How to Get All Those Holiday Dishes Clean
If some of your dishes aren’t clean when you unload your dish- washer in the morning, it could be because of the way you loaded them the night before.
Count the number of people who live in your house, and that’s the number of different ways the dishwasher gets loaded. Here are some dishwashing guidelines that you might be able to agree on: Never load bronze, pewter, cast iron or wood into the dish- washer. They don’t hold up well under heat. Exposure to hot water, for example, can cause the wood handle of a knife to split. When placing plates and bowls between the tines on a dish- washer rack, don’t double them up—even if the machine is getting full. The manufacturer has mea- sured the spacing between tines so enough water can get between each dish to clean it well. Maximize your space by placing similar items together. In- terspersing glassware with plates, for example, means fewer plates will fit. Long-handled spatulas and spoons go on the top rack, laid flat. If you’re hand-washing wine glasses and the “good” plates, you might be doing unnecessary work. Check the box the pieces came in to learn if they’re dish- washer-safe. Break fewer glasses and cups by placing them along the sides of the top rack so they rest along the rack’s outer “wall.” If you use both stainless steel utensils and real sterling silverware, put them both in the
dishwasher—but far away from each other. Stainless steel knives and forks can dent the real silver. When you place forks in the silverware basket, alternate them so some tines point up and some point down. They’ll get cleaner that way. Place pots and pans on the rack with the open side facing downward.
As long as you leave enough space in between dishes to allow the water to do its job, there’s no need to pre-rinse them before loading them into the dishwasher.
Warm Up Your Water Heater
You’re not the only one who stays warmer when you zip up a fluffy winter jacket. Your water heater does, too.
Adding insulation to the out- side of a water heater can reduce the amount of heat it loses by more than 25 percent. And because it will direct that extra heat to warm- ing up your home’s water, you could see a savings of 5 percent or more on your water heating bill. That’s substantial, considering that water heating accounts for about 18 percent of an average home’s utility bill.
For $30 or so, you can buy a water heater blanket made from an insulating material that’s easy to wrap around your device. Brand-new water heaters come with a lot of insulation, so you might not need this if yours is new. The tank of an older water heater
that could benefit from an insu- lating blanket will feel hot to the touch. Or, if your water heater is in a spot that gets super-cold during the winter, the blanket will help it operate more efficiently.
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Account Number If you see your account
number in this newsletter, call our office, identify yourself and the number. We will credit your electric bill $25. The number may be located anywhere in the newsletter and is chosen at random. If you don’t know your account
number, call our office or look on your bill. To get the credit, you must call before the next month’s newsletter is mailed.
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