The History Of The Dishwasher

Popular Dishwasher
Magnets

The Dishwasher Made Dish Washing Easier...

Here is an interesting article about The History of the Dishwasher.  Kitchen Aid Magnets like the dishwasher magnets for clean dishes and dirty dishes makes life easier.

American Joel Houghton invented the first dishwasher in 1850.  He made it out of wood, and gave it a hand-turned wheel that splashed water on the dishes inside.  It didn't really work, but it did get the first "dishwasher" patent.

Josephine Cochrane invented the first automatic dishwasher in 1886, in Shelbyville, Illinois.  She was a rich woman who had a lot of dinner parties.  She had servants to wash her dishes but she wanted a machine that could do the job faster without breaking so many.  So, she built a dishwasher herself!

First, she measured her dishes and then built wire compartments - each specially designed to fit plates, cups, and saucers.  The compartments fit in a wheel that lay flat inside a copper boiler.  A motor turned the wheel, while hot soapy water squirted up from the boiler and rained down on the dishes.  She unveiled her invention at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and won its highest award.  I wonder if our dishwasher magnets would have won any awards?

Cochrane's friends liked her dishwasher, and soon, Mrs. Cochrane was getting orders for the machine from restaurants and hotels around Illinois. She patented the design and went into production.  Her company is now the well-known upscale kitchenware corporation KitchenAid (not the same as our kitchen aid magnets).

Other companies made dishwashers for restaurants and caterers that were powered by steam.  They worked by passing the dirty dishes under jets of hot water using a conveyor belt or spinning basket which were inefficient.  It was not until the 1950s, when dishwashers became cheaper and smaller, that they caught on with the general public.  And, it wasn't until the 21st century that KitchenAidMagnets.com presented you with the dishwasher magnet.