You Know You're a Mommy Blogger When You Write About Kitchen Appliances Twice In One Week

Just in case you missed the comments on this week's Works-For-Me Wednesday, I had to reprint some of them here.  Because I thought I was a hard-core dishwasher disinfecter (disinfector?).  Some of you girls have me beat.

Several of you wash your Crocs or other plastic shoes in the dishwasher. Cheri washes her light fixtures, and Staci washes her trashcan lid.  Melanie writes that "I keep a spray bottle with diluted bleach under the sink. Every few days I spritz the dishwasher inside to remove any odors or residue left behind."

Moriah dishwasher-izes the highchair tray, and A Frugal Housewife washes " the reuseable ice packs we use in the coolers on camping trips that get all gunky in the bottom of the cooler at the end of the trip!"

Kburklin washes candleholders, and Annabelle washes her pet dishes.  Several of you mentioned that you dishwasher-ize your potty training seat.  (Which makes me shudder, but then I remember that it couldn't possibly any grosser than my son's shin guards.)  Missy washes her car mats and stove knobs in there.

But wait, there's more!

Lynn cooks salmon in her diswasher and says it is "so moist and wonderful."  And when Elizabeth has a big dinner party that requires lots of scrubbed potatoes ready for cooking, she just runs them through the dishwasher (without the soap, of course.)

Terry says he puts his (get ready for this...) COMPUTER KEYBOARD in her dishwasher.  Now, I have to admit I'm a skeptic, but Terry swears it works--you'll just have to take it up with him.  (And Terry, I apologize for the flood of e-mails you're about to get about how to dishwash a keyboard. *UPDATE* He has written a post about it here.)

There you go.  If you have any other brilliant dishwasher uses, fire 'em up.

Comments

[What About Mom]

Plastic or plastic/vinyl-coated bibs.

That potato idea is great!

[monica]

no disenfecter/or here. i wash everything by hand. in cold water. including the cutting board i cut raw meat on...

[Cheri]

I'm so honored to be mentioned on one of my all time favorite blogs. Thank you :-) I actually got the idea from my husband who got it from his mother.

[JanMary, N Ireland]

I will never cease to be amazed by the wonder of the internet which brings these amazing suggestions to my laptop!

[Lainie@ Mishmash Maggie]

Well since you asked for more...I throw nail clippers into the utensil basket along with this plaque scrapper thing for your teeth when washing a "non-standard" load.

I keep an old plaque scrapper around because it cleans hairbrushes like all get out and then of course it gets popped into the dishwasher.

My son has asthma so I also wash/sterilize his medication cups that attach to the nebulizer and the plastic dispenser for his inhaler in the dishwasher as well.

[Leanne]

The idea for the potatoes in the dishwasher is brilliant and I'd actually be really interested to know how to cook a salmon.

I'm afraid I'm a bit more run of the mill when it comes to the dishwasher. The weirdest thing I've put in there is the husband's ear defenders after he dropped then in a puddle on a building site.

[steve]

Has anyone tried washing the dog in it?

[Llama Momma]

Wow. Cooking salmon in the dishwasher. I thought I'd heard it all! But apparently not. I love blogs. :-)

[Jolanthe @ No Ordinary Moments]

I'd totally forgotten that I'd done some of the same things in my dishwasher until reading them here.

There's mommy-brain for you.

Well, I've definitely never done salmon or the keyboard though...although it does make me wonder how the fishy smell is. Maybe if you threw a few lemons in there too? :)

[Elizabeth]

Actually, the potato trick was my dads and it's more for, like, serving a big, bunch of teachers for a PTA thing or a herd of choir kids like the New Life Singers:) Think potato bar.

A dinner at my house would never have that many people, and the potatoes would most likely be smashed with roasted garlic, heavy cream or cabernet. Or roasted with butter and cheese. Or heavily salted and baked until a crispy shell forms. Oh, yeah, I know my potatoes...

Now I'm going to feel famous all day long. Thanks, S!

[Jan]

Dishwasher Salmon? I MUST have the recipe for Dishwasher Salmon!

My readers would be all over that...

