Which way do you put silverware in the dishwasher?

[Minnie824]

I know, dumb question, but my parents put the handle down, they say it gets cleaner. I put the handle up, saying I don't want to reach in and grab the blade of a knife. Just wondering what everyone else does.

 

[lewdyan1]

Handle up, but Mom does handle down, maybe it's a generational thing?

 

[Laura]

Blades up.

 

[ericamanda01]

Blades up here. Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Blades up here. I always thought they'd never get clean with them in the other way. As far as emptying goes, I reach in and pick out the sharp items first and put them away. Then I grab a handful of the other things and put them away.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Handles UP! That way, when you are emptying the dishwasher, you are not reaching in and touching the surfaces you are going to eat off of. YUCK! You know that not all of you are washing your hands before emptying the silverware .

This is actually the way it was "taught" in a "hotel, restaurant, management" class at my university. Especially in a restaurant, I don't want grubby hands reaching in and touching my spoons!

 

[Shannon G]

I selected "other" because with most silverware (forks, spoons, butter knives, etc) I put them in handle down, because I think they get cleaner that way. But, with sharp knives, I put them in blade down, handle up, because I'd rather not take a chance with someone getting stabbed.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Handles UP! That way, when you are emptying the dishwasher, you are not reaching in and touching the surfaces you are going to eat off of. YUCK! You know that not all of you are washing your hands before emptying the silverware .

This is actually the way it was "taught" in a "hotel, restaurant, management" class at my university. Especially in a restaurant, I don't want grubby hands reaching in and touching my spoons!

That's true, but I reach in a pick them up by their handles, not the ends.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

That's true, but I reach in a pick them up by their handles, not the ends.

The little "slots" on my crappy dishwasher are too small for me to do that. Either that, or I am just stuffing way too many pieces in there

 

[hiwaygal]

I'm not sure whether one way is "cleaner" or not (not sure I care, since it's all getting rinsed with some pretty hot water anyway)...

But, my main reason for putting stuff in "blades up" is so that it doesn't fall through the little holes at the bottom of the basket and get bent or warped because it got stuck on something.

 

[suzannen]

After my niece cut her hand on a "blades up, handles down" steak knife requiring stitches, I have always done "handles up, blades down."

 

[mickeyfan2]

I put all knives handle up and everything else handle down. I put the knives in different compartments so as not to get cut.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Handles up.

The dog likes to "pre-rinse" the items in the dishwasher...I shoo her away...but still, don't want her slicing her tongue open.

ETA:
None of my "good knives" go in the dishwasher though...steak/cutting/chopping knives all get handwashed.

only the knives that came with the flatware set go in the dishwasher)

 

[nin8jc]

I've always put the knives w/ the blade down and everything else up. Now they just had a story on the news the other night of a young boy who was fooling around and tripped over the open dishwasher door and landed on a knife and punctured his lung, was very lucky to survive. So that makes me stick w/ my option of putting the knives in blade down.

 

[Marseeya]

I mix them because that's what the instructions on my dishwasher said to do.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

In my house it is handles up. We can't put the blades up. Because if there is a blade present, my mom will cut herself on it.

 

[CareBearYN]

This is an interesting question, since my roommate always puts silverware in handles down, but I've always put them in handles up, so you're not grabbing at the knife or fork. Since I got this from my mom and how she does it, I never even saw the handles down method til my roommie. Never understood the reasoning behind it.

But it sure does make taking the silverware out an extra task, trying to get them all facing the same way to put back in the drawer.

 

[jennyl772003]

My DH says they should go in blades up, I said blades down. I won the battle when we read the sticker on the dishwasher and it said blades down.

 

[princess pooh]

I put them in blade up. I used to do it handle up until I moved in with a blade up person, and I saw that the blade up way worked better in our terrible dishwasher. The good knives always get hand washed though.

 

[cstraub]

I've always put the knives w/ the blade down and everything else up. Now they just had a story on the news the other night of a young boy who was fooling around and tripped over the open dishwasher door and landed on a knife and punctured his lung, was very lucky to survive. So that makes me stick w/ my option of putting the knives in blade down.

I heard this story too. I always do handle up for this reason. Even an adult could trip and fall over an open dishwasher. Scares me to death.

Thanks for posting this. Someone may read it and it may help another not to be injured in this way.