Flat plates face down or tilted? My wife and I been going at it for 3 years over this.

Last week I loaded the dishwasher after dinner and my wife walked over and flipped every dinner plate from flat to a 45 degree angle. Said I was trapping water on the tops and causing spots. I been doing flat face down for 3 years since we moved into this house in Austin and never noticed spots. She says I'm not looking close enough. Which way actually dries better? Anyone got a definitive answer on this?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscarw833mo ago

Man, three years of dishwasher arguments is rough. Solidarity from a fellow Austin guy who's been digging plates out of the machine just to prove a point.

finleyf883mo ago

Tilting them 45 degrees is the way to go. Flat face down might trap water right at the bottom rim where the plate meets the rack, and that's where you get those little rust spots or weird mineral deposits. I tested it myself with a dark plate and a flashlight after a wash, and the tilted ones had zero water beaded up on the top while the flat ones still had a small puddle right in the center.

the_jenny1mo ago

All due respect but that's a bit of a "science experiment" that doesn't match real world use. The whole thing falls apart if your dishwasher doesn't have those angled tines (mine doesn't) or if the plates are different shapes. Flat face down relies on gravity and the detergent's surface tension to break the water's hold, not some specific angle. The real issue is that tilted plates can actually block the spray arm from hitting the plates behind them, so you end up with food crust on the back side. Also, those little rust spots you mentioned? That's usually a sign your dishwasher's coating is wearing off or your water's too acidic, not a plate position problem. Face down flat keeps the water sheet flowing across the whole face, which is exactly what the rinse aid is designed to help with.