Rishi Sunak boldly claimed that he was better at loading the dishwasher than his wife this week.
The Prime Minster even admitted that he tends to restack the dishwasher after his ‘enthusiastic’ wife, Akshata Murty, has done it.
But how should you actually load your dishwasher? Is there even a ‘best technique’ to it, or is it just a matter of opinion?
Well according to experts, the answer is yes. When you loading the dishwasher you need to consider the ideal gap between each plates, the right way to arrange the spoons.
And of course an age-old question needs to be answered: Should you pre-rinse the dirty dishes?
Leave a gap of around 2cm (3/4″) between your plates in the dishwasher for good results
Do not pre-wash your dishes in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher as it is a waste of time and water
The Prime Minister and his wife Akshata Murty lifted the lid on their domestic life, with Rishi saying he often re-stacks the dishwasher after his ‘enthusiastic’ wife has done it
Product training manager at appliance maker Miele Sophie Lane told The Times that there is an ‘art’ to loading and unloading the dishwasher.
A properly loaded dishwasher will have items neatly loaded to maximise how much can be cleaned, but items should not be touching each other and it is best to leave a gap of around 2cm (around 3/4″) in between your crockery.
This is because you need to angle your dirty dishes so they catch a jet of water but without blocking it from reaching your other dirty items and smaller items are more at risk of being missed altogether.
To ensure that your cutlery comes out sparkling, it is vital that you do not clump all the items together. For example, if you nestle your spoons together, only the front of the top spoon and the back of the rear spoon will be end up fully cleaned.
And if you use a basket – which some experts have questioned if it is sensible to use anyway – putting similar items in the same spots risks them not washing properly.
She said that she and many other dishwasher experts others stack their cutlery in tray, rather than a basket, in order to get a better clean.
A cutlery tray, which normally sits at the top of the dishwasher, also means you don’t need to worry about the dilemma of whether to place your knives and forks facing upwards, to get them as clean as possible, or downwards, to minimize the risk of stabbing yourself if you fall onto the open tray.
Do not stack your cutlery too close together in the basket or it will not wash properly
And controversially, Ms Lane says that pre-rinsing your dishes is a waste of time and water. ‘The dishwasher is there to do that,’ she told The Times.
Another general piece of advice is that if your dishwasher looks as if it is loaded neatly, it probably is and you are likely to get a good clean.
It is also giving the rotating dishwasher arm a quick spin just to ensure that nothing is block it when you switch it on.
In 2015, Dr Raul Pérez-Mohedano, who led a University of Birmingham study on the best way to load the dishwasher, concluded that the most efficient way to pack it is in a circle around the cutlery basket (although these are now falling out of fashion).
Experts made their findings studying numerous cycles, but warned that due to the way baskets are currently designed, this may prove to be difficult.
Dr Pérez-Mohedano, who led the work at the department of chemical engineering using a technique known as Positron Emission Particle Tracking, also suggested packing the dishes according to the type of stain they contain.
A 2015 University of Birmingham study found the best way to load the dishwasher at the time
He said that carbohydrate-based stains such as potato and tomato need the full force of the water jets to get clean, while protein based foods such as dried egg yolk needs more contact with the chemical detergent.
In the study, engineers used radioactive isotopes to monitor the speed and direction that the jets of water travel when the device is in use.
They found that while the entire interior of the dishwater will get wet during a cycle, it will not necessarily clean everything in the same way.
This explains why in some cases a particularly stubborn piece of burnt food can be washed off in a wash cycle, while other lighter stains can be baked on.