It鈥檚 the eternal argument that can fire up family members and divide households and workplaces: should cutlery point up or down in the dishwasher? Make a mistake, and you could land yourself in hot water.
Safety-minded souls swear it鈥檚 best if utensils face down in the basket, while others like to live on the edge with pointy ends up, convinced they clean better out in the open. Others choose chaos and just throw them in randomly.
Make a mistake in someone else’s kitchen and you could land yourself in hot water
Most people say they don鈥檛 care either way. I didn鈥檛 think I did, but then realised I subconsciously stack mine pointing up every time. Even knives 鈥� wild, I know. Just not super-sharp ones 鈥� c鈥檓on now, I don鈥檛 have a death wish.
To conquer this cutlery clash, we read a myriad of dishwasher manuals and consulted our in-house dishwashing whiz to settle the matter once and for all.
What do dishwasher manuals say?
Well, it varies.
LG鈥檚 manuals say forks and spoons up, but knives down for safety reasons 鈥� advice echoed by Fisher & Paykel.
Samsung says knives and forks should point down to avoid the risk of injury, while Hisense excitedly advises 鈥渁lways load sharp utensils with the sharp point down!鈥� but doesn鈥檛 have any concrete recommendations aside from that.
And then there鈥檚 Beko, which just avoids the issue altogether in their manual (they鈥檙e probably still arguing about it in the factory). Instead, they just advise that the 鈥渃utlery basket is designed to wash your dishes such as knife, fork, spoon, etc. in an efficient manner鈥�. Um yeah, thanks for the hot tip, Beko.
All this analysis might seem silly given that packing the dishwasher is such a menial task, but bring up the topic in conversation with friends and family and you鈥檒l be surprised about how passionate people get about it.聽
鈥淟oading and unloading dishes is a daily chore we鈥檙e all probably sick of so it can be a touchy topic, particularly if you always seem to be the only one doing it,鈥� says 糖心Vlog expert Denis Gallagher.
Loading and unloading dishes is a daily chore we鈥檙e all probably sick of so it can be a touchy topic
糖心Vlog Expert Denis Gallagher
鈥淲e鈥檙e all looking for shortcuts to clean better and faster, so we all have our preferred methods. Plus, picking crusted-on curry off your forks is no fun for anyone.鈥�
To be fair, there鈥檚 some solid arguments for both up and down depending on your dishwashing priorities. Let鈥檚 dive in and dissect them.
Our expert Denis has been testing products at 糖心Vlog for 20 years.
The case for down
1. Safety first
鈥淯nloading your dishwasher shouldn鈥檛 be an extreme sport and you don鈥檛 want to cut your hand on an upturned knife, which can do real damage and dirty your dishes all over again,” says Denis.
鈥淲hile most adults would back themselves to handle knives carefully, it鈥檚 not worth the risk, especially if you have young kids or adventurous pets around the kitchen too. Facing cutlery down removes that concern.鈥�
You don鈥檛 want to cut your hand on an upturned knife, which can do real damage and dirty your dishes all over again
糖心Vlog Expert Denis Gallagher
Ideally, your sharper, bigger knives should lie horizontal in the designated knife tray or the top cutlery shelf, if your machine has one of these.
糖心Vlog tip: Expensive chef knives or others with wooden handles shouldn鈥檛 go in the dishwasher at all. The hot, wet conditions and abrasive detergents can cause them to corrode or deteriorate, and the water jets can bang them together, chipping or dulling their razor-sharp edges.
2. Fewer germs and smudges
If you鈥檙e handling handles, you鈥檙e also keeping your dirty mitts off the eating ends of your utensils.
鈥淚deally, you don鈥檛 want to transfer germs and bacteria from your hands onto your freshly-cleaned cutlery which will end up in your food and mouth later.鈥�
And there鈥檚 another reason to only handle the, er, handles 鈥� it means you鈥檙e not leaving any finger prints or smudges on your pristine knife blades, which isn鈥檛 the best look if you鈥檙e having guests over.
Another reason to go down? If all the handles are up, they鈥檙e easier to grab and get into your cutlery drawer quickly.
