A TikTok user has gone viral after sharing a towel hack she uses to dry dishes “fully” in the dishwasher. But not everyone thinks it’s such a smart idea.
Sarah Day Johnston (@sarahdjohnston) posted the hot tip on Oct. 9. In the video, she shows her open dishwasher, which appears to have just finished running a cycle. There is a towel hanging over the dishwasher door. She then closes the dishwasher.
“I dont know who needs to hear this….this putting a towel like this right after the dishwasher runs helps dry everything off fully,” she writes in the text overlay. In the caption, she reiterates, “HOT TIPS if you wanna scream into the abyss everytime your dishes need extra [drying].”
The video has amassed more than 1 million views since it was posted. In the comments, users urged against the practice.
One user strongly advised against using a towel in this manner, writing, “Nope, don’t do that unless you want to replace the dishwasher yearly.”
A second seemed to agree that it was a bad idea, and sarcastically wrote, “As an appliance repair man I agree. do this.”
@sarahdjohnston HOT TIPS if you wanna scream into the abyss everytime your dishes need extra dryubg #lifehack #hacksoflife ♬ Don’t I Make It Look Easy – Meghan Trainor
Others offered alternatives to hanging a towel over the dishwasher door. Multiple users suggested the TikToker, “Use a rinse aid.”
How do rinse aids work? Rinse aids contain surfactants, which lower the surface tension of water. This causes water to drop off of newly washed dishes instead of clinging to them and can help avoid spots.
But others had a simpler strategy.
“I just pull the top drawer open a little and crack the door & let science do the rest lol,” read one comment.
Someone else co-signed this method for wet items in the dishwasher, writing, “The towel doesn’t do anything. Just open the door a little bit and it will be fine after 30-35 mins.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Sarah via TikTok direct message for further comment.
