Got called out by a stranger for loading the dishwasher wrong at a friend's BBQ last Sunday

I was helping clear plates at my neighbor's cookout, and this guy I never met before literally stopped me mid-motion to say I was doing it all wrong. He pointed at my forks facing down and said they'd trap food bits. I laughed it off but spent the next 20 minutes watching him rearrange everything. It got me thinking: why do people care so much about how others load a machine that just washes stuff anyway? Does anyone else have a dishwasher rule they think is universal but actually isn't?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahbaker29d agoOG Member

The real issue isn't dishwasher etiquette, it's that we've turned a household chore into a weird status game. That guy probably felt superior for knowing some "correct" way and needed to prove it in front of everyone. Most machines do a fine job regardless, and the only rule that matters is loading it so things actually get clean.

adam_anderson629d ago

What about the whole "pre-rinsing" debate though... I know people who rinse every single dish before loading and honestly that's probably wasting more water than just running the dishwasher twice. The guy in the story probably would've had a fit over that too.