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Is dishwasher useful in India? Guide to buy dishwasher in India

In India dishwashing was traditionally done by house maids but in modern India, getting housemaids is becoming more and more difficult as the days go by. So the answer to the question ‘is a dishwasher necessary in India?’ or ‘is dishwasher useful in India?’ is a big ‘YES’. See below why the Dishwasher is so good and useful.

Is a dishwasher necessary in India?

We have to say a dishwasher has now become more of a necessity rather than a luxury for the vast majority of professionals in India. A dishwasher for Indian cooking is very helpful because of a large number of cooking pots and pans used in our Indian type of cooking and also the many dishes used for eating many varieties of curries and chutneys. Dishwashers have been very successful in India with sales of dishwashers in India growing exponentially over the last several years.

Many have doubt regarding the question ‘dishwasher vs hand washing which cleans better?’ Rest assured that modern dishwashers with the proper dish washing soap does a fantastic job of cleaning the plates, steel plates, glasses, dishes, pots, pans, kadai, etc. The dishwasher cleans much better than the hand washing and scrubbing done by the most dedicated maid.

How to use dishwasher

See this video below to get an idea of how to run a dishwasher. It shows how easy it is to use a dishwasher and should convince you that a dishwasher is worth buying in India.

Video: Advantage of having a Dishwasher

The best way to use a dishwasher in India is to just leave all your dirty dishes, pots and pans in the dishwasher and start it at a convenient time of your choice, may be at night or while you are out for work or whenever you feel like it. It is a great feeling to have the sparkling clean dry dishes when you open the dishwasher in the morning or when you come back from work.

Many people think that to use a dishwasher properly in India, you need to rinse the plates before putting them in a dishwasher for cleaning. This is not right, you just have to remove leftover solid particles of food in the plates, this can be done by just pushing leftover food with a spoon into the waste bin. After that, you just place the plate in the dishwasher and close it. This way the gravy left on the plates will not dry out. You can leave plates this way in the dishwasher from the morning after breakfast and also load all plates and dishes used during the day. When you finish dinner or the last meal of the day the dishwasher can be started.

Next day morning you will have a full set of clean, dry and sparkling plates, glasses and dishes for use during the full day. For a family of four to five people, a free standing full size standard dish washer with 12 place settings capacity will be enough. It can store a full days load of plates, dishes, glass, cups and vessels used during the day, and have it all washed in one wash in the dishwasher during the night, or any time at your convenience.

What dishwasher place settings mean

Dishwasher place settings refers to the international standard for the capacity of a dishwasher known as ‘standard place settings’. As per the international standard one place setting consists of one each of the following items: dinner plate, dessert plate, dessert spoon, soup plate, soup spoon, glass, cup, saucer, teaspoon, knife, fork. This international standard is based on Western or European eating habits, but in India, the dishwasher manufacturers have modified their dishwasher design internally to suit the Indian way of cooking and eating habits.

Running cost of Dishwasher

One of the first questions in the mind of someone wanting to buy a new dishwasher for the first time is, ‘How much does it cost to run a dishwasher every day? We have calculated (detailed calculations further down this page) the cost to run dishwasher as Rs.9- for consumables plus Rs.7.50 as electricity charge, making the total cost of running a dishwasher as Rs.16.50 per day of one dish wash cycle. The cost of about 20 liters of water, that is how much water a dishwasher uses in litres per wash cycle,  can be ignored. The cost of Rs.9- for consumables is based on using a good branded dishwasher soap or detergent powder plus cost of Rinse Aid and salt. If using the all-in-one dish washing tablet then, instead of Rs.9-, it goes up to Rs.44- per dishwasher wash cycle. 

Electricity cost to run dishwasher is Rs.7.5- per dish washing cycle, assuming each cycle of dishwasher uses a maximum of 1.5 units of electricity and electricity costs Rs.5- per unit.

So total cost of using a dishwasher in India will be Rs.16.5 per day and for a month Rs.495-. Thus for just Rs.500- a month, you get ultra clean dishes daily without the bother to wash the dishes and much cheaper than hiring a maid. You can also add the depreciation cost of the dishwasher. Assuming 7 year life for dishwasher, the total cost of the dishwasher, including interest, at about Rs.42,000- will cost per year Rs.6000- or Rs.500- per month. Thus the total cost of owning a dishwasher works out to about Rs.1000- per month. Thus the dishwasher is cheaper than hiring a maid with the added benefit of ultra-clean hygienic dry plates and dishes daily. Dishwashers last more than 7 years. We have been using our Bosch dishwasher for over 9 years now and still going strong!