[Linda Sue]

I feel so ordinary or out of the loop - I just wash dishes in the dishwasher - no I just realized - I have little wire mesh strainers in my kitchen sinks to keep stuff from going down the pipes and I stick those in the DW to get really clean every few days. I also do the dog dishes and of course my plastic cutting boards. What a fun post and your readers are the most creative group! Woo Hoo!

[sandy toes]

A computer keyboard?????oh my..that makes me laugh:)!
-sandy toes

[Theresa (YewNorkBabe)]

My mom used to make grilled cheese sandwiches in our dishwasher.....if I remember correctly, they weren't very tasty.

Oh, she wrapped them in aluminum foil first.

[Kristy]

With all these alternative dishwasher uses, are you cleaning/disinfecting your dishwasher too? I know one person said spritzing with bleach, is that enough?

[threeundertwo]

I think that if you throw your Crocs in, you're supposed to put them out in the sun to dry. It re-activates their antibacterial-ness.

I love Crocs for gardening, but I just hose them off. The garden doesn't care how they look.

[amy]

I put the kid's plastic booster seats, straps and all, in the dishwasher. I also run stoneware through (without detergent) about once a month.

[Tara]

I had a comment, but DD hit the reset button on my pc!

When I had a working dishwasher I would put my keys in once in a while! Freaky, yes, but my kids liked to play with them and suck on them and it just creeped me out! (Take off any remote locks or starters first!)

Also, thought you'd like to know that Terry is actually a he Terry. And he wrote a post about how to dishwasher a keyboard.

[Dana: Are We There Yet?]

Hold on to your scrubbie pads, Internets! Prepare to be awashed (get it?) with amazement!

The current, daily use for our dishwasher is...

GIANT DRYING RACK

I KNOW! Brilliant, right?

Last week it decided that it was SO over the whole "washing" thing. This was just after we'd emptied the short-term savings for some plumbing and electrical repairs, naturally. So for now, we're using the "organic dishwashers". Builds character.

[VIckie]

Wow so many unbelievable ideas! I thought I was being a rebellious one by washing my boys ball caps in the dishwasher!

By the way Shannon, CONGRATULATIONS for being listed as one of the top 75 websites/blogs in Oklahoma by Oklahoma Magazine! A very well deserved honor!

[Maria]

Love it! I run the coffee pot basket, gold filter, pot itself through as well. I've run the bootmat from under the dog bowls and the glass out of my microwave. I hear that some people use the dishwasher to cook corn on the cob? Anyone know anything about this?

[A Frugal Housewife]

Thanks for the link! It's awesome to be mentioned on one of my favorite blogs :)

Oh, and I'm curious about cooking samon in the dishwasher too...

[Marla Taviano]

Too funny! My dishwasher has been broken for months now. I was finally beginning to accept that until I realized all the things I could be washing in it. Sigh.

[meemee]

I have to disagree with one of your statements. Unless there are some freaky things going on at your house, the potty chair is waaayyy grosser than the shin guards...at least I hope...no judgement. :)

meemee

[Julie Anne]

I need me a dishwasher!!! PRONTO!!!

[erin]

I'm seeing the dishwasher in a completely new light!

[Tabitha (From Single to Married)]

Wow - now I'm even more sad that we don't have a diswasher! I'll have to keep a list of it's uses for when we do get one.

[Kris @ Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers]

Add me to the list of people who want to know more about cooking anything, but we'll go with salmon, in the dishwasher. ;-)

[Erica (A Yankee In Jawja)]

I wash our dogs' collars when they get filthy and the cooking grids from our Grill.

Ummm if DH ever caught me washing his tools (regardless of how nasty they look) I'd be a dead woman. You just don't do that to Craftsman or Duralast!

[Laurieann]

Removable refrigerator parts go into my dishwasher and heater vent covers come out so shiny! Also vacuum cleaner attachments (not the ones with cords attached - of course).

I also let my son fingerpaint on the dishwasher lid - such a great fingerpaint canvas. Then I just run it afterwards - he gets to fingerpaint and my OCD doesn't get in his way! Plus, then we don't have the "mom-i-want-to-keep-this-forever-fight."

