Washing dishes seems to be like a big chore, especially when you stack it on all of the other chores we have each day. One day, Josephine Cochrane was fed up with her house cleaners chipping her fine china and even though she never washed a dirty plate in her life, she invented the dishwasher in 1886. For a hundred years hence, these kitchen appliances kept a pretty low profile, but in the 1970 s they started gaining popularity as people realized the time and energy saving that these units resulted in. Today, dishwashers have are rated one of the most necessary kitchen appliances for middle sized families.
When compared to the manual method of physically scrubbing the dirt off dishes, using these units for your cleaning needs reduces the chance of wasting water, time and ensures cleaner, germ free dishes.
Most good brands either made locally or internationally, have similar basic features such as child locks, sound dampening, micro sensors, and energy efficient technologies. Still, units can cost anything between 200 to 2500 dollars depending on the materials used, the finish, and the complexity of the features provided.
Make your decision to get a dishwasher after considerable thought. Think about how much money you want to spend on a unit, how often you would use it, how heavy your usual load will be, and how much room you have in your kitchen to fit in the appliance.
Of the two kinds of units available in the market (freestanding portable), or integrated units, portable units make most sense for a family or individual living in a rented space. Integrated units can be discretely tucked away when the top and front panels are shut.
These panels can be customized according to the colors and materials you have used for your kitchen cabinets and shelves, so they look like part of kitchen fittings.
Both kinds of units come in two sizes: standard compact tub size and tall tub units. Compact units have a lesser capacity of up to 20 , but are economical if used for a small family. Compact units also ensure that you will probably have a full load before you start the cleaning cycle. As much as machines claim to have the technology to use water according to load, there is not too much of a difference in the water savings.
According to the United States Environment Protection agency, machines need to meet the standards set by the EPA in terms of energy efficiency to be sold in the market. While good machines can help you save up to 25 dollars a year in costs associated with washing units, you can be smart and save more! Most of the energy the units suck up is used to heat the water for rinsing and creating warm air for drying. You can save on both by making sure the water is already quite warm before it is used by the tub. Switch off the machine after a washing cycle and avoid automatic drying. Let the plates dry naturally by keeping the door open and watch your electricity bills go down!
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Annie is an expert furniture and interior design writer. Her current area of specialism is http://mydeco.com/s/bookcases/162/ bookcase, http://mydeco.com/design/browse/Kitchen/ kitchen design and http://mydeco.com/christmas/ christmas