagon and headed off to a Sears outlet store. There were a whole bunch of used, scratched and dented machines lined up on the wall. We walked up and down the aisle, checking knobs, looking at the lay out of the racks, checking for installation manuals (which we absolutely needed!) and finally settled on the Maytag Jetclean. Ours was a black model with a couple of dents in the door... but they only wanted $325 for it and it had all it's paperwork. Plus, because it is rated as energy star compliant, we got a $60 rebate from our state. We packed it in the car and brought it home.

It took almost a week to get this dishwasher installed, and yes, the kitchen was a mess, which was tough with a six month old and a four year old... but I can't even tell you how much I LOVE this dishwasher. We have now had it for over a year and have never had anything go wrong with it. We run it almost everyday and only one time did we get dishes that weren't completely clean and it turned out that a sippy cup lid had landed on the floor, preventing the water circulator from turning.

This machine is packed with features. It has adjustable racks so you can manage to fit all kinds of things, from spagetti pots to carving boards. The upper rack can be lifted higher to accomadate tall items on the bottom shelf. The silverwear basket separates so you can put the two halves in different spots, or take them out completely for emptying or if you only have pots and pans. I LOVE the top rack. It handles all the kids little plastic snack bowls, our cups and saucers and those dreaded sippy cups,complete with a little basket for valves and lids.

The dishwasher has all kinds of settings, from a tough scrub feature to a sanitize setting, but we just usually use the automatic setting. With that one, the dishwasher begins the cycle, then tests to see how dirty the draining water is. From that, it determines how long to run the cycle for. There is a digital readout on the front that shows you how many minutes remain in the cycle, and then has a little light that tells you that the dishes inside are clean. There is also a locking feature so my 18 month old can't open the dishwasher door.

This Maytag comes with a food macerator, so you don't have to rinse the dishes before putting them in. It automatically grinds up any solids and sends them down the drain. This makes cleaning up after dinner (or lunch or breakfast) a breeze... just scrape and load. (or let the dog lick 'em!) And, I can put a sticky bowl with caked on oatmeal in the Dishwasher in the morning, run the load after dinner, and even after sitting there for 10 hours, the bowl is crystal clean. It ROCKS.

I do use a rinse agent in the little dispensor in the door, and I use the tablet form of soap, but I have tried the powder and the liquid and they all work fine.

So, I am truly in love with this machine. Yes, the cycle time is long. but we run it after dinner and they are ready to be put away before bedtime. I would absolutely buy this model again, even at the full price. In fact, I told my husband that if we ever sell the house, I will buy a new dishwasher for the new owners and take my Maytag with me. And we NEVER fight over who is going to do the dishes anymore!