Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 13, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba C2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMTUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 2024 Best way to fill up the dishwasher a hot and sudsy topic of debate A LOADED QUESTION I T’S the household task that’s launched a thousand (or more) domestic disputes: loading the dishwasher. Silverware pointing up or down? Cram in those unwieldy pots and pans, or wash them by hand? How much can you crowd in there? What can go on the bottom shelf? The vari- ations, and possibilities for debate, are endless, and frequently make their way into marriages and room- mate relationships. Timothy Faust, a 36-year-old health activist in Milwaukee, recently posted on X: “I thought my dad’s pickiness about how to load the dishwasher was ridiculous until I moved in with a beautiful woman whose approach to the task, shall we say, reminds me of the Galveston beach I visited after hurricane Ike.” Faust says his dad, known as “Big Jim,” brings “total rigor” to the task. Even now, Faust says, when he’s vis- iting Big Jim, his dad will go behind him to adjust an out-of-place mug. “He has a vision … and there’s no way I can possibly fit into it,” Faust says. Although his wife Renee’s methods feel inefficient to Faust — she wedges cups sideways on the bottom rack or parks the InstantPot liner pot smack in the middle, making it hard to fit other things around it — he says the dishes do typically come out clean. And it’s not a source of tension; he finds it endearing and says he enjoys the game of rearranging the dishes to make things fit better. Other couples, though, take things more seriously. Jessica Ek, the senior director of digital communications for the American Cleaning Institute, knows of at least one couple who included dishwasher-related rules in their wedding vows. She has also heard of a family establishing the rule that if you load the machine and everything doesn’t come out clean, you are responsible for rewashing those dishes. We asked five of our Washington Post colleagues to load the dishwash- er in our test kitchen while narrating their thought process, on video. Each had the same assortment of plates, bowls, glasses, mugs, silverware and pots and pans to choose from, with the caveat that they didn’t have to fit everything into the machine. We even threw in a few traps, in the form of cast iron, crystal, knives and a wooden spoon. Our volunteers were a sharp bunch: no one fell for the cast iron or crystal, and most of them caught the knife and wooden spoon. Otherwise, their methods were all over the map, with varying styles of loading the silver- ware or trying to put together the puzzle with large bowls or cookware. There probably isn’t one right way to load a dishwasher, no matter what your roommate, parent or partner tells you. There are some best prac- tices, though. “You want it to be able to clean what you’re trying to clean, and you want it to not damage, scratch or ruin what you’ve put in there,” Ek says. “If you can achieve both of those things, done is better than ideal.” Here are Ek’s guidelines on how and where to load items. • Plates: Load these in the bottom rack, between the tines so they aren’t touching one another. Face them toward the centre, where the sprayer is, for best results. • Bowls: These can go in the top or the bottom rack, just make sure they’re angled down with enough space between to let the water reach the dirt. • Pots and pans: Yes, you can put these in the dishwasher if there’s room. Place them in the bottom rack, where the water is hotter and has the most pressure, to get anything baked on during cooking. As with bowls, they should be angled down and have some space around them. • Glasses and mugs: Always load glassware and mugs in the top rack. Place glasses facing down between the tines, not over them; putting them over the tines can put more stress on the glass, making it more vulnerable to damage. It can also cause water spotting. • Plastic: These items should go on the top shelf because the water pressure and temperature are lower, meaning there’s less potential to dam- age or deform the plastic. • Silverware: There is no one “right” way to load utensils. Handles down will get them cleaner, exposing dirty parts to more water. But if children are helping you, pointing sharp objects down is safer. For spoons, go handles down, but make sure they aren’t nesting against one another. As for more general dishwasher loading advice, Ek shared these tips: • Don’t overload the machine. “If you have things that are overlapping one another, or there isn’t a lot of space between them, it’s better to save some things for the next load,” Ek says. Dishwashers use far less water than people think — an Energy Star machine uses about three gallons per load, the rough equivalent of running the faucet for about a minute and a half — so it’s OK to run a load when the machine isn’t full. Ek uses what she calls an “eight- dish rule” in determining whether to wash the extra dishes by hand. “If you’re washing more than eight dishes, it’s more efficient to run the dishwasher than wash