This is a great set, at first I washed the pots by hand then realized that I could put them in the dishwasher. There are times that the dishwasher doesn't do a good of a job as me washing by hand. If you cook something simple I would use the dishwasher if you baked I would recommend washing by hand. What encouraged us to buy the set was the special offer red oven mitts and lasagna pan that came with the set. We love this set but it is pricey so we just recommended it to a few of our friends.