A woman’s partner says her boyfriend had to teach her how to correctly organize dishes in the dishwasher, sharing a tutorial in a now-viral TikTok.
In a video with over 1.8 million views, TikToker Carmela (@its.carmelajoy) shares a video of her boyfriend putting dishes in the dishwasher.
First, he explains the top rack.
“Cups go on the side. Cups don’t go in the spikes or on top of the spikes,” he says. “You want as much water flow as possible.”
Then, he asserts that smaller bowls are placed in the top middle row, and bigger bowls are placed in the back row of the bottom rack. Plates are placed back to back in the front bottom row.
“I’ve fixed this countless times,” her boyfriend laughs.
@its.carmelajoy Dishwasher = drying rack
♬ original sound – its.carmelajoy
Cultural differences in using the dishwasher
On-screen text reads, “When you’re Asian so you’ve never been taught how to load a dishwasher correctly, so your boyfriend has to teach you.” The caption continues, “Dishwasher = drying rack.”
While many viewers question what race has to do with dishwasher use, many Asian and Latino commenters say they share Carmela’s experience.
“I’m Hispanic, and my mom washed everything by hand. I also don’t know how to properly load a dishwasher,” one said.
“I’m 35 and Asian and still am not 100% sure about how to use the dishwasher,” another wrote.
“My Vietnamese mom unplugged our dishwasher and uses it as a filing cabinet,” a third added.
Is there a right way to load dishes?
While most viewers agree with his tutorial, many are shocked by his “right way” to load cups.
“Wait, I thought we put the cups on the spikes, too,” a user wrote.
“U don’t put cups in the spikes???” another said.
Others shared critiques, too.
“The bowls are too close together for me. I need them facing down to assure water gets in,” a viewer wrote.
“Top bowls need to be turned around, they all need to be oriented so that they face the center of the dishwasher,” another said.
Different dishwasher manufacturers have slightly different tutorials for their models. But major retailer Whirlpool says that there are some basic guidelines to make sure your dishes get fully clean: Face dishes toward the center, angle dishes downward, avoid overcrowding, and place the dishes between the tines (spikes), not over them.
The Daily Dot reached out to Carmela via email and Instagram direct message for further comment.
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