The only consumables used in a dishwasher are the dishwasher soap, Rinse Aid (gives shine to the washed plates, glasses and vessels) Dishwasher salt (normal table salt but pure variety without any magnesium or anti-caking agents, iodine, etc. which are normally added to table salt). Now in India, it is possible to buy Dishwasher tablets with all these ingredients together as one packet or tablet. The dishwasher tablet has a soluble, transparent plastic like cover inside which all the ingredients required for a dishwasher cleaning cycle are included. The Finish Quantum Max Dishwasher Tablet is considered one of the best dishwasher tablet in the world and is available in India from Amazon.in at a price of about Rs.800- for 18 tablets which works out to about Rs.44- per dishwasher wash cycle.

A cheaper and equally good alternative is to buy and use all the dishwasher consumables separately. The dishwasher soap 1 Kg will cost Rs.220- for a good brand ‘Fortune Dishwasher Detergent’ from Amazon.in. The amount of soap used in a dishwasher for each wash is about 25 grams, so 1 Kg of Dishwasher soap will last for about 40 washes, so about Rs.5.50 per dishwasher load. Rinse Aid costs will cost about Rs.300- for 2x500ml bottles at Amazon. 1 bottle of 500ml will last for about 90 cycles so for 40 washes the cost will be half the cost of one bottle = Rs.75-. 2Kg Dishwasher salt at Amazon is about Rs.200-. 1 Kg.of dishwasher salt will last for 90 days for normal tap water, so the cost will be half of 1Kg price = Rs.50-. So to calculate the maximum cost of consumable used by a dishwasher per wash add 220 (soap) + 75 (Rinse Aid) + 50 (Salt) = Rs.345 for 40 dishwasher full load washing. Therefore each dishwasher load will cost less than Rs.9- for consumables. Usually on Amazon you can get the dishwasher soap, rinse-aid and salt together on a special deal and so the cost per dishwasher wash will come down. The average water used by a dishwasher per wash is less than 25 Liters, which is actually less than that used if the dishes were washed under a tap. Electricity consumed by dishwasher is discussed below.

Electricity cost to run dishwasher in India

One of the worst fears of someone wanting to buy a dishwasher is ‘do dishwashers use a lot of electricity’. The average dishwasher power consumption in India is less than 1.5 units of electricity per  dishwasher wash cycle. It can be much lower if the dishwasher is run on the Eco program mode. In the Eco or Economical mode the dishwasher only uses the heater to bring the water in the dishwasher to 50°C during the main wash cycle. The electric heater in a dishwasher is what consumes the most electricity. Apart from the usage of electricity for heating water, the dishwasher running costs in India is not that much. So if you can avoid setting the dishwasher at higher temperatures and use the Eco mode of dish washing, then the average usage of electricity by a dishwasher will be less than 1 kilowatts hour or 1 unit of electricity per wash. That means dishwasher electricity usage for a month will be 30 units, which works out to about Rs.150- per month assuming an electricity cost of Rs.5- per unit.

The special dishwasher soap powder in India, like for example the ‘Fortune’ brand dishwasher soap, is designed to work with low temperature water in the dishwasher Eco cycle and will clean all dishes very well.

Dishwasher vs hand washing cost

Assuming no labour charges are considered, the difference in cost of Dishwasher vs hand washing cost will be mainly the amount of water used. So what uses more water, Dishwasher or hand washing dishes? Many studies have proven that Dishwashers use less water than hand washing.

Make sure that when using a dishwasher, it must be with a full load of dishes. Remember that a dishwasher uses the same amount of electricity and water whether the dishwasher is full or half full or even empty. Indian dishwasher machines use less than 20 liters of water per dish washing cycle. When compared to manual hand washing of dishes, dishwasher water usage is less than half of hand washing.

Best dishwasher for Indian cooking

The best dishwasher for Indian cooking is a  dishwasher which have been modified for our Indian way of cooking where we use a lot of large cooking pots and vessels. With heavy use of turmeric, chilies and other spices, our utensils tend to become stained, and Indian dishwashers are modified to clean these heavily soiled utensils we use in our kitchens.

Best dishwasher detergent in India

The soap or detergent used in a dishwasher is what makes a difference in how good and clean the plates, glasses, pots and pans come out of the dishwasher. So make sure you use a good brand dishwasher soap formulated for Indian dish washing. Amazon.in has almost all brands of dishwasher soaps available in India

One important tip using dishwashers. Modern day dishwasher soaps use enzymes to break down starch and proteins in burnt-on or baked-on residue on dishes and make dishes spotlessly clean. Enzymes require time to break down food stuck to plates and dishes and they need to be at below 50°C to work properly. This is why modern dishwashers take such a long time to complete a cleaning cycle, usually more than 3 hours in eco 50 mode. Even though the dishwashers work for longer times than the older generation dish washers, it works at lower temperatures and uses lesser electricity and water. The Eco-50 is the ideal setting for dishwasher soaps to clean dishes thoroughly. So it is always better to run a dishwasher in the eco-50 mode. If the dishes are not very heavily dirty, then use just about a tea-spoon full of dishwasher soap. You need to add more soap in the dishwasher only when there is burnt-on or baked-on residue in the dishes. In such a situation a dishwasher tablet will be very helpful, or put dishwasher soap to the maximum level in the dishwasher soap tray. Also you can sprinkle a tea-spoon of dishwasher soap over the bottom tray of the dishwasher.

