Eli5: Why shouldn’t you put home made ceramics (a mug, for example) through the dishwasher? If they can withstand the heat of a kiln, surely a dishwasher is fine?

Question

I mean, I put them through the dishwasher sometimes anyway, but I’m told I shouldn’t? 🤷🏻‍♀️

In: 5331

Answer 1

I work full time in a pottery studio with a strong focus in glaze chemistry/formulation/testing.

Handmade mugs can go through the dishwasher just fine so long as they’re relatively well made and the glazes are well formulated.

Like others have said, the dishwasher is a very rough environment on glazes, and less durable glazes can be noticeably affected.

Plenty of handmade ceramics have vivid glazes that flow and run to give nice effects, but these glazes are necessarily less durable. It may be worthwhile to handwash hand made pottery if you want the finish to stay pristine over the years.

That said, I put all my stuff in the dishwasher and so far it’s all been fine.