Why does washing knives in the dishwasher dull them?
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Most knives are fine in a dishwasher. Most “nice” ones suggest hand washing them to keep them in the best shape. I have a counter top dishwasher with a glass front, so I actually get to see what happens in there. For the most part…not much to worry about.
The stuff that is possibly bad for the knife (but not necessarily dulling the blade)-
* The dishwashers heat the water a lot. So you have whatever is in there in a vrey hot, and very wet environment for a long time. If the handles are made from wood or even epoxy, it’s not the best place for them to spend a ton of time if you want to keep them new.
* The detergent is pretty hardcore stuff. It literally will dissolve most of the foods that are in there in a single wash cycle. Again, not a great place for things with shiny finished handles, oiled wood or epoxy handles.
* The water gets sprayed usually by a spinning arm. The water jets can make things fall or move in there. In some cases things fall and hit the actual spinning arms and can be damaged, or kick up and damage something else. Honestly the risk isn’t really high, but there is a chance that something could get knocked into your knife and chip it, or damage the finish or the blade itself. Ideally you don’t want anything touching your cutting edge unless you are cutting it. You can’t really control that in the washer.
* Some dishwashers have an open heating element in the bottom of the washer. If things fall and touch it, they can melt or be damaged. I did kill one epoxy handle knife this way.
I hand wash almost all of my “nice knifes” and I have some that are 20 years old and still in great shape. I have other good ones that I put in the dishwasher. I think it is one of those things were for “best care” do it by hand, but it won’t be the end of the world if you put it in the dishwasher.
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