by hand.” • Not everything can go in the dish- washer. Ek says you should never put cast iron, good knives or wood in the machine. Other things that can be damaged by heat include crystal and delicate glassware, and antique china (modern pieces are fine on the china or delicate setting on the machine). If you’re on the fence about aluminum, copper, non-stick cookware or travel mugs, check the manufacturer’s instructions for guidance. • Emptying matters, too. Empty the bottom rack first so water in items in the top rack doesn’t drip down on your clean dishes. • Don’t forget to wash the dishwasher. “If you’re loading everything proper- ly and putting in the right amount of detergent and things are not getting clean, you probably need to clean your dishwasher,” Ek says. Check the filter frequently and clean it if neces- sary. Several times a year, wipe down the sprayer arm and the gaskets. — The Washington Post MARI-JANE WILLIAMS AND ALISA SHODIYEV KAFF You might be able to solve some problems in advance. For instance, if your child is concerned about having someone to sit with at lunch, encourage them to make a plan with a friend. A conversation may also help your child realize that the things they’re afraid of are very unlikely to happen. If they’re scared that no one will pick them up and they’ll have to spend the night at school, ask if that’s ever hap- pened to them, or to anyone they know personally. • Encourage kids to reconnect with their friends. Kids may be nervous about seeing some of their classmates for the first time in months. Smooth the way by ar- ranging a playdate or two before school starts. Older kids might prefer to break the ice by reaching out with a text or via a social media app, Sweeney said. Another way to help settle a child’s nerves is having them practise what they’ll do when they see their peers at school. Kennedy-Moore suggests they look the friend in the eye, smile and say “Hi,” along with the friend’s name. Follow up with a sincere compliment — “Cool backpack!” — or a question that starts with “how” or “what.” To further put a child at ease, re- hearse how they’d respond to a likely question. If asked, “How was your summer?” a child can reply “Great,” followed by a fact like “We went to the beach with my cousins,” Kenne- dy-Moore said. • Give your kids time to adjust their sleep schedule. Moving it gradually will make for an easier transition, experts say. Wake them up 15 or 30 minutes earlier each morning and encourage them to get dressed and eat breakfast to establish a routine. If the earlier start makes them tired, that will help them fall asleep earlier, too. Getting enough rest is an important factor in school success, said Alvord, adjunct professor at George Washing- ton University’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “A lack of sleep interferes with emotion regulation and with clarity of thought,” she said. “When you’re tired, everything seems much worse.” But if the new sleep schedule doesn’t stick before school starts, don’t panic. Just keep their after-school schedules open to facilitate earlier bedtimes. “Your kids will get over the jet lag from the schedule shift in a few days,” Kennedy-Moore said. • Don’t pass your own anxieties on to your kids. Children often look to adults for cues about how to respond in unfamiliar or unusual situations, Kennedy-Moore said. “If we, as parents, are calm and gen- erally positive about school, it makes it easier for kids to have positive expec- tations,” she said. That may be easier said than done. When it comes to their children, parents tend to worry about the worst- case scenario and see things in all- or-nothing terms, Alvord said. If they can learn to recognize and adjust their thinking patterns, they can help their children to do the same, she said. • Focus on the positive. If the first day of school puts your child through the wringer, praise them for sticking it out. “Say, ‘I’m so proud of you, we’re get- ting ice cream,’” Sweeney said. “I have a personal philosophy that ice cream fixes everything.” — Los Angeles Times BACK TO SCHOOL ● FROM C1 ARTS ● LIFE I LIFESTYLES The Barry Lank Award, given to a filmmaker in recognition of their work’s social awareness, went to Sonya Ballantyne for her documentary Nosi- sim. For her dedication to the festival, Lisa Martin was named this year’s recipient of the Betty Schwartz Memo- rial Volunteer Achievement Award. Each year, the festival partners with the Royal Bank of Canada to award $10,000 in production funds to an emerging filmmaker through its pitch competition. This year’s winner is Coby Friesen for his idea, Cruising in Gomorrah, described by the filmmak- er as a “queer horror” set on an idyllic yet supposedly haunted beach. Friesen, who won the top emerging filmmaker award at last year’s Reel Pride Film Festival, will screen the film at next year’s GIFF. ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com GIFF ● FROM C1 MICHELLE SIU / THE CANADIAN PRESS Director Zacharias Kunuk received the Alda Award for lifetime achievement at GIFF. WENDELIN JACOBER / PEXELS The most efficient way to organize a dishwasher is often a contentious topic between couples or roommates. ;