Why Do Dishwashers Ruin Knives ? What Knives Are Safe To Use

A wide range of knives require regular cleaning to keep the blades free from infection and furthermore to keep them sharp. It requires proper care relying on the knife you are using.

The dishwasher has generally been a modern method for cleaning all types of cutlers and dishes. The great part about a dishwasher is it can clean your cutlers in a very short time.

Yet, is it safe to wash a kitchen knife in the dishwasher?

Most of them ask me this question and are confused about whether to wash manually or in a dishwasher.

Therefore I decided to make a complete guide on why dishwashers ruin knives and what kinds of knives are safe to use.

There are many reasons why dishwashers are not considered to be safe. Most importantly the environment of the dishwasher is bad and the knife often hit each other with other utensils inside the dishwasher.

Also, the dishwasher uses jet sprayers, hot water, and abrasive detergent, and combining all of this results in dulling the knife edges and the blade easily forms rust.

If you want to use your knife for a long time, then in this article I have given all possibilities of whether a dishwasher is safe to use or not.

That’s why you need to read this entire article In this article I have shared all the information related to whether a dishwasher is safe for a kitchen knife or not.

Also, I have covered the benefits and downset of using a dishwasher. The article is going to be very interesting so don’t skip any point.

Let’s start!!

Table of Contents

Should I Put Knives In The DishWasher?

There is no doubt that dishwashers are made for cleaning cutlery and plates, but why there is a strong recommendation that kitchen knives should not be cleaned using a dishwasher?

If you are getting an expensive knife then, you must be looking to use it for a longer time period.

However, this won’t be the case if you are cleaning your kitchen knives using a dishwasher.

The main problem with a dishwasher is that every cutler and other item placed in the dishwasher literally gets the same treatment, and this damages the blades.

Also, the intense heat, moisture, and detergent inside the dishwasher can cause serious damage to your blades.

When you wash your knives in a dishwasher, these are some of the problems that you might see:

The edge of the blade gets dull.
The blade might suffer from corrosion easily.
Crack and chip the fine cutting edge of the blade.
The handle of the blade gets loose.
Blade suffers from spots.

There are some major reasons why it’s not safe to use a dishwasher for most kitchen knives. But this is not the case for all varieties of knives.

Most people prefer to blacken the knife blades, as this can add a thin coating to the knife blade and help in protecting the blade.

However, let’s try to figure out which type of knife to use in a dishwasher.

Are Kitchen Knives Dishwasher Safe?

There are many types of kitchen knives available on the market, but not all of them make good quality dishwasher-safe knives.

Most manufacturers say that their knives are dishwasher safe, and you can easily wash them in a dishwasher. But are they so?

Well, not all manufacturers make premium quality knives, and it’s very difficult to figure out whether they are actually dishwasher safe.

Some trusted manufacturers make premium quality kitchen knives, and they are dishwasher-safe. A few brands like Wusthof are leading the market.

However, Japanese kitchen knives are not dishwasher safe and they should never be cleaned in a dishwasher. They are expensive, and you certainly don’t want to damage your knives.

If you are using an inexpensive kitchen knife, and you don’t care particularly, then it’s fine to clean in a dishwasher.

Unless, you care for your blades, or else you have paid a lot of money in buying the knife then in that case, it’s not recommended to clean the blades in a dishwasher.

Here, are some of the knives that I have to choose from, and they are among the best dishwasher-safe kitchen Knives.

Does putting knives in the dishwasher blunt them?

One of the frequent problems that you must have heard about is the knife gets blunt or dull when you wash the blades inside a dishwasher.

But do you know why this happens?

The dishwasher can easily blunt the edge of the knife, as the intense heat and the moisture inside the dishwasher can damage the blade, and can easily lead to blunting.

Also, when the knives are placed in the dishwasher, the knives are kept in the cutlery basket with other kitchen utensils.

The dishwasher is made in such a way that it sprays water to remove all the dislodged food particles from the dishes.

The high-speed jet spray can cause damage to the blades in the long term.

Also, when you place the knife in the cutlery basket, the knife usually gets bumped around with other cutlery items inside the dishwasher.

It is obvious that the blades or the cutting edge of the blade get rubbed or hit against other cutlers, and this continuous process for a long time can flatten the edges of the blades.

This flattens the edge of the blades and requires sharpening regular intervals.

Frequently sharpening the blades shortens the life of the blade, and the material or the steel will be removed from the blades or get chipped.

This continuous process can blunt the blades and that is why it’s not recommended to wash blades in a dishwasher, as this can cause serious problems to your blades.

How Dishwasher Can Crack or Chipped a Knife Blade?

A few the kitchen knives, such as Japanese kitchen knives, have a very hard cutting edge. High-carbon steel knives are usually sharper compared to stainless steel knives.

