What is a dishwasher?
A: A dishwasher is a machine used to clean dishware, cookware and cutlery
automatically.
Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies heavily on
physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by
doing what?
A: By spraying hot water, typically between 45 and 75 °C (110 and 170 °F),
at the dishes.
A mix of water and dishwasher detergent is pumped to
one or more what?
A: Rotating sprayers, cleaning the dishes with the cleaning mixture.
Why is the mixture recirculated?
A: To save water and energy.
Often there is a pre-rinse, which may or may not
include what?
A: Detergent, and the water is then drained.
This is followed by what?
A: The main wash with fresh water and detergent.
Once the wash is finished, the water is drained, more
hot water enters the tub by means of an electro-mechanical solenoid valve,
and what?
A: The rinse cycle(s) begin.
After the rinse process finishes, the water is drained
again, and the dishes are what?
A: Dried using one of several drying methods.
Typically, a rinse-aid, a chemical to reduce surface
tension of the water, is used to do what?
A: To reduce water spots from hard water or other reasons.
The first mechanical dishwashing device was registered
for what in 1850 in the United States?
A: A patent.
Who was the patent issued to?
A: Joel Houghton.
This device was made of what?
A: Wood and was cranked by hand while water sprayed onto the dishes.
This device was what?
A: Both slow and unreliable.
Another patent was granted to L.A. Alexander in 1865
that was similar to the first but featured what?
A: A hand-cranked rack system.
Neither device was what?
A: Practical or widely accepted.
Some historians cite as an obstacle to adoption the
historical attitude that valued women for the effort put into what?
A: Housework.
The most successful of the hand-powered dishwashers was
invented in 1886 by whom?
A: Josephine Cochrane together with mechanic George Butters in Cochrane's
tool shed in Shelbyville, Illinois.
Why did she invent it?
A: Cochrane (a wealthy socialite) wanted to protect her china while it was
being washed.
Where was her invention unveiled?
A: At the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago under the name of Lavadora.
The name was changed to Lavaplatos for what reason?
A: Another machine invented in 1858 already held that name.
Cochrane's inspiration was her frustration at the
damage to her good china that occurred when what?
A: Her servants handled it during cleaning.
In the United Kingdom, who invented a small,
non-electric dishwasher suitable for domestic use in 1924?
A: William Howard Livens.
It was the first dishwasher that incorporated most of
the design elements that are featured in what?
A: The models of today.
It included a front door for loading, a wire rack to
hold the dirty crockery and a what?
A: A rotating sprayer.
Drying elements were even added to his design in what
year?
A: 1940.
It was the first machine suitable for domestic use, and
it came at a time when what was happening?
A: When permanent plumbing and running water in the house was becoming
increasingly common.
Despite this, Liven's design did not become what?
A: A commercial success.
When were dishwashers successfully sold as domestic
utilities?
A: In the postwar boom of the 1950s, albeit only to the wealthy.
By the 1970s, dishwashers had become what?
A: Commonplace in domestic residences in
North America and Western Europe.
By 2012, what percentage of homes in the United States
and Germany had dishwashers?
A: over 75 percent.