Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: dishwashers

[Lynn Nadeau (welcome]

Here at RoseWind we have a commercial slide-in dishwasher and we love it. 
It's in a corner. There's a Formica countertop extension that is good for 
collecting dirty dishes. Right there is a drawer where we scrape our 
compost into a stainless bin. Then a "spray table" with stainless counter 
by it, with the dishwasher in the corner. The square trays of dishes go 
in the dirty side, then emerge on the clean side, where there is room for 
two full trays to air dry. (Room for a third tray would have been 
helpful, but this works ok.) Next to that is a conventional three-part 
pot sink, also stainless. Our clean Corelle dishes live on a rolling 
Rubbermaid three-tier cart, which is at the beginning of the serving 
line, but can be rolled into the kitchen for refilling with clean plates, 
bowls, and silverware. 

The matter of water waste in pre-rinsing dishes is easily solved by using 
a dishpan to rinse the dishes. A dish brush with a handle will quickly 
clean plates for loading. And it doesn't matter that you're using "dirty" 
water for the job. (Not to mention that our sprayer usually ended up with 
lots of water on the person spraying, and on the floor, due to the 
rebound effect.) Another pan with soapy water in it is where silverware 
gets dumped prior to loading. Just swishing a handful of silverware is 
usually plenty to prepare it for the dishwasher.
>The large commercial dishwashers aren't in any way good for your back and
>will make anyone with the inability to lift a large heavy tray feel less
>abled and less valued. I know, you only have to slide some of them. It's
>still very hard on your back in the long run.
I have a weak back and our system is no problem at all. The empty trays 
are stacked under the sink, and are not heavy. The trays are filled over 
the spray sink, from which point they slide in and out of the dishwasher. 
They are then emptied either when dry, or by a dish dryer (a quick swipe 
with a clean dish towel is all it takes, as they are hot), without moving 
the rack from the counter till it's empty again. I've seen most of our 
members use the set up, and we have many who don't have strong backs.
Even if you moved a full rack, we have Corelle dishes and they aren't 
very heavy. 
>
>Another consideration is how you want the kitchen to FEEL. We have always
>maintained that we wanted it like a home and not a commercial kitchen.
www.rosewind.org shows photos of our kitchen. Warm colors, tile work, and 
such do a good job of giving our kitchen an attractive look. If you are 
planning a kitchen, have a look. I'd be glad to respond to any questions 
you have from the photos. 
>
>I hate commercial dishwashers, and I think that the communities that have
>them defend them because it would be too psychically damaging to admit they
>wasted all that money for a big loud eyesore. 
That sure isn't true here. Nor does the brief period of noise seem to 
bother those who still sit and chat in the dining room. 

Lynn Nadeau, RoseWind Cohousing
Port Townsend Washington (Victorian seaport, music, art, nature)
http://www.rosewind.org
http://www.ptguide.com
http://www.ptforpeace.info (very active peace movement here- see our 
photo)

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