Never Say Never （to a Dishwasher)

When I first saw a free-standing dishwasher at my fifth sister’s place, I thought it’s such a redundant item. 

Although she had six mouths to feed, I felt that washing up dishes was something you could do in a jiffy. One plate takes  approximately 2 to 3 seconds to wash. How much time can a a mountain of dirty dishes take? 15 minutes? Why would you take the trouble to load the plates and bowls one by one onto a machine, buy and use expensive dishwashing tablets, let the machine run for a few hours and run up utility bills and then put the dishes back to where they belong?

However, a talk with an interior designer when I was searching for one made me consider one. He said there were only two them but he said the time saved from washing dishes could be used for other activities. 

What sealed the decision was that if I didn’t include a dishwasher in the kitchen renovation then, I would not be able to have it in future. 

So I shopped for a dishwasher and Bosch had a promotion then. I snagged it at $798. 

However, I had a lot of problems with my scammy ID who didn’t know how to do his job. He didn’t even advise me that having a dishwasher could mean a height increase of the kitchen counter. I am a shortie so a centimetre difference in height could mean the world to me. I was very anxious over it. 

I returned to Courts where I bought the dishwasher and asked for advice. The kind refrigerator sales assistant, Xiao Ming (小明）, helped me figure out a way to reduce the height: he recalled that a customer removed the top cover of the dishwasher and that brought the height down by about 2cm. I will always be grateful to him. 

The dumbass ID still laughed at me about my “bright” and “unprecedented” idea in his years of doing renovation. It turned out that it worked perfectly, except for the big gaps at the sides of the dishwasher, which again is due to the ID’s failure. I guess I should give thanks to God that the dishwasher was able to fit under the counter though. The scammer would definitely demand me to pay for a new set of kitchen cabinets if it could not go in. 

For the first one-and-a-half year, I didn’t use the machine. I was too depressed to cook or do anything except work. I am quite technophobic too so I had this fear that the machine would not work or spoil due to my improper usage.

My fifth sister and her husband were the ones who used the machine frequently when they moved in.

Before my fifth sister moved out, I asked her to teach me how to use it. Then one night, I mustered up my courage to try  washing a plate.

Then I received the divine revelation why people buy dishwashers: the plate cleaned by the dishwasher was much cleaner than a hand-washed one! It’s squeaky clean and squeaky to the touch!

Admittedly, I still don’t use it as often as my sister did, but when I do, I am grateful that yet another chore is being handled by a machine. In Chinese, we call it “解放双手” and this is literal releasing your hands from doing the dishes!

I use it after I bake or after a cooked lunch or dinner. 

Bowls, plates, mugs, small pot covers are placed on the top tray

Wok, pots and pans go to the bottom

Dishwashers are yet another ingenious invention!