When planning a kitchen, there are so many decisions to make, both big and small. From big things like cabinets, countertops, appliances and the entire design of the kitchen, all the way down to the nitty gritty details and little things like knobs or pulls (or both!) and the location of cabinet hardware, or more functional questions like where to locate the dishwasher..
What to consider when planning the location of your dishwasher
There are a number of things to take into consideration when planning the location of your dishwasher. There is the obvious, like being next the sink of course. Makes perfect sense, right? Then there is the less obvious, where you want to consider things such as the location of your cutlery and other heavily used items going in and out of the dishwasher. These are the items you do not want to be lugging too far to or from your dishwasher space. Ideally, you are one to two steps away from the vast majority of all the everyday items that go in and come out of your dishwasher.
A basic question you must consider when it comes to dishwasher placement
However, there is a more basic question you must consider when it comes to dishwasher placement. Now, we are not talking about picking sides… well, actually, picking sides is exactly what we are talking about! Moreover, the answer to that might just tell you exactly where to place your dishwasher. The side of the sink you locate your dishwasher on is actually a matter of efficiency and safety. The correct placement of your dishwasher will make working in your kitchen more convenient and efficient. The scientific word for this is ergonomics.
So, let's figure out which side (of the dishwasher) you are on
In terms of convenience and efficiency, this would mean that the dishwasher should be located on the left for a right-handed person. If you are left-handed, the dishwasher should be placed on the right. Why you ask? Studies show that when at the sink cleaning your dishes, a right-handed person would stand at the sink holding a plate in their left hand so that they can scrape or wipe the plate with their dominate right hand, and then reach with their left to place it in the dishwasher. No twisting or turning your body to load! It does not have to stop with the dishwasher. A well-designed kitchen that has properly placed and spaced drawers and storage in other cabinets creates a design that allows you to glide and move through all the spaces of your kitchen with ease.
Not sure? That is not a surprise! This is exactly the kind of thing we all do every day without even thinking about it or giving it a second thought! So put it to the test right now. Stand at your own sink and give it a try. Does it make more sense now?
Are you prongs up, prongs down or both?
While this has no correlation to dishwasher placement, we thought we would share some results on another type of placement... what position most people put their silverware in the dishwasher. According to the Research Institute for Cooking & Kitchen Intelligence (RICKI), we are fork prongs up society with more than half (57%) of the survey respondents indicating as such. This applied to all except Millenials, who were split almost evenly on prongs up or down. A small group prefer complete dishwasher chaos with silverware going in up, down and literally all around.
Use all this information as you consider your own kitchen design (or your silverware placing habits), or maybe even for that bar design you are consdering, to help you place your dishwasher in the space where it will function best for you. We can help too. Find a Reico showroom near you.
