Right way to load dishes

At last, failsafe formula for domestic bliss

IT i s the source of many a domestic dispute, likely to divide even the happiest couples.

Now scientists have come up with the definitive way to load a dishwasher. And they suggest that most of us have got it wrong – but that is because of the design of the machines.

Even dishwasher manuals tend to be incorrect, say the experts from Birmingham University.

They found that the most efficient way to ensure your crockery comes out gleaming is to load items in a circular pattern around the cutlery basket, aligning them to the pattern of the water jets from the rotating arms.

However, dishwasher racks are arranged in straight lines, not circles. But trying to place the dirtiest dishes in line with the jets will improve cleaning, said Dr Raul Perez-Mohedano, who l ed the research, published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.

He concludes that carbohydrate stains such as potato and tomato need the full force of the jets to get clean, while protein-based foods such as dried egg yolk need longer contact with t he detergent.

The researchers found that while the entire interior of the dishwater will get wet during a cycle, it will not necessarily clean everything in the same way, as the direct force of the jets is localised.

This explains why a particularly stubborn piece of burnt food might be washed off, while lighter stains stay baked on.

And overloading the dishwasher stops water reaching some dishes, they warn. The academics, who worked with manufacturers Whirlpool and Procter & Gamble, hope their findings can be used to design more efficient and effective automatic dishwashers.

‘ I n my personal opinion, a redesign of the way of distribution of water is necessary,’ said Dr Perez-Mohedano.