Eddie’s Food Grievances: Why Does Plastic Always Stay Wet in the Dishwasher?
Adeline loves food—lots of it, and often, both at home and out. Usually, things go well, but sometimes they don’t. In the series Eddie’s Food Grievances, she shares her observations. This week, she just has to get something off her chest about that wet plastic from the dishwasher.
I appreciate my dishwasher. My boyfriend appreciates the dishwasher even more, by the way. I absolutely hate doing the dishes, so our division of labor when it comes to washing up is as follows: he does the washing and I let the dishes air-dry. So now you immediately understand that the dishwasher is an important player in our relationship. The only thing is, dishwashers have one major flaw: they don’t dry plastic items worth a damn.
The Wet-Plastic Problem
If you start typing ‘why does…’ into Google, the search engine automatically completes it with ‘plastic wet in the dishwasher.’ And that says a lot. So I’m not the only one. There’s an annoyingly logical explanation, by the way. Porcelain and metal get scorching hot in the dishwasher, while plastic remains relatively cool. Whatever gets hot evaporates water well; whatever stays somewhat cool remains wet. In the dishwasher world, at least. I immediately wonder how many dishwasher inventors are working on this wet-plastic problem. Surely, I hope, lots of them.
The Dish Dryer at Home
The annoying part is that you always end up watering the rest of the dry dishes with those wet containers. Or one of them drips right over your cutlery tray. I mean, why there? If you’re unlucky, one of those slightly damp, upside-down containers also tips over halfway, and suddenly you have a whole tray filled with that murky dishwater. It’s always a little cloudy too, which makes you wonder whether the dishes from the dishwasher are actually that clean.
Nine times out of ten, you don’t notice this collected water and voilà: you’re still drying the contents of the dishwasher by hand. And what do you even have one of those things for then, huh? In my case, anyway, because I’m obviously the dish dryer at home.
Wet Plastic Container
One of the internet hacks once convinced me that you’re supposed to leave the dishwasher slightly ajar while it dries. Apparently, that would let your dishes, including the plastic, dry beautifully. And indeed: the containers came out of the dishwasher as dry as a dust cloth. Eureka, I was so happy. Until my kitchen cabinet started dangerously peeling. And if I have to choose, I’ll take one of those wet plastic containers from the dishwasher. Because honestly, it will eventually air-dry anyway.
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