[Tree Climbing Mom]

Who knew you could stick so much stuff in a dishwasher? It almost sounds like a David Letterman skit waiting to happen.

[Big Mama]

I wash my dishes in mine. Apparently, I am not a very creative homemaker.

[Karen]

I have a friend who blanches corn-on-the-cob for freezing in the dishwasher. She runs it through, takes it out and puts it in ziploc freezer bags.

[SANDY PARKER]

I TRIED TO PUT SOME VERY PRETTY CANDLE VOTIVE HOLDERS IN MY DISHWASHER. WHEN I OPENED THE DOOR, THERE WAS GORGEOUS BLUE SPARKLING PAINT CHIPS ALL OVER THE PLACE! I GUESS THAT DIDN'T WORK. I DO PUT DRY LEMONADE MIX IN THE SOAP DISPENSER-----WHEN THE DISHWASHER IS EMPTY-----AND RUN IT. THE INSIDE COMES OUT NICE AND CLEAN.

[Molly]

Oh, I am just like the other responder who said they forgot alot of the stuff they put in their dishwasher, like the garbage can lid-the dog collars-

The rule is, if it fits, doesn't have a cord and won't melt-it goes in!

[AprilMay]

OK ladies! Who is going to write the "Dinner's in the Dishwasher" cookbook? I would so totally buy it!

Nothing but dishes in mine, but it is full of dishes every day. Who has the space to cram anything else in there anyway??

[susieshomemade]

Great tips:-)

[PaulaW]

I dont have (and have never had) a dishwasher. I never really missed it til now! I want to hear how to cook in it though.

[Octamom]

Okay, I'm feeling dishwasher illiterate. None of these ideas EVER occurred to me--not the crocs, not the salmon and certainly not the keyboard. Hmmmmm--and I considered myself a fairly adept multi-tasker....;o)
Blessings!

[Laurie]

What a great post.

[Minnesotamom]

And here I thought the Home Improvement thing was a farce!

[Carla]

This absolutely stuns me. I have never even thought to wash (or cook) some of those things in the dishwasher. Do you think that may be the reason I never was named Mother of the Year? I'm just a saying . . .
Well, the real reason I came on was to congratulate you, Shannon, for making the Top 75 List of Oklahoma Blogs. I just saw it in the Oklahoma magazine (that freebie one you get at the Y). When I saw the article, I just KNEW you'd be in there.
So, I hope that all is going well with you. Keep on keeping on. You're a phenomenon.
Do you think I could put Max's houseshoes in the dishwasher???

[Becky Taylor]

ok salmon????? i am very curious how you would do that and if it would actually be good. i have done many of the things listed in the blog, i think dishwashers are great! washer too, i put toys into a pillow case and wash them to disinfect, beats doing it by hand, especially after a virus has invaded our house. thanks again for all the ideas!

[Tonia]

The dishwasher has been a godsend when it comes to my younger daughter's pacifiers. I try to make sure that any pacifier that gets put down gets put away until washed and we've had very few problems with ear infections and such that can be spread easily with them. It was also great when my older daughter had a habit of wandering the house with her toothbrush - left under the couch for several days, they definitely needed sanitizing before going near my baby's mouth!!

[Julie]

My husband washes his baseball caps in there - once they are all sweat-stained and smelly!! (I guess similar to shin guards.) :)

[missy @ it's almost naptime]

I wash my carmats in the washing machine, not the dishwasher!

Altho, it would probably work.

:-)

[aimee]

Can we get a collective "poor baby" for me? I don't have a dishwasher! (Beyond my own two hands and occasionally those of my husband, that is.)

[Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates]

What a dishwasher education I am receiving! Cooking in the dishwasher? Wow - this is all quite fascinating.

[midlife mommy]

We wash baseball caps in there as well.

[Lynn @ queenofthecastlerecipes.com]

Seriously? Am I the only one who's ever cooked in the dishwasher? Anyone? Anyone?

I posted the recipe on my blog, so come visit if you're hankering to try some delicious dishwasher salmon. And hold the Cascade :)