Q. One of your earlier columns discussed problems with etched or cloudy glassware from automatic dishwashers.
In years gone by, dishwasher detergent boxes carried a warning against putting aluminum pieces in the dishwasher.
I’m in my late 80s now. When I got my first dishwasher in the mid-1950s, I was told to never put anything made of aluminum in the dishwasher. I once thoughtlessly put a treasured aluminum wedding gift in the dishwasher, and I believe that was the reason all my glassware was etched in that load.
I never forgot about this, and I never had that problem again.
A. I was once told the same thing. I further discovered (from putting an aluminum pan and cookie sheet in the dishwasher without thinking a few times) that the dishwasher also wrecks the gloss on polished aluminum, and it left my aluminum cookie sheets and cake pans dull and stained.
I never made any connection between aluminum and etched or cloudy glassware, but your experience certainly seems compelling.
Out of curiosity, I reread all the directions on my container of powdered dishwasher detergent and discovered there was no warning or caution about putting aluminum items in the dishwasher. Because I know from experience that it’s not a good idea, I was surprised.
There is also no caution on the container about putting wooden items and wood-handled utensils in the dishwasher, something I also know from experience is a bad idea. A friend, trying to be helpful, nearly wrecked three of my favorite, old wood-handled kitchen knives by putting them in the dishwasher. The handles warped, cracked and fell off, and I had to make new handles for them.
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Maybe detergent-makers assume that after nearly a century, consumers using automatic dishwashers already know “the rules,” or that the operating instructions for dishwashers already make these things clear.
Still curious, I reread the operating instructions for my dishwasher. It has a chart listing items that should and should not be put in the dishwasher, and I thought, “This will clear things right up!”
I was wrong about that. A few things are quite clearly a “no” for the dishwasher: wood-handled or bonded-handle utensils or flatware, cast iron, wood bowls, tin, pewter and antique or delicate crystal or china.
Under “aluminum,” the chart says “yes,” but then notes the following: “Anodized aluminum may fade or darken. Patches and discoloration may appear but these can be removed with steel wool. Remember not to position aluminum utensils so that they come in direct contact with the dishwasher detergent since this may result in black spots and small erosion holes.”
To me, that sounds more like “no” than “yes.” This list also says non-stick cookware is a “yes.” Every non-stick pan I have ever purchased new says not to put it in dishwashers.
Because little of my research thus far has been reassuring (or even clear), I hereby outline my own “do’s and don’ts” based on 40 years of personal experience with different brands of dishwashers and detergents.
-Use less detergent than the dishwasher or detergent manufacturer recommends. Since halving the detergent (in my old dishwasher and my current one), I have had no more etched glassware.
-Don’t put aluminum pans or utensils in the dishwasher. They may have some causal relationship to clouded glassware, but even if not, repeated machine washings dull, pit and eventually ruin the finish.
-If non-stick cookware and utensil makers recommend against dishwasher cleaning, take their advice.
-Neither my detergent nor dishwasher-maker ever mentions this, but hand-wash copper items and copper-bottomed pots and pans. Machine washing will dull and tarnish copper.
-If you have treasured antique glassware, china or flatware (or even old, worn cookware you still enjoy using), hand wash it unless you enjoy the thrills of gambling.
-Read the instructions with dishwashing detergents and dishwashers. When you encounter unanswered questions and contradictions, ask the manufacturer for clarification (most have toll-free numbers and Web sites).
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Mr. HandyPerson wants to hear of home repair matters that are troubling you. Please e-mail Mr. HandyPerson at [email protected].