Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Dishwashers

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

If you have a large community and plan to have large meals, you may 
want a commercial dishwasher, but the point is that a regular 
dishwasher is very convenient to have also. There are many times when a 
small dishwasher is not only useful but is all that is needed. When you 
are planning your commonhouse, these things are not always apparent.

A big dishwasher may be good for large meals, but not all the uses will 
be large meals. Many more things than community meals will happen in 
the commonhouse. Over the summer we had a group of teenagers who were 
playing monopoly in the afternoons in the commonhouse. The glasses and 
bowls and cutlery from juice, popcorn, and ice cream could easily have 
gone into a dishwasher instead of piling up on the dish table.

We have tried to discourage hand washing dishes because there is no 
guarantee that the glasses and cutlery receive more than a cursory 
rinsing. Dishes are supposed to be rinsed and put on the dishtable to 
go through the dishwasher the next time it is fired up. (It takes an 
hour for the water to heat.) Since we do not have community meals when 
the dishwasher is used more than 1-2 times a week, the pile can become 
large and unsightly.

Again, many more things go on in the commonhouse besides large 
community meals and these produce dishes that can more appropriately 
and conveniently go into a normal (quiet) dishwasher that takes care of 
itself once it is turned on. And even a teenager can load it.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org

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