However, the additional sharpness makes the blades more brittle and the edge of the blades gets chipped easily.

Knives having a Rockwell hardness level of greater than 60HRC are hard enough, but the only down set of hard-edge knives are susceptible to chipping and cakes.

When the blade gets chipped, it’s expensive to repair and restore to its original state. Sometimes the blades cannot be repaired, and you will have to replace the blade.

If your knife edge is broken or is getting chipped then, you can follow my other guide on how to fix a broken knife tip.

Does Heat Dull a Knife?

It’s partially true that heat dulls knives. In the process of making a knife blade, the blade is hardened by the heating blade.

Heating the blade isn’t going to do much if anything unless you are heating it hot enough to deform the blade, or else it’s not going to make much difference.

However, you must know the difference between heating a blade inside a dishwasher and when you place the blades inside the dishwasher, the blades get exposed to detergent, water, and heat at the same time.

This is not considered safe because if you have a high-carbon steel knife and you wash it in a dishwasher, it will surely damage the blades.

Are Stainless Steel Knives Dishwasher Safe?

Most experts say that it’s ok to put stainless steel knives in the dishwasher. Most of the stainless knives are dishwasher labeled as dishwasher safe. But are they really?

Well, this totally depends on the knife brand that you are looking for. If you are getting an expensive knife with plastic handles, then it might be dishwasher-safe.

However, cheap brands mostly don’t make a dishwasher-safe knife. However, they labeled it as dishwasher safe.

So, It’s always recommended to get a knife from trusted brands.

Blackening a Knife Protect The Blade In Dishwasher?

Blackening a knife blade is one of the most effective ways to protect a knife blade from getting damaged. This method is used for years to protect knife blades.

Many carbon steel knife has a protecting layer or a black coating that can protect the blade from the abrasive environment inside the dishwasher.

A thin layer of patina is variously formed on the surface of the blade. The patina forms non-corrosive oxidation on the outer layer of the blade and this serves as a protection for the blade.

Most carbon steel knives are prone to acid and get darkened easily after cutting citrus fruits or in a harsh environment.

Blackening a knife blade is one of the most effective ways to protect a high-carbon steel blade.

This method has been in use for years to protect the blade from scratches and corrosion. If you want more details you can follow my other post.

Related Post: How to blacken a knife blade?

Best Way To Clean a Knife Blade

Buy Now On Amazon

The best way to clean your kitchen knife is to wash using your hands with plain soap and water. This way it does not affect the blades.

You have to go slowly and carefully as this can cut your fingers. Use a sponge or a knife brush to clean the blade from both sides.

After use, gently rinse the blade under the tap water. Use a sponge and soapy water to gently rub the stubborn dirt from the blades.

Once, you have completed washing the blade, then dry it. Make sure that wipe the extra water, as this can leave stains on the blade.

What Knives Are Safe To Use

As you have got that, most kitchen knives are not dishwasher safe. But is this the case for all types of knives? What is the labeling dishwasher safe on a kitchen knife?

Typically, dishwasher-safe knives are mostly made from high-quality stainless steel, and it has synthetic handles. This type of knife can be cleaned using a dishwasher. However, it can easily dull your knife.

Knives having no precision edge such as a bread cutting knife or butter knife can be easily cleaned using a dishwasher because it does not have any cutting edge.

Knives are made from a high-carbon material, like titanium, that has a carbon composition high as 2.1%. This type of knife can resist heat and moisture inside the dishwasher.

However, this type of knife can easily suffer from rusting, and you must put it at your own risk.

Some of the stainless knives are dishwasher safe, however, you must know that the blade will lose its sharpness and get scratched easily when you put them in the dishwasher.

Conclusion On Why Do Dishwashers Ruin Knives

Washing a knife in a dishwasher is not at all a good idea, and it must be avoided, especially if you are using an expensive knife.

Therefore, if you want to use your kitchen knife for a longer time, and maintain the sharpness of the blade, then never put your knife in a dishwasher.

It can damage your expensive knife, and it’s not worth taking the risk of saving some minutes by washing a dishwasher.

I hope this article would have helped you in figuring out the disadvantages of using a dishwasher and the importance of washing your kitchen knife manually.

So, how do you prefer to wash your kitchen knife? Let me know in the comment section. Thanks for reading!

FAQ: Why Is It Bad To Put Knives In The Dishwasher

The dishwasher can literally damage your blades, no matter how expensive they are, in the long run, the blades suffer from corrosion or get damaged.

That’s why people ask a lot of questions and that can be solved easily. That’s why I have added a few of the questions in this article and provided appropriate answers to them.

Q1. Does Putting Knives In the Dishwasher Blunt Them?