Best dishwasher for Indian cooking vessels

The best dishwasher in India designed use with Indian cooking is the one which is capable of washing the special types of vessels we use for Indian cooking. Most of us have stainless steel vessels and it is important that we use a dishwasher detergent which will not remove the shine on these stainless steel vessels. Also we have a lot of frying to do in Indian cooking, so we need a dishwasher which will penetrate the burnt on deposits left in the frying pans and clean it properly. The size of vessels used in Indian cooking is totally different to the types used in western cooking. So a dishwasher designed for use with western dishes may not be the ideal dishwasher for use with Indian cooking. So look for a dishwasher that has been adapted for Indian cooking. To find out which is the best dishwasher in India for daily use, click this link to our page showing the top 5 best dishwasers available in India specially designed for Indian Cooking vessels and dishes.

Types of Dishwashers available in India

The best types of dishwashers available in India are built-in dishwashers, free standing dishwashers and table top small dish washer or counter top dishwasher. Built-in dishwashers, as the name suggests, is built into the kitchen cabinets, and they cannot be moved to a different position. Free standing dishwashers are floor standing dishwashers of 24 inches or 60 centimetre width that can be placed anywhere where there is a water connection, a drainage point and an electric socket. Table-top or counter-top small dishwashers are somewhat popular in India, because they are smallest size dishwasher in India and economical to buy. These small size dishwashers in India are especially suited for a small family who do not have many dishes to be washed. For most Table Top small Dishwashers no plumbing is required.

Dishwasher size in India

All Freestanding dishwashers look the same from the outside. The International standard size of a Freestanding dishwasher is 24 inches wide, 24 inches deep and 35 inches high. In India we convert this to the metric system and the Indian Standard sizes of dishwashers are 60 cms wide, 60 cms deep and 85 cms high. Thus outside dishwasher size and front loading washing machine size is the same. It is usual for dishwasher companies to say the dishwasher capacity as ‘dishwasher place settings’. So what does the place settings mean in dishwasher. We explain:

A good feature to have in dishwashers is to be able to do a quick rinse cycle. A quick rinse cycle operates without any detergent and uses only a small quantity of cold water. The quick rinse cycle in a dishwasher is good to operate just after you load some dirty dishes. If for example you start loading dishes right after breakfast and wait till night to load the dirty dishes of dinner, then you want to rinse the dirty dishes each time you load after breakfast and lunch. This way the dirty plates get rinsed and will not have caked on dry gravy and other food stuck on the plates. It will also avoid having the stale smell when you open the dishwasher later to load the dirty dinner dishes.

Why put salt in a dishwasher

The purpose of salt in the dishwasher salt compartment is to regenerate the water softener resin used in the dishwasher water softener. Dishwashers have a built in water softener to make any hard water entering the dishwasher into soft water. Hard water can cause several problems in a dishwasher like leaving a scale on the washed dishes and not letting the dishwasher detergent to work properly. Hard water can also cause scaling on the heating coils and thus increase electricity costs. Also hard water can block the jet holes on the dishwasher rotating sprayer and increasing the load on the dishwasher pump which again can lead to increased electricity costs.

Thus the water softener in a dishwasher is doing an important job of softening the dishwashing water which leads to cleaner brighter dishes and less dishwasher electricity usage.

The water softener in the dishwasher works by removing the calcium and magnesium ions from hard water and replacing with sodium ions to make soft water. The sodium ions are supplied from the salt that is put into the dishwasher. That is why dishwasher salt is needed in a dishwasher.

What is Rinse Aid in Dishwasher

Rinse Aid liquid is put into the Rinse Aid holder of the Dishwasher. During the very final rinsing of the cleaned dishes in a dishwasher, a small amount of the rinse aid liquid is injected into the final rinse water. Rinse Aid consists of a special chemical called a surfactant which reduces the surface tension of water and thereby preventing the water to form into round shape of a drop of water and sticking to the dishes being washed in a dishwasher. With rinse aid in the final rinse water all water is completely drained away from the surface of the dishes with no drops remaining on the dishes to cause spots on the dishes when the water evaporates from the drops. The rinse aid solution is usually acidic containing highly soluble acids like citric acid, which prevents any scaling on the dishes and cause it to look dull and cloudy.

