Washing The Dishes.....

...Before You Wash the Dishes

Who does this?

I know there are some of you out there that do.

I give the dishes a good run under the water before I stick them in the dishwasher, but nothing too major.  And yes, occasionally when I pull the dishes out it is obvious that I missed a spot when a corn flake is stuck to the inside of a bowl or a piece of cheese has been melted to the side of a plate (this really drives Todd crazy).

So, there is one of my flaws.  But I have back-up that my method is good (okay, I could be a little more thorough at my rinsing).  The guy that inspected our home told me that I should always leave a little food on the dishes, otherwise our dishwasher might age more quickly.  Yeah...cool, huh!?!

Apparently the types of detergents that we use in our dishwashers have chemicals in them that automatically attach to the softest surface they can find to dissolve them (a little creepy..but I remind myself that if the dishes make it through the whole wash all chemicals are steamed away).  If there is no food to attach to, the next softest thing it attaches to is the rubber seals or plastic racks and it eats away at them.

Let me take you back to last night, so you can get the full picture of where this post is coming from.  After dinner, Todd reminded me that it was might night to go running (we have to take turns).  So I got ready and as I left, Todd was cleaning the kitchen (I know...he's a good guy).  When I returned the kitchen was spotless, floor swept and the kids were watching Playhouse Disney on the computer.  Not too bad!  Although, Todd did forget about the fact that "we" were potty training Abi and she was sad that she had wet herself and was sitting in it.  But, Todd had even vacuumed the whole house while I was out (man...do I run that slow?  Yes, I do).

Anyway, this morning while getting the kids breakfast, I had recalled that my thoughtful husband had washed the dishes.  So, I opened the dishwasher to grab some bowls, but they still felt residuey and there was a small speck of cheese on one item.  It would be very unlike Todd to leave anything on the dishes as he is one of those who washes the dishes before letting the dishwasher do it's job.

A phone call was in order to make sure I was not about to subject our three beautiful children to something contaminated.  Here is how the phone call went down:

Mel:  Good morning!  I have a quick question.

Todd: Okay

Mel:  I know you "washed" the dishes before you washed the dishes, but now they are so clean that I can't tell if you ran the dishwasher.

Todd (laughing):  No, I didn't run the dishwasher

Mel:  Todd...how many times have I told you that it is not necessary to clean the dishes so much before they go in the dishwasher.  I could have given one of the kids a bowl that was still dirty (dirty is relative....they had already been scrubbed...just not with soap and super-duper hot water).

Todd (still laughing):  Sorry.  I won't let it happen again.

Mel:  Good.  Have a great day.  Love you.  Bye

You know, these are the little annoying things in life that endear you to your significant other.  You know the ones...that when they die and you complain about how they washed the dishes too much before putting them in the dishwasher and you accidentally drank water out of a dirty cup and didn't realize until you saw all the floaties in the bottom of the cup. All the while laughing through the tears realizing that it is these little things that set them apart from other people and make them uniquely yours (imagine a Lifetime Original Movie to get that one...KIM/SUZY).

I often joke that if Todd was ever cloned I would know who he is from the clone, because "only Todd would do that."  This is one of those things that would stand out as "only Todd."