The Pros and Cons of Adding a Second Dishwasher

I have a dream that I will one day be able to live in a kitchen where I will not be held back by my appliances, but by the content of my cooking skills. I have a dream that one day my kitchen, a room often covered in dirty dishes, will be transformed into an oasis of clean counter tops. I have a dream that one day, I'll live in a two-dishwasher household, and here's why.

The two-monitor workspace is tops for gaming geeks, just like the two-oven kitchen has long been the holy grail for home cooks.

But in the interest of a cleaner, better-looking home, we think serious chefs aught to consider adding a second dishwasher to their space. We've weighed out the pros and cons:

Pros

Easy cleanup for big cooking projects, especially anyone who dirties tons of tiny dishes in the name of mise en place.

A sure place to stash away any dirty dishes prepping for a big party—exactly when you don't want your open-plan kitchen looking unkempt.

Provides extra storage. You can effectively always keep one dishwasher stocked with clean dishes as you fill up the other one with dirties.

It's an aid for families who keep Kosher: Use one dishwasher for meat-and-dairy plates, and keep one dishwasher Kosher.

Dishwashers come in many sizes (including compact and portable 18-inch models), so you can find one that works in your space. One-and-a-half dishwashers are better than one.

Cons

It's expensive! Adding a second dishwasher could cost you anywhere from $250 to $2500, plus labor for tapping into the water supply.

Doing more dishes means using more water—and paying more in utilities.

You have to sacrifice at least kitchen cabinet to fit even the most compact dishwasher.

Can you think of any other reasons for/against a second dishwasher? Is there any household appliance you'd like to double up on? Tell us in the comments!

(Images: Mark and Jackie Day, Maytag)

Comments (13)

It would necessarily cost you more in water if you're loading efficiently and only washing stuff you would have washed at some point.
Buuut, I don't think this is for me. Much as I love the idea of the drawer dishwashers for crockery... I have other luxuries that I'd always choose first.

I wish to have a double dishwasher kitchen one day. The storage is the main thing, less to go in the cupboards. You'll have less cupboards, but obviously this isn't a problem if you are at the luxury of having two dishwashers.

Annabel, did you mean *wouldn't*

maybe i am crazy, never have heard about having 2 dishwashers in one kitchen before. Seems ridiculous to me. We barely use ours as it is.

For you to paraphrase Martin Luther King, especially with something so trivial as "why I NEED a second dishwasher" is an insult.

Ok, I have heard of having a second dishwasher in the basement (not that I have a basement), but two in one kitchen? Just run the first one more often.

Lame idea and lame intro paragraph.

Just a slight correction about the whole Kosher thing, everything food related in a Kosher house is kosher, and with kosher, meat and dairy don't mix, even in the dishwasher. So more correctly, one dishwasher would be for meat dishes, the other for dairy. And yes, I keep kosher and would love the space for a second dishwasher. A bunch of my kosher friends have one as well.

While my knee jerk reaction is that this is silly, if you entertain a lot, it would be great to use one for cleaning all of the pots and pans while the other is used on a more delicate cycle for the wine glasses and plates. It certainly isn't for everybody or even most people but for some, it would be heaven.

Personally, I find electric can openers to be a silly invention but if I worked in a kitchen that made use of lots of canned food, it'd be great. Same for electric staplers on the desk.

@King, perhaps, but would you need TWO electric can openers or TWO electric staplers?

Staplers, maybe... if I often stapled two different types of paper groups. Perhaps I generate forty TPS reports each day at 2pm that are thirty sheets each. I'd need a really heavy duty electric stapler for that. But then I also print up the late afternoon tea menu that is printed on delicate paper and on a second sheet is the list of watercress, cucumber and other crustless sandwiches. I'd want a different stapler for that. Not everyone needs the same items in their their toolbox.

Dual dishwashers aren't likely to be needed for the volume of most households (the Duggards would probably need at least three) but in a country of over three hundred million people, I can see the dual setup fitting the lifestyle of some social butterflies and culinary craftspeople.

If you really want crazy, talk to the woman that needs a second washing machine due to her huge quanity of napkins!

@King, OK, you totally have me sold on two electric staplers. Heading to Office Depot first thing tomorrow. But, can you sell me on two electric can openers?

Especially if you have a household of more than about five people, this is a great idea. My dad (a builder) has done a few double dishwasher kitchens. The two big pros are that you really, truly don't need to chew up another couple feet of counterspace with a dish drainer- if you have kids, you know that by the time the dishwasher is done, there's another pile of dishes to wash- and, what with the price of cabinetry, you may as well go for a second dishwasher. A dishwasher will hold more than the same sized cabinet, and you will need to put stuff away less.

The true value of an extra dishwasher is that you essentially never have to empty one - when you need a clean glass or plate, take it out of the clean dishwasher, and then put it in the dirty one when you're done. By the time the clean side is empty, the dirty side is full and ready to run - restarting the whole cycle.

Even the lost of storage space is not a big deal, since you're continuously storing a dishwasher sized amount of dishes.