When two dishwashers are better than one…
Two dishwashers?
Now before I go too far in this area, let’s clear up the perception I might make more money if I install 2 dishwashers in a project. While the contract may be higher after all labor and materials are totaled, most of us in Kitchen Design make our living more from the sale of cabinetry than appliances.
A second dishwasher actually costs me income because I am eliminating the cabinet that would have been in that space. With the more luxury oriented products on the market, the dishwasher could actually be less expensive than the cabinet it replaces. So to my good friends in the appliance business…you are welcome!
My first project that involved a second dishwasher was for a builder many years ago. We all thought it was a bit ostentatious at first. How big would this family have to be to want 2 dishwashers? How much entertaining would one have to do to merit such a concept?
About the cycling of dishes:
About 90% of the same dishes we take out of the dishwasher will be back in it for the next load. If the dishwasher is full or clean, dirty dishes pile up in the sink or on the countertops.
Given that we cycle around 90% of the same dishes, why not work out of a clean dishwasher instead of a cabinet? If 8 place settings are washed at once then a family of 4 will wash every two meals. That means we are emptying about every day just to load the same items back again.
Indeed if we are holding a large gathering, there is always the efficiency of running both simultaneously.
Dishwashers taking up storage space?
Yes, and this seems to be the only concern I support particularly in small kitchens where storage is such a premium. But since the 80s kitchens are getting more expansive and storage is being utilized in other spaces as well. The loss of storage turns out to be marginal since effectively we are storing dishes in the dishwasher about 80% of the time.
Considering that when I started in business, dishwashers were not a standard in kitchen design, although most new homes at that time did come with one. I know this well because in one of my first designs I forgot to put a dishwasher in the design! We did in those days actually design some kitchens around a 24” base cabinet to one side of the sink that could be removed for future dishwasher installation.
Some have offered the dishwasher drawers as an alternative to 2 full size dishwashers. I am not a fan since the cost has proven to be almost the same as 2 full size units and the service of these units I personally have found lacking. The only place I have used them effectively in the US is in single person households or small efficiency kitchens that lack the physical space to accommodate any other options.