Don’t Put This Holiday Cookware and Serveware in the Dishwasher

With Christmas comes much cooking, and with much cooking comes many dirty dishes. The average home chef already knows that some cookware simply doesn’t belong in the dishwasher, but what about those specialty items that only come out for big holidays?

Here’s what can’t go in the dishwasher after your big meal.

Hand-painted glassware or crystal

The fine flatware and delicate tea cups you haul out for fancy sit-down dinners should not be allowed anywhere near your dishwasher. Crystal is more sensitive to heat than regular glass, according to Apartment Therapy, so even if you use the logic that other glassware does fine in the dishwasher, you’re playing a risky game. If the heat doesn’t crack it, detergents can be abrasive and wear away at the crystal, too, and dishwashers can also chip the paint off your hand-painted goods.

Copper and silver

Copper and silver are both on the list of things that can’t go in your dishwasher, according to Whirlpool. Copper can pit and become discoloured, and silver could tarnish or have chemical reactions. Stick to hand-washing for these.

Tin and aluminium

If, for whatever reason, you want to reuse the disposable aluminium dish you used to cook your turkey, you will have to wash it by hand. According to Today, not only can the hot water stain the surface and dull the finish of disposable tins, but the little ones (like you use for pie) can mark up other items if they move around during the cycle.

Anything gold-toned

If you have gold-rimmed plates or gold-coloured flatware, don’t put them in your dishwasher, either. According to Apartment Therapy, your more delicate gold things can chip, and even the sturdy gold forks and knives you cherish can turn a different colour after repeated rides through the dishwasher. Again, hand-wash only.

Anything insulated

If you use insulated travel mugs or thermoses for leftovers, they can’t run through the washer after you’re done with them or you risk breaking their vacuum seal and damaging the insulation inside, per Whirlpool.

Printed measuring cups

Today also cautions against putting printed measuring cups in the dishwasher after preparing your meal. One cycle may not hurt them, but repeated exposures to the heat and pressure can damage the numbers on the outside, rendering them kind of useless.