Went down a worm hole today - anyone using a portable counter top dishwasher for stemware? We have a Thermador dishwasher, its fine, can do 8 stems on the middle rack no problem. Issue is for larger parties we run out of space and sometimes it takes a few loads, and we wind up cleaning more by hand (either the stems or plates).
I was looking at these portable counter top dishwashers - anyone have experience? Wondering how many stems I could put i one, or conversely, would I be able to put stems (Grassl) on the bottom of my Thermador and use a portable counter top dishwasher for more plates and stuff?
This is a 2-4x a year kinda thing and we didn’t want to sacrifice storage for a 2nd dishwasher for a 4x a year thing.
Issue I see are the tank based one that do not need a sink hook up seem to be pretty small so not sure how useful it would be for stemware or overflow plates from the main dishwasher?
I’m watching. Love to hear any opinions. I am surprised no dishwasher companies make a glass rack that fits in the bottom section. I guess there is no market for them.
Could you modify a commercial rack to lift for clearance? I’ve not done it but I did look up the dimensions and they are slightly smaller than standard home washers.
The one I haven’t tried I just thought of is putting legs under it rather than figuring out how to slide it in/out. If the legs can clear the wash arm I’m in business.
We used a counter top dishwasher for about 3 months while our kitchen was being renovated. it worked pretty well, and isn’t a bad idea for this use case (now I’m regretting selling it when our kitchen was done!)
Another alternative is you can buy a new dishwasher rack that works with glasses to let you max out the capacity, something like this just make sure you get the right width. you can get extensions if you want them to go higher. Some folk have gone so far as to screw wheels on them to ensure proper clearance in the dishwasher.
Research the specs of the portable countertop dishwasher online and then measure your glasses from bottom to top and make sure that you have at least 1 inch clearance in the dishwasher from both. You don’t want to find out the hard way that they don’t. My experience with countertop dishwashers leads me to give you the following advice:
If you already have a dishwasher, then you’re far better off getting an extra 18" or 24" dishwasher installed for just the glasses.
If you don’t own a dishwasher yet, then you’re far better off getting an 18" or 24" dishwasher installed. Better yet, get two. One for just the glasses. If installation is not an option, get portable 18" or 24" dishwashers instead.
If you already have a dishwasher, but don’t have the ability to install another one in your kitchen. Get a portable 18" or 24" dishwasher on wheels. As long as you can hook it up to a standard faucet and an electrical outlet, you can wheel it around anywhere. The kitchen, the basement, the laundry room, the garage, the backyard patio deck.
If all of the options above are exhausted or just not feasible due to space or finances, then by all means get the countertop dishwasher. Feel free to wash the dishes and cutlery in it. Just leave the wine glasses out. Those can go on the bottom rack of the regular dishwasher and possibly the middle one depending on how adjust able it is. But the bottom rack is always best.
interesting you say the bottom rack is good for thin stems, I always thought the water pressure was too strong on the bottom which is why there are wine glass clips on the middle rack, so you use that one. I am just capped at 8 stems on the middle rack.
Recommended Commercial Rack Configurations that fit grassl cru. Confirm measurements of both the glasses/compartment space as well as your dishwasher to ensure it fits:
Cambro Camrack 16S958 (16 Compartment)
Max Compartment Diameter: 111 mm (4.37 in) — Fits the 110 mm bowl snugly with proper separation.
Inside Rack Height: 258 mm (10.12 in)
Extenders: Base rack + 4 open extenders (16S958 model code includes these).
The water pressure on the bottom rack of dishwashers is exactly the same as on the top rack. Water is forced through the wash arms on top and on bottom the same way.
The reason for the wine glass clips are twofold: to lay ones that are too tall to fit upright sideways so they will fit. They also allow the water to slide off and not pool on the bottom stand so they dry properly.
I have put delicate Zaltos with thin stems on the bottom rack without any issue. I never wash my glasses by hand ever now, they come out so much cleaner from the dishwasher.
Thanks
I don’t hand wash either, I just use the middle rack so I am left with only 8 stems to put in at a time. Those commercial baskets look interesting, I may do some measuring and see if they can fit in my dishwasher. I wouldn’t mind putting all the dirty ones in there and just doing a full load once. 16 glasses should be sufficient
Just to circle back, I measured my Thermador and these commercial ones are all about .5’’ too big. I’ll stick with some of those silicon tine holder things and i can get maybe a dozen in the bottom if I am careful.