Great ideas! I also put drawer organizers and my refridgerator shelves and drawers in the dishwasher. Things get really, really clean and it makes cleaning a cinch.

Range Hood Grease Filters! Brilliant!

I put our removable shower shelving (they just stick on with suction cups) and toothbrush holder in the dishwasher every 2 - 3 months.

I don't recommend washing anything in the article's list or mine with stuff you actually eat off of (glasses, plates, silverware, etc.). Of course, I am sure they weren't suggesting that either, but just to clarify! :)

Thanks, I like ideas for minimizing housework.

This is the second biggest reason I couldn't live without a dishwasher (easily, anyway). I use it to clean all kinds of stuff. To the above I'd add burner grills from gas stoves. Pet food dishes. Shin guards (ew).

However, I will suggest never using it to clean anything with paint on it, especially paint that dries permanently (like glass paint). I did that once and we never did get it off...just had a multicolored dishwasher until that model died.

LEGO! Every time my boys get sick I throw all their tiny plastic toys in the dishwasher on "sanitize." Lego blocks, dinosaurs, action figures, tiny cars all go in. Yeah, we've lost a few over the years but we've never suffered a lack of these toys, I swear they reproduce. A mesh lingerie bag or a zipped pillow cover works great to keep everything together.

I wash my household sponges i the dishwasher besides the items above, and also throw in a capful of bleach just to make sure they're super clean

Sanitizer cycle:
Hairbrushes and Combs - for people or pets.
Soap dishes
[Floor] Sponges & scrubbing brushes.
Dush pan (indoor and outdoor ones)
Rulers.

Regular cycle:
[Dish] Sponges & scrubbies, although there's debate about cleaning them
Silicon / plastic cutting boards.

if only I had a dishwasher!

Can't someone do a sweepstakes or something to remodel my kitchen with a dishwasher?

I'm not happy about the aluminium things in the list above. Aluminium will almost certainly discolour in a dishwasher. If it is anodized the process takes longer but still happen.

On the funny anecdote side of things; I once throw a complete set of keyboard keys in a dishwasher (without the base unit, I might add) certain of my own ability to remember their position. Needless to say, my memory was quite a bit less perfect than what I thought. Had to scour the cupboards for a copy of a computer magazine (this was in the mid-eighties when Google was not a name anyone would even consider naming their company) with a picture of a keyboard clear enough to reconstruct it. Do take a picture first...

I put my sunglasses in

I don't usually feel like I'm missing out not having a dishwasher but I'm a little envious right now.

Flip flops.

flip flops thats a good one! I would throw the entire booster seat in the dishwasher, that think would get so nasty I didn't want to sit there and scrub it endlessly

Sneakers & baseball caps.

CAUTION: Check ingredients carefully if you use commercial dishwasher detergents. And trust me when I say your little league all star will NOT be pleased when her pink cap clashes with her red jersey. (not that i've ever done that - just sayin)

flip flops! thanks for that..but I wouldn't put in with dishes etc...so..hmm..def my gas stove burners..a lot..and stove knobs...coffee maker parts..glass vases that got mucky...I 'rue' the day my next apt does not have a dishwasher, I've been so lucky in my old and inexpensive apartments..oddlyt. But, my next apartment may not have a dishwasher, but I bet it will have tall and wonderful windows and hardwood floors..and wonderful neighbors who make exotic dishes for me..and are soundless..and it's super inexpensive.

just be careful with the drying part of the cycle. put all plastic and even some of the more delicate glass things in the top rack, or use the air dry option.
and you can definitely put electric stove burner pans in there too, I do it all the time.

humidifier parts, refrigerator shelves and bins, oven racks, microwave carousel, outdoor/sandbox toys, teething toys, sponges and dish scrubbers, liquid soap dispensers, anything metal or plastic that's going to go into the recycling bin.

I am both intrigued and slightly grossed out with the idea of putting flip-flops, garden tools, mop buckets, outdoor toys, etc. in a normal household dishwasher machine where I will clean my food dishes later.

Any thoughts on how to check if my dishwasher would actually be clean enough afterwards to safely run dishes?

I might have missed it but I throw toothbrushes in every so often...and the drainboard (it warped a bit but it's still an improvement).

GOOD ONE! Thanks again. You keep us thinking and our households orderly. Greatly appreciate you!

I put my Adidas flip flops in there all the time(the knobby kind) along with the chest strap for my heart rate monitor(minus the transmitter piece), just about every single thing that's been listed above-I've thrown in there. Also-removable cup holders amongst other things from the cars. I've also put my stoneware bakeware in there without soap. I am a dishwasher washer-I throw everything in there. I can't think of anything off hand that I ruined, although I have no doubt I've ruined something over the years.

Do I really want to wash my dishes in the same place someone has washed flip flops, garden crap, dirty sponges, etc? NOT REALLY! I'm going to buy another pair of $2 Old Navy flip flops and replace my sponges.

It is recommended to use the dishwasher to clean non-battery-operated adult "toys".

Bathtub toys. They get gross after a while and the dishwasher is an easy way to clean them. Most have built-in drainage holes, too.

Rubber dog toys. Imagine how nasty those things are, especially if you take them outside! Ick!

ATK tested cleaning sponges in the dishwasher and said that they don't kill all the bacteria, that really the best way to get rid of it is by microwaving it. I guess the dishwasher is the best option if you don't have a microwave- which may be the case since it seems people are so anti-microwave these days for some reason I will never truly understand.

Also I saw a comment that says refrigerator drawers and such- it says on my drawers to specifically wash by hand. I suppose I am not wild enough to disregard that, but I guess they say that for a reason?