'Settle a Roommate Dispute': What's the right way to load bowls in the dishwasher?

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jul 14, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

We all have different ways of doing things. Is there a right answer?

When you start living with people, you realize that we all have our own way of doing things. We were all raised with different customs, and we all run our households differently. When you start combining those things, though, then you can run into trouble. Everyone is trying to get on the same page, and you're each bringing something different to the table. And when you can't decide which way to do things, then you might end up clashing. The roommates in this story figured that out when it came to a common household chore: loading the dishwasher. 

Dishwashers are amazing things. I lived a few years without one, and when I finally got one again, I learned just how valuable they really are. It makes the worst part of cooking so much easier. It also makes roommate dynamics so much easier to handle. When you have a magic dish-washing machine, then you don't need to get mad about who is doing the dishes and who isn't. But what if you have disagreements about how to load the machine? The roommate duo in this story certainly did, and they wanted answers on who was in the right. The only "right" way is the way you choose to do something. There are no hard and fast rules about how to load the dishwasher, only what works for you and your household. But sometimes you need to settle a bet. 

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  • Settle a Roommate Dispute. What is the proper way to load bowls in the dishwasher?

    Cheezburger Image 10647277312
    via natethough
  • Cheezburger Image 10647278080
    via natethough
  • I load bowls like the first pic. I find everything gets clean this way, it saves space. Both roommates load bowls #2 way. they say it gets "more clean" that way. In my mind, the dishwasher blasts water up from the bottom and down from the top; the important side of the bowl that holds your food is not getting cleaned properly in the 2nd way. I also sometimes find the bowls with water sitting in them after the cycle is done.
    via natethough
  • Roommates insist my way is wrong theirs is right. All i care abt is which way is most efficient for getting things clean
    via natethough
  • Edit: To clarify, the top rack isn't an option for these bowls. Maybe 2-3 at a time, but anymore than that and the weight is too much for that rack and the wheels fall off the tracks. It leans down onto the sprayer, stops it from spraying.
    via natethough

  • The internet is a useful place to go when you need an outside opinion. The people in your life are biased one way or another, but you need the truth. You need to know what the average person thinks. This is when you turn to a place like Reddit, where you can solicit thousands of opinions at once. That's what this pair of roomies did, and then they suddenly had thousands of opinions to sift through. Keep reading to see what they said.

  • Commenters gave their hot takes on this issue.

    AmazedAtTheWorld Facing downward and overlapped like dragonscale. Do the first one but in a line.
    via AmazedAtTheWorld
  • AmbitiousSet5 None of the above.
    via AmbitiousSet5
  • trainzkid88 both are wrong. see the small pegs the idea is that the bowls lean on both sets of pegs so they stack in behinf each other like the plates are. some bowls just dont stack well. also normally bowls go in the top rack.
    via trainzkid88
  • see if you can find the owners book it normally shows what goes where. reality is it dont matter as long as they come out clean and dry
    via trainzkid88
  • lordselectrical Face down and not touching eachother to get the beat cleaning performance
    via lordselectrical
  • drysocketpocket When they're done, is there debris left on them? If not it's fine. People are so f'n weird about what's "clean" these days. There's enough heat and steam in the dishwasher that if the dish isn't somehow completely blocked from getting any moisture on it, at the end of the cycle it's clean.
    via drysocketpocket
  • If you're seeing debris left on the dishes after the cycle, that's an entirely different thing and you're either packing stuff so tight that some of it isn't getting washed at all, or your machine has some of its jets clogged and needs to be descaled with some vinegar.
    via drysocketpocket
  • deephurting66 Upper rack upside down so the water hits them right
    via deephurting66
  • Autumnwood If you don't want chipped bowls, they need their own space. Overlapping will leave some dirty areas. Actually, I wouldn't do either way for these deep bowls. I would load them, open side down, on the top drawer of the washer, each with its own space. No chipping and all will be clean everywhere.
    via Autumnwood
  • infinitynull The upper rack in the middle, back to front, is made for bowls.
    via infinitynull
  • tom8osauce Check the manual for the dishwasher, it should have directions for how to load the dishes.
    via tom8osauce
  • Advanced_Emu_5375 These are both wrong. They should be facing down on the little hooks. In the first position water won't reach every bowl and in the second one water will collect on the bottom of the bowl.
    via Advanced_Emu_5375

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dishwasher loading the dishwasher household bad roommates psycho roommate etiquette chores doing the dishes roommates dishes
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