Bizarre things we do with dishwashers

June 4th, 2012

Whenever Canstar Blue conducts a consumer research survey it manages to come up with some odd facts, some generational others between the sexes. But when recently it measured dishwashers it uncovered some unusual ways in which people use the kitchen cleaners.

This blog has already looked at weird and wonderful ways to use our appliances including steaming fish in the dishwasher. But what about shoes?

“Our latest survey results show that many Australians get the most out of their dishwasher by using their machine for tasks other than washing up dirty dishes … such as cleaning their shoes,” said a Canstar Blue spokesperson.

Apparently, 40 per cent of Australians use the dishwasher to clean all sorts of things, even sponges, toothbrushes and sneakers.

“Oddly, more males than females thought to use their dishwashers for ‘extracurricular’ cleaning (43 per cent versus 38 per cent), and younger respondents were more likely to do this than older respondents (56 per cent versus 32 per cent).”

This doesn’t seem odd to us, it seems resourceful!

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the survey also showed that a fifth of the respondents said arguing over household chores was one of the biggest problems in their relationship.

“This was more apparent in Generation Y respondents (28 per cent listed this as their relationship’s biggest hurdle) while only 9 per cent of Baby Boomers felt the same.”

What else can a dishwasher clean? (Watch out for plastics that melt!)

Potatoes
Kids toys
Fridge shelves
Light covers
Gardening tools
Car parts
Hair accessories such as brushes, combs and pins
Sporting goods such as mouth guards, caps, knee and shin protectors

Keri Algar

Having once had to sit on the washing machine to stop it from bouncing into oblivion, Keri is today delighted with the new (smoother running) technologies that make housework easier every day. A self-confessed lazy-bones, Keri seeks out quirky inventions that ease the human workload, such as the robotic vacuum cleaner (wow). And as soon as someone figures out a Jetsons-like self-cleaning house, she will happily lay her pen to rest and retire from appliance journalism. Until then, her pick is a fridge that will tell her smartphone when it's time to pick up more beer on the way home. Magic.

One response to “Bizarre things we do with dishwashers”

Louise Carter says:

June 5, 2012 at 1:21 pm

It took me a REALLY long time to figure out that the pink things in the first photo were shoes!