Condensation drying in dishwashers

How a condensation drying dishwasher works is by heating all the dishes in the dishwasher with hot water in the final rinse which will have the rinse aid solution added. Then the water is drained and the dishwasher remains idle while all the water evaporates from the hot dishes and the resulting water vapour condenses on the cold walls of the dishwasher inside body which is made of stainless steel. All dishwashers with condensation drying feature will have a stainless steel shell or tub inside, surrounding the dishes, and since stainless steel conducts heat out quickly it cools faster than the ceramic dishes in the dishwasher. This results in water evaporating from the hot dishes and condensing on the cold stainless steel walls inside the dishwasher. This is essentially how the condensation dishwasher drys the plates and dishes inside it.

It should be noted that some items with low specific heat, like plastic vessels, may not get very dry in a condensation dishwasher. This is due to these vessels not retaining enough heat to evaporate all the water on its surface. But it should not be a problem, since all the water will already have drained out of the surface of these plastic vessels, especially since the final rinse water of the dishwasher contains the rinse aid solution which aids in complete draining of water.

Dishwashers with condensation drying is better than dishwashers that have separate heater coils for drying, because the condensation dishwasher uses less electricity and are cheaper to run. The dishes in a dishwasher with condensation drying will be as dry as in dishwashers which have dedicated heating coils for drying dishes. Also the dishwashers with separate heating elements to dry the dishes, tend to melt any plastic items kept in the lower rack of the dishwasher. This will never happen in a dishwasher with condensation drying feature.

History of dishwashers

The first patent for a dish washing machine was taken in1850 by Joel Houghton. It was a wooden machine with a hand-turned wheel which splashed water on dishes. It was not very good at washing dishes. Ms. Josephine Cochran invented a practical dishwasher in 1886 but it was not a commercial success. The Hydro-Electric Manufacturing Company of Milwaukee is thought to have made the first electrically operated Dishwasher in the 1920’s which was somewhat of a commercial success. By the 1940’s many Companies were marketing automatic electrical Dishwashers.

The first Indian Company to manufacture Dishwashers in India is IFB. Dishwashers are now being made in India from all the leading Domestic Appliance manufacturers like Bosch, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Whirlpool, etc.

Best dishwasher brand in India

Below is a list of the best brands of dishwashers in India. Any one of these brands of Indian dishwashers could be the best dishwasher brand in India. Click on any of the best brands of Indian dishwashers in the list below to take you to the manufacturer website of the dishwasher brand.

If you want to see all makes of Indian dishwashers on a single webpage to check and compare prices of Indian dishwashers side by side, then the best place to do online shopping for Indian Dishwashers is this web-page on dishwashers on Amazon.in.

Online buying of major home appliances in India like dishwashers, washing machines, fridge and ACs is becoming very popular in India not only because of the convenience of buying online, but also because you get the latest best quality products delivered and installed in your house directly through the manufacturers. You do not have to worry about service since you have the backing of these giant online shopping companies who pride themselves in making sure their customers are happy.

List of Best Indian Dishwasher Brands

Here is a list with the best brands of dishwashers in India. Each dishwasher brand name in the list below is a clickable link and will take you directly to the dishwasher company website

Advantage of Online buying of Home Appliances

Whatever Home Appliance you plan to buy, it is best to first do an online research about all available types and models on the leading online retailers in India, namely Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. The advantage of first doing an online research about products you plan to buy is that you get to see all the available models of the product and you get to compare prices online. After this you can go around to the showrooms and do window shopping.

You should then decide to buy from the cheapest and most reliable source. When buying online, you can be sure that you will not get fake products and you are assured of after sales service. This is because the giant on-line retailers arrange for delivery to your house directly through the manufacturers of the product. Due to the high volume of business from the big online retailers, all manufacturers will make sure that any delivery on behalf of the big online retailers are of the best quality and that after sales service is provided on a priority basis.

If ever you have any problems, then you can go back to these online retailers and complain. All of these big online sellers have a reputation to keep and they always make sure that all complaints are promptly solved.

Advantage of buying AC, Fridge, Washing Machine, etc. online

Buying online fridges, washing machines, dishwashers and other major kitchen appliances is now the better option in India, just like it is in the USA and other advanced countries. There are several advantages of buying online. First of all, you get unbeatable bargain prices. Secondly, you get new and genuine products. Other benefits include no interest EMI payments, able to return the product for a full refund if not satisfied, etc.

Just to give you an example, below are some of the benefits Amazon India, the leading global online retailer, offered in India during their last sale. The same deals are not always available, but it is a good idea to check this link to the special offers page on Amazon.in India website.

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Link to Amazon.in deals

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