Marcel Aucar
Our kitchens are changing. Smart technology is automating more and more menial tasks in our lives and appliance companies are continuing to amaze us with solutions to every day tasks we didn’t know annoyed us until we do away with them.
The dishwasher is one such innovation. It’s decades since we gave up the ritual of standing for an extended time at the sink to wash and dry dishes – perhaps chatting with family members, perhaps cursing the drudgery of life. We thought life couldn’t get any better.
Enter the comfort lift dishwasher. Electrolux is at the head of the pack with a savvy design that brings the bottom shelf up to the same height as the top one for ease of access, takes the stooping out of stacking and unstacking – it’s the helping hand you didn’t know you needed.
Users can easily lift the bottom drawer up towards them, streamlining the stacking process even further. “It has truly improved my life,” says HB photo editor (and chronic sufferer of back pain) Helen Petrou. “Not only am I spending less time in the kitchen, there is less strain on my lower back, being able to lift the bottom drawer to pack and unpack. Just genius, love it.”
“A dishwasher is an integral part to every kitchen, even being referred to as ‘the backbone of operations’ in the commercial kitchen,” says Richard Ousby, executive chef at Stokehouse and Electrolux ambassador.
“Can it take the weight of heavy saucepans and large platters?” we hear you ask. “This dishwasher is extremely accommodating to large saucepans and heavy platters,” Richard continues. The drawer is built to hold up to 18kg of dishes and designed to accommodate oddly shaped and tall crockery.”
In addition to the 25% added capacity offered by the machine, the top tray can be popped up and repositioned a few centimeters higher, giving you that much needed space to fit these bulky items.
“You’ll fit more in, receive a better clean and save time if you properly stack in the first place.”
Richard Ousby, Executive Chef, Stokehouse
This includes the dinner party onslaught. “Naturally, you’ll need to alter your stacking technique as a dinner party results in a larger number of dirty dishes!” says Richard. “Whether you’re a wash-as-you go, or prefer to leave the big clean to the end, you want to think smart when it comes to minimising the amount of time, water and energy you use.”
“Using increased water pressure and temperature, your dishes will be cleaned in half the time, making a larger dent in your cleaning load faster!”
Richard Ousby
Richard’s dos and don’ts when using your dishwasher
Do:
- Clean your dishwasher regularly. Avoid unpleasant odours by putting your dishwasher through an empty rinse cycle to clear out grease and any lingering food scraps.
- Stack small items on top and large on the bottom. It might sound obvious, but next time you catch yourself trying to stuff those final pieces into the machine – take note!
- Make use of your different dishwasher settings. The eco-wash program on the ComfortLift has a TimeSaver option which can drastically reduce your cycle run time.
Don’t:
- Stress about rinsing every item. Scrape off excessive food scraps, but don’t worry about a thorough pre-rinse – cleaning these stains is the dishwasher’s job! Conserve water. If your crockery is still dirty, it might have more to do with your stacking prowess than the ability of your machine!
- Place plastics and Tupperware on the bottom drawer. As the water emitted from the dishwasher jets is very hot, it’s best to have them on the top shelf to avoid them warping into odd shapes.
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