It’s the eternal argument that can fire up family members and divide households and workplaces: should cutlery point up or down in the dishwasher? Make a mistake, and you could land yourself in hot water.
Safety-minded souls swear it’s best if utensils face down in the basket, while others like to live on the edge with pointy ends up, convinced they clean better out in the open. Others choose chaos and just throw them in randomly.
Make a mistake in someone else’s kitchen and you could land yourself in hot water
Most people say they don’t care either way. I didn’t think I did, but then realised I subconsciously stack mine pointing up every time. Even knives – wild, I know. Just not super-sharp ones – c’mon now, I don’t have a death wish.
To conquer this cutlery clash, we read a myriad of dishwasher manuals and consulted our in-house dishwashing whiz to settle the matter once and for all.
What do dishwasher manuals say?
Well, it varies.
LG’s manuals say forks and spoons up, but knives down for safety reasons – advice echoed by Fisher & Paykel.
Samsung says knives and forks should point down to avoid the risk of injury, while Hisense excitedly advises “always load sharp utensils with the sharp point down!” but doesn’t have any concrete recommendations aside from that.
And then there’s Beko, which just avoids the issue altogether in their manual (they’re probably still arguing about it in the factory). Instead, they just advise that the “cutlery basket is designed to wash your dishes such as knife, fork, spoon, etc. in an efficient manner”. Um yeah, thanks for the hot tip, Beko.
All this analysis might seem silly given that packing the dishwasher is such a menial task, but bring up the topic in conversation with friends and family and you’ll be surprised about how passionate people get about it.
“Loading and unloading dishes is a daily chore we’re all probably sick of so it can be a touchy topic, particularly if you always seem to be the only one doing it,” says CHOICE expert Denis Gallagher.
Loading and unloading dishes is a daily chore we’re all probably sick of so it can be a touchy topic
CHOICE Expert Denis Gallagher
“We’re all looking for shortcuts to clean better and faster, so we all have our preferred methods. Plus, picking crusted-on curry off your forks is no fun for anyone.”
To be fair, there’s some solid arguments for both up and down depending on your dishwashing priorities. Let’s dive in and dissect them.
Our expert Denis has been testing products at CHOICE for 20 years.
The case for down
1. Safety first
“Unloading your dishwasher shouldn’t be an extreme sport and you don’t want to cut your hand on an upturned knife, which can do real damage and dirty your dishes all over again,” says Denis.
“While most adults would back themselves to handle knives carefully, it’s not worth the risk, especially if you have young kids or adventurous pets around the kitchen too. Facing cutlery down removes that concern.”
You don’t want to cut your hand on an upturned knife, which can do real damage and dirty your dishes all over again
CHOICE Expert Denis Gallagher
Ideally, your sharper, bigger knives should lie horizontal in the designated knife tray or the top cutlery shelf, if your machine has one of these.
CHOICE tip: Expensive chef knives or others with wooden handles shouldn’t go in the dishwasher at all. The hot, wet conditions and abrasive detergents can cause them to corrode or deteriorate, and the water jets can bang them together, chipping or dulling their razor-sharp edges.
2. Fewer germs and smudges
If you’re handling handles, you’re also keeping your dirty mitts off the eating ends of your utensils.
“Ideally, you don’t want to transfer germs and bacteria from your hands onto your freshly-cleaned cutlery which will end up in your food and mouth later.”
And there’s another reason to only handle the, er, handles – it means you’re not leaving any finger prints or smudges on your pristine knife blades, which isn’t the best look if you’re having guests over.
Another reason to go down? If all the handles are up, they’re easier to grab and get into your cutlery drawer quickly.
“That way you can easily pick them up by the handful and put them into their respective spots, which can save you a bit of time,” says Denis.
CHOICE tip: Get to know your cutlery’s handles. The knives usually have heftier handles, so they’re easy to grab and put away together.
The case for up
1. Superior cleaning
“Placing your cutlery with the business end pointing up is ultimately better for cleaning, because the dirtiest parts of your utensils are more exposed to the spray arms, rather than them hiding down in the basket where they’re harder to wash,” confirms Denis.
Placing your cutlery with the business end pointing up is ultimately better for cleaning
CHOICE Expert Denis Gallagher
2. Less ‘nesting’
Closely related to the first point, placing cutlery up and out in the open also prevents similar-shaped utensils from nesting together (or spooning, as it were) and shielding each other from the spray jets. That means more hot water and detergent can get to them for better results.
How do you stack your cutlery? Up, down or randomly?
3. Fewer water marks and rust spots
Another benefit of placing your cutlery facing up is that water and detergent will run down the cutlery and won’t leave blemishes as it dries.
“This can definitely be an issue with downward-facing cutlery, especially if you’re using cheaper, harsher dishwasher powders,” says Denis.
“You can polish off water or rust spots with a tea towel, but that does add an extra layer of labour to the chore.”
If you need one simple blanket rule to live by (and to minimise kitchen quarrels), place all of your cutlery down.
Denis says: “This is a good basic strategy that’s easy for family, housemates or workmates to remember, if that’s your priority. It’s safest and minimises any chance of dishwasher wounds, it’s more hygienic because you’re grabbing the handles and it’s generally faster to unload too.”
This is a good basic strategy that’s easy for family, housemates or workmates to remember, if that’s your priority
CHOICE Expert Denis Gallagher
Option 2: The advanced version
If you want better cleaning results, Denis advises a more nuanced and multi-pronged plan of attack. This hybrid method involves:
knives down for safety reasons (a non-negotiable!)
forks and spoons up for a better clean and fewer water marks.
“With a mix of up and down, you’ll get less nesting and crowding in the basket, so you’ll get a better clean,” says Denis.
“It can take you longer to sort and put away after as you can’t just grab all the handles at once, but it’s worth it if you want the best performance from your dishwasher.”
Cutlery basket versus cutlery tray: Which wash wins?
It’s hardly as spicy as the up-down debate, but many people have pretty strong feelings about cutlery baskets versus cutlery trays too.
“We’ve compared cutlery baskets and trays here at CHOICE and found it makes no difference to cleaning performance, so it comes down to personal preference really,” says Denis.
Cutlery baskets and cutlery trays have cleaned similarly in our tests.
Both formats have their pros and cons. With baskets, it’s quick and easy to throw stuff in and unload it by the handful, but nesting can be an issue and compromise your clean.
By comparison, a cutlery tray (also a shelf, rack or drawer depending on the manual) offers individual spots for each utensil (so nesting isn’t a concern) and there’s less chance of accidentally stabbing yourself with a fork or knife as they lie horizontal.
However, loading and unloading each utensil individually can be more time-consuming unless you take the time to put all types next to each other pre-wash. Also, the tray can reduce the height of other items you can put in the rack below.
Thankfully, these days some models feature both, so you can use them together in harmony or just remove the one you’re less keen on.
Jason Treuen is a Content producer and editor at CHOICE. Previously at CHOICE, he worked as a Content specialist and Audience engagement editor.
Find Jason on LinkedIn.
Jason Treuen is a Content producer and editor at CHOICE. Previously at CHOICE, he worked as a Content specialist and Audience engagement editor.
Find Jason on LinkedIn.
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