page_title: Dishwasher
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Dishwasher / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Advertisement in an 1896 issue of McClure's Magazine for The Faultless Quaker Dishwasher.
context_page_description: A dishwasher is a machine for cleaning dishware and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies largely on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, typically between 45 and 75 °C, at the dishes, with lower temperatures used for delicate items.
  A mix of water and dishwasher detergent is pumped to one or more rotating spray arms, which blast the dishes with the cleaning mixture. Once the wash is finished, the water is drained, more hot water enters the tub by means of an electro-mechanical solenoid valve, and the rinse cycle begins. After the rinse cycle finishes and the water is drained, the dishes are dried using one of several drying methods. Typically a rinse-aid, a chemical to reduce surface tension of the water, is used to reduce water spots from hard water or other reasons.
  In addition to domestic units, industrial dishwashers are available for use in commercial establishments such as hotels and restaurants, where many dishes must be cleaned.
context_section_description: The first mechanical dishwashing device was registered in 1850 in the United States by Joel Houghton. This device was made of wood and was cranked by hand while water sprayed onto the dishes. This device was both slow and unreliable. Another patent was granted to L.A. Alexander in 1865 that was similar to the first but featured a hand-cranked rack system. Neither device was practical or widely accepted.
  The most successful of the hand-powered dishwashers was invented in 1886 by Josephine Cochrane together with mechanic George Butters in Josephine's tool shed in Shelbyville, Illinois when Cochrane (a wealthy socialite) wanted to protect her china while it was being washed. Her invention was unveiled at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois under the name of Lavadora but was changed to Lavaplatos as 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 her servants handled it during cleaning.
  Europe's first domestic dishwasher with an electric motor was invented and manufactured by Miele in 1929.
  In the United Kingdom, William Howard Livens invented a small, non-electric dishwasher suitable for domestic use in 1924. It was the first dishwasher that incorporated most of the design elements that are featured in the models of today; it included a front door for loading, a wire rack to hold the dirty crockery and a rotating sprayer. Drying elements were even added to his design in 1940. It was the first machine suitable for domestic use, and it came at a time when permanent plumbing and running water in the house was becoming increasingly common.
  Despite this, Liven's design did not become a commercial success, and dishwashers were only successfully sold as domestic utilities in the postwar boom of the 1950s, albeit only to the wealthy. Initially, dishwashers were sold as standalone or portable devices, but with the development of the wall-to-wall countertop and standardized height cabinets, dishwashers began to be marketed with standardized sizes and shapes, integrated underneath the kitchen countertop as a modular unit with other kitchen appliances.
  By the 1970s, dishwashers had become commonplace in domestic residences in North America and Western Europe. By 2012, over 75 percent of homes in the United States and Germany had dishwashers.
  In the late 1990s, manufacturers began offering various new energy conservation features in dishwashers. One feature was use of "soil sensors", which was a computerized tool in the dishwasher which measured food particles coming from dishes. When the dishwasher had cleaned the dishes to the point of not releasing more food particles, then the soil sensor would report the dishes being cleaned. The sensor operated with another innovation of using variable washing time. If dishes were especially dirty, then the dishwasher would run for a longer time than if the sensor detected them to be clean. In this way, the dishwasher saves energy and water by only being in operation for as long as needed.
caption: Advertisement in an 1896 issue of McClure's for The Faultless Quaker Dishwasher.
exif: {}