Can ceramics be washed in the dishwasher?

In most cases, ceramics can be washed in the dishwasher without worrying about the dishes or the washing machine. But there are some exceptions. To ensure that the cleaning process does not damage your dishes, use the tips below on how to properly wash ceramics.

Which ceramics are not dishwasher safe?

The dishwasher tests the strength of dishes quite seriously. Products must withstand high water temperatures during washing and exposure to hot air during drying. Strong chemicals also have a detrimental effect on cutlery. The duration of stay in water also affects: this process can last up to 4 hours.

Among ceramics there are items that are contraindicated for automatic washing:

• Dishes that have patterns on the surface but no glaze coating. Over time, the drawing will certainly begin to collapse. It is possible that improper washing will damage not only the dishes themselves, but also the machine: broken fragments cause harm to the equipment.
• Terracotta dishes and fireclay products.
• Products with gold or silver inserts (after some time the coating will lose its former appearance, and then completely wash off).
• Fine antique porcelain. Even just one time, an expensive item can be ruined.
• Majolica is baked clay ceramics painted with decorative glaze. Due to washing in the machine, it very quickly loses its original appearance.After just a few luxurious-looking washes, the plate or cup will become cracked and clog the machine's filter.

Violating these prohibitions can damage not only the ceramics, but also the dishwasher itself. It’s one thing to buy a new dish, it’s quite another to repair a dishwasher or spend money on a new one.

Which ceramics withstand automatic washing better?

The manufacturer is required to place a symbol on the packaging explaining whether the product can be washed in the dishwasher or not. If there is no such image, then it is better not to give preference to such sets of dishes.

It is best to choose ceramics that have a layer of glaze applied on them. This type of coating provides good protection against chemicals, water and high temperatures. Thanks to it, pots and plates are more likely to last longer and will not damage equipment. In addition, the protective layer prevents the porous clay from absorbing chemicals, so eating from such dishes is much safer, and it will not smell unpleasant.

It is better to choose ceramic products that were made no more than 15–20 years ago. Old cookware is usually not as durable.

Dishes from certain brands withstand washing in a machine better:

• Nikko – Japanese porcelain ceramics, well protected by a durable layer of glaze.
• Narumi – hand-made ceramics resistant to high temperatures.
• Royal Bone and Fine China – strong ceramic cookware containing aluminum.

Properly selected dishes are unlikely to break during automatic cleaning.

How to properly wash ceramics?

The dishwasher has different washing modes. Among them, in most cases, there is also a delicate one, characterized by not very high temperatures. It is well suited for ceramics.This is especially true for Japanese and Czech porcelain, for which it is necessary to set the temperature no more than 50–65 °C, otherwise cracks will appear.

It is also better to use the delicate mode if you need to wash thin, fragile ceramics.

When washing thin porcelain dishes, you need to position them so that the items do not touch each other. A poorly secured plate can lead not only to the contents of the machine being broken, but also to the fact that the fragments will damage the equipment itself.

It is better to wash spoons, forks and knives separately from ceramics and any utensils in general, especially fragile ones. You need to consider how the machine handles durable utensils before placing fragile cutlery in it.

To avoid damaging your ceramics, it's best to test how they handle small cycles first before putting them in the dishwasher for 4 hours. Each time after the process is completed, all plates, pots and cups should be allowed to cool. Especially in the case of washing bone china. This will greatly reduce the likelihood of them being damaged.