So how SHOULD you load your dishwasher? Expert reveals secrets behind the best technique – including how to arrange your spoons, the ideal gap between dishes and answers the biggest question of all: whether you should pre-rinse

Rishi Sunak boldly claimed he was better at loading the dishwasher than his wife this week.

The Prime Minister even admitted that he tends to repack the dishwasher after his ‘enthusiastic’ wife, Akshata Murty, does so.

But how should you actually load your dishwasher? Is there even a ‘best technique’ for it, or is it just a matter of opinion?

According to experts, the answer is yes. When loading the dishwasher, you should consider the ideal gap between the plates and the correct way to arrange the spoons.

And of course, an age-old question needs to be answered: should you pre-rinse dirty dishes?

Do not pre-wash your dishes in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher as this is a waste of time and water

The Prime Minister and his wife Akshata Murty lifted the lid on their home life, with Rishi saying he often reloads the dishwasher after his ‘enthusiastic’ wife does

Product training manager at appliance manufacturer Miele Sophie Lane explained The times that there is an ‘art’ in loading and unloading the dishwasher.

A well-loaded dishwasher will have items loaded neatly for maximum cleaning performance, but items should not touch each other and it is best to leave a gap of about 2cm (about 3/4″) between your dishes.

This is because you need to place the dirty dishes in a corner so that it catches a jet of water, but without preventing it from reaching your other dirty items. Smaller items are at greater risk of being completely overlooked.

To ensure that your cutlery looks sparkling, it is very important that you do not clump all the items together. For example, if you nest your spoons together, only the front of the top spoon and the back of the back spoon will be completely cleaned.

And if you use a basket – which some experts question whether it is wise to use – if you put similar items in the same places, there is a risk that they will not be washed properly.

She said she and many other dishwasher experts stack their cutlery in a tray instead of a basket for better cleaning.

A cutlery tray, which normally sits at the top of the dishwasher, also means you don’t have to worry about the dilemma of whether to place your knives and forks up, to get them as clean as possible, or down, to get the most clean. the risk of stabbing yourself if you fall on the open tray.

Do not stack your cutlery too close together in the basket, otherwise it will not be washed properly

And controversially, Ms Lane says pre-rinsing dishes is a waste of time and water. “The dishwasher is there to do that,” she told The Times.

Another general piece of advice is that if your dishwasher looks like it is neatly loaded, it probably is and you are probably getting a good clean.

It also ensures that the rotating dishwasher arm spins quickly so that nothing blocks it when you turn it on.

In 2015, Dr Raul Pérez-Mohedano, who led a University of Birmingham study into the best way to load the dishwasher, concluded that the most efficient way to pack the dishwasher is to circle the cutlery basket (although this is now falling out of the dishwasher). fashion).

Experts made their findings by studying countless cycles, but warned that this could prove difficult due to the way baskets are currently designed.

Dr. Pérez-Mohedano, who led work in the chemical engineering department using a technique known as Positron Emission Particle Tracking, also suggested packaging dishes based on the type of stain they contain.

A 2015 University of Birmingham study found the best way to load the dishwasher at that time

He said carbohydrate-based stains such as potato and tomato require the full force of the water jets to get clean, while protein-based foods such as dried egg yolk require more contact with the detergent chemical.

In the study, engineers used radioactive isotopes to track the speed and direction in which the water jets travel when the device is in use.

They discovered that even though the entire inside of the dishwater gets wet during a cycle, it doesn’t necessarily clean everything the same.

This explains why in some cases a particularly stubborn piece of burnt food can be washed off during a wash cycle, while other lighter stains can be baked in.