need a way to show dishwasher has been run

[mooooom]

It is not magnetic and there is no conceivable place to hang a little board to flip back and forth or anything. Help! I am sick of running the dishwasher and coming home to more dirty dishes in with the clean ones. (Or maybe I should just be glad they load the darn thing?)

[Volty]

Is it new? If all else fails, read the instructions. ;)

[Elinor Everywhere]

Is there a little light that tells them it's clean? My kids know if the light is on, the dishes are clean and had better be emptied, pronto!

Or...hmmm.....do you run it at a normal (scheduled) time? We run ours every night, so in the morning they're always clean. Well....that's the theory, anyway. :)

[kalanamak]

Can you put something on the cabinet above? Something you flip one way when you start it and an another when it gets emptied?
My new (well, a couple years old now) DW keeps it LED timer on until you turn it off. That is the tip off now (it is a Bosch). If I know it is clean, ie it has run but I haven't emptied it, I pull out the silverware tray and stick it on the counter above, or reach in and flip all the bowls on the top rack up in a little stack.
I feel your pain.

[Jean in Wisc]

small hooks that have a strip of adhesive on the back--you know, the kind that you peel the paper off and then stick it to the wall. Some styles are sold in the picture frame department, some in the kitchen, and others in the bath dept. You could look around and see if there was one that would work on your dishwasher. Then you'd be able to hang a sign on it when you start the wash cycle.

[Melissa in NC]

I constantly harp that you need to look at the dishes in the washer. It is obvious that the plates have food on them or the glasses have been used or the silverware is not clean.

A secondary way would be to put the soap in and close the dispenser after emptying the clean dishes. Then if the dispense is open, the dishes are clean.

[Janet in WA]

It is not magnetic and there is no conceivable place to hang a little board to flip back and forth or anything. Help! I am sick of running the dishwasher and coming home to more dirty dishes in with the clean ones. (Or maybe I should just be glad they load the darn thing?)I have a wheel thingy that attaches to the dishwasher with a suction cup. Half the wheel says "clean", the other half says "dirty". Even something like that isn't foolproff because whoever runs the dishwasher (or empties it) has to be responsible for turning the wheel so the appropriate word is up. That wouldn't be everyone in this household -- don't know about yours.

[Angie in VA]

I have always put a small, glass jar right side up in the top rack, at the front. When you open the dishwasher after it's been run, it's full of water. If it's empty, it's in load mode.

HTH!

[HomeOnTheRanch]

I was going to suggest something similar to Angie. Put something IN the dishwasher so they know whether it needs to be emptied.

You could also do something silly like put an outgrown kid toy in the dishwasher when you run it. If the toy is there, they're clean!

[Tammy]

I have a green lid and a red lid....I use a clothes pin to attach it to the rack. Green is clean dishes....red are dirty, LOL!

[mcconnellboys]

Suction cup that you can hang some sort of small, laminated card on to say they've been washed or are dirty (it could be reversible)....????

We used to have a magnet and if I could find it, I'd send it to you, but since that won't work for you...... Gee, I thought all diswasher doors were magnetic....?

Regena

[Peek a Boo]

we don't put dirty dishes in the dishwasher "as we go" --they sit in the sink until *I* load it and I start it immediately. I'm too darn picky to let anyone else load it, lol. So we don't have this problem --if there's dishes in the dishwasher, they need to be put away.

That being said, I think I'd prefer the glass-right-side-up technique. Or you could always try post-its: get those tiny ones and stick them on the wall/cabinet near the dishwasher. place one on the dishwasher when you turn it on.

[Mom2GirlsTX]

Well, I do what Peek does. I keep dirty dishes in sink and load it myself, as the way dh and the kids load drives me batty.:D
My kids look at the light and know when it is clean, however, I always set it to run before bed and they unload first thing in morning. Lately though, dh has been unloading it every morning at 5:00 am so kids don't have to...he is doing it to be nice.
I would try those 3M brand things that attach to flat surface but don't scratch