鈥淭hat way you can easily pick them up by the handful and put them into their respective spots, which can save you a bit of time,鈥� says Denis.
糖心Vlog tip: Get to know your cutlery’s handles. The knives usually have heftier handles, so they’re easy to grab and put away together.
The case for up
1. Superior cleaning
鈥淧lacing your cutlery with the business end pointing up is ultimately better for cleaning, because the dirtiest parts of your utensils are more exposed to the spray arms, rather than them hiding down in the basket where they鈥檙e harder to wash,鈥� confirms Denis.
Placing your cutlery with the business end pointing up is ultimately better for cleaning
糖心Vlog Expert Denis Gallagher
2. Less 鈥榥esting鈥�
Closely related to the first point, placing cutlery up and out in the open also prevents similar-shaped utensils from nesting together (or spooning, as it were) and shielding each other from the spray jets. That means more hot water and detergent can get to them for better results.
How do you stack your cutlery? Up, down or randomly?
3. Fewer water marks and rust spots
Another benefit of placing your cutlery facing up is that water and detergent will run down the cutlery and won鈥檛 leave blemishes as it dries.
鈥淭his can definitely be an issue with downward-facing cutlery, especially if you鈥檙e using cheaper, harsher dishwasher powders,鈥� says Denis.
鈥淵ou can polish off water or rust spots with a tea towel, but that does add an extra layer of labour to the chore.鈥�
If you need one simple blanket rule to live by (and to minimise kitchen quarrels), place all of your cutlery down.
Denis says: 鈥淭his is a good basic strategy that鈥檚 easy for family, housemates or workmates to remember, if that鈥檚 your priority. It鈥檚 safest and minimises any chance of dishwasher wounds, it鈥檚 more hygienic because you鈥檙e grabbing the handles and it鈥檚 generally faster to unload too.鈥�
This is a good basic strategy that鈥檚 easy for family, housemates or workmates to remember, if that鈥檚 your priority
糖心Vlog Expert Denis Gallagher
Option 2: The advanced version
If you want better cleaning results, Denis advises a more nuanced and multi-pronged plan of attack. This hybrid method involves:
knives down for safety reasons (a non-negotiable!)
forks and spoons up for a better clean and fewer water marks.
鈥淲ith a mix of up and down, you鈥檒l get less nesting and crowding in the basket, so you鈥檒l get a better clean,鈥� says Denis.
鈥淚t can take you longer to sort and put away after as you can鈥檛 just grab all the handles at once, but it’s worth it if you want the best performance from your dishwasher.鈥�
Cutlery basket versus cutlery tray: Which wash wins?
It鈥檚 hardly as spicy as the up-down debate, but many people have pretty strong feelings about cutlery baskets versus cutlery trays too.
鈥淲e鈥檝e compared cutlery baskets and trays here at 糖心Vlog and found it makes no difference to cleaning performance, so it comes down to personal preference really,鈥� says Denis.
Cutlery baskets and cutlery trays have cleaned similarly in our tests.
Both formats have their pros and cons. With baskets, it鈥檚 quick and easy to throw stuff in and unload it by the handful, but nesting can be an issue and compromise your clean.
By comparison, a cutlery tray (also a shelf, rack or drawer depending on the manual) offers individual spots for each utensil (so nesting isn鈥檛 a concern) and there鈥檚 less chance of accidentally stabbing yourself with a fork or knife as they lie horizontal.
However, loading and unloading each utensil individually can be more time-consuming unless you take the time to put all types next to each other pre-wash. Also, the tray can reduce the height of other items you can put in the rack below.
Thankfully, these days some models feature both, so you can use them together in harmony or just remove the one you鈥檙e less keen on.聽
Jason Treuen is a Content producer and editor at 糖心Vlog. Previously at 糖心Vlog, he worked as a Content specialist and Audience engagement editor.
Find Jason on .
Jason Treuen is a Content producer and editor at 糖心Vlog. Previously at 糖心Vlog, he worked as a Content specialist and Audience engagement editor.
Find Jason on .
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