New Energy Efficient Dishwasher Dries Poorly

It’s a fact, new energy efficient dishwashers no longer produce the drying heat of older models. In order to comply with new appliance Federal Energy Efficiency Guidelines manufactures have reduced the heating capacity that once dried all types of dishes.

This results in plastic food storage containers and nonstick coated pans still dripping wet when the dishwasher completes the drying cycle.

Many owners who have replaced an older dishwasher with a new energy efficient model believe their new dishwasher is defective.

Drying and spotting agents do have a significant impact on the drying, but some items that don’t absorb heat like plastics and nonstick kitchen wares just can’t hold in what little heat is produced and then finish the drying at the end of the cycle.

Placing wet dishes into cabinets, especially on the bottom of plastic drinking glasses and coffee cups will start breaking down the cabinet finishes. Both raw exposed wood and wet dishes then harbor germs and bacteria.

So, what is one to do?

You can revert to old-fashioned dishwashing techniques such as hand drying with a dishtowel or air drying on a dishrack which, begs the question of the little girl on the dishwashing detergent commercial “So, what exactly does the dishwasher do?” Dish towels can also harbor bacteria and should be changed frequently with fresh ones.

We have found that an old-fashioned kitchen sink drainboard has become a modern-day necessity to finish air drying plastics and nonstick dishes. However, the ones being sold in stores are just not very adaptive to newer style kitchens. They don’t drain well, leaving countertops wet, are bulky to store away, as they are just ugly to leave out on nice countertops and kitchen sinks.

We use this Amish made stainless steel kitchen sink drainboard from Cottage Craft Works.com.  The stainless-steel fits nicely with our high-end stainless kitchen appliances and goes nicely with our country farm sink.

The size is perfect for holding a standard stainless dish rack leaving space to dry long spoons on the side. Oversized commercial pots and pans can be air dried with or without the dishrack just like they are done in a commercial kitchen.

Best of all the positive drain slope of the drainboard doesn’t allow water to pool underneath and damage the countertops.

These drainboards are used by large Amish families who do most of the cooking at home without owning dishwashers.

The drainboard has also forced us to become even more energy efficient as we find it’s just as easy to now handwash the big pots and pans, as well as plastic freezer containers and then air dry them on the drainboard saving critical space in the dishwasher for standard dishes.

You can expect to pay around $100 for the drainboard and shipping. It’s an investment that will last a lifetime to be passed down to generations. Considering the number of dishes washed in the average household in a year the payback is rather quick.

Cottage Craft Works offers two styles, a closed lip back across the back edge and an open back edge.  The open back is more economically priced as it takes less labor to make than the closed back.

We prefer the closed back style as it allows us to use the drainboard as an extra prep area where we can use the spray hose to wash out vegetables in a colander on the drainboard.

Cottage Craft Works also offers powder coated decorator style drainboards in black and granite style finishes for those kitchens using newer black appliances and decorator kitchen sinks and countertops.

 Custom sizes are also available for different uses for home and commercial kitchens.