18 Inch Dishwasher

 The only way to really determine if you can get by on an 18 inch dishwasher is to think about how many people generally eat at your house. Home, sorry. The rule of thumb is 2 to 3 people for an 18 inch dishwasher. If you are a couple with a toddler or two and you are wondering if this will be large enough, it is. You will just have to wash the dishes everyday or so. But you don't want that toddler slime to set on your dishes for more than 24 hours anyway... do you?

 There are two basic types of 18 inch dishwashers: built-in and portable. If you are renting, you may very well want to get a portable dishwasher you can pick up and take with you everywhere you go. That way you could be browsing through books at the library and decide, "I need to clean the dishes." You can wash the dishes in the library... well, at least in the apartment you are renting. But if you plan on staying for a while at your house, get a built-in dishwasher.

Washing cycles can be an important factor. Some machines use air and some heat. There are some dishwashers that wash very quickly but not as thoroughly as others. They are energy-savers adn time-savers. And besides, don't you want to taste a little bit of last night's pizza on your bread plate in the morning? At least it is quicker. So you must determine if the time and energy saving is more important, or do you want to use more water and take 5 hours every time you wash, but really get a cleaning. OK, the extremes aren't always in play, but the true choices lie somewhere in between.

Think about the kinds of dishes you use. the sizes and thickness of your plates and cups and other things can make a difference in your choice of an 18 inch dishwasher. How do your dishes stack? How many dishes can you fit into this dishwasher? Look for a picture of the dishwasher with plates stacked into the machine, then you can see what it looks like when it is acutally in use. Top racks are bigger on some models, because it is easier to put dishes on the top than on the bottom.

Disposal features differ on dishwashers. Most dishwashers have self-filtering systems, but some filters need to be removed after each washing and cleaned out. I would look for a dishwasher that is self-filtering so you don't need to worry about it yourself.

Other features you can get on your 18 inch dishwasher are things like buttons that allow a light wash for smaller loads and longer washes for heavier loads. A really cool feature of some dishwashers is the ability to program the darn thing to work when you are gone. If your dogs and cats dirty dishes when you are in the Bahamas, no problem. Just set your dishwasher to clean at a certain time, and train your kitty to place its bowl in the dishwasher. Just make sure you train your cat not to sleep in the dishwasher as this can alter the color of her coat.

 Some people with a full size 24 inch dishwasher are very energy conscious and can't get themselves to ever wash the dishes if the dishwasher is only half full. They are real sticklers on this point, they NEVER let themselves just wash the damn dishes and get on with their lives.

The great thing about having an 18 inch dishwasher is that you can wash your dishes guilt-free because these things fill up much more quickly. You can feel like you're saving the world all the whilst you indulge in your evil dishwashing black sins. Happy washing!