The other day I was looking at design books at the book store. I came across one called The Shabby Chic Home by Rachel Ashwell. It is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen. The pictures were absolutely amazing.
I opened it up to a beautiful picture of an open dishwasher that was full of gorgeous dishes (please excuse the picture of my thumb in the picture). I thought to myself how delightful it would be to open my dishwasher and see something like that! There was a caption on the page that said “Even opening the dishwasher should be a joyful experience”. If I had dishes like that it probably would be! But it got me thinking, should dishes like that (antique, or with gold edges) really be washed in the dishwasher? I decided to look it up.
It turns out, you shouldn’t put antique dishes in the dishwasher, or any dish that is hand painted. If it has a gold edge it may be OK to put it in there but check and see if it has a label under the dish that says if it’s OK or not. Some gold rimmed dishes (if they’re marked) will withstand the heat and pressure in a dishwasher. I would be afraid to try it. I have some beautiful Christmas dishes that are edged in 24K gold and I wouldn’t even think of putting them in there.
While searching for my answers, I came across a very helpful article from Real Simple. I’ve attached the link here so you can check it out. It gives a very detailed list of what should and shouldn’t go in a dishwasher. Rather than me quoting bits and piece from it I think you should just check it out. I was surprised to see that you could put hair brushes (as long as they’re not wooden), potatoes and shin guards in there! You have to check out their complete list! It will blow your mind!
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/kitchen/you-can-put-that-in-the-dishwasher-00000000022437/print-index.html
To get Rachel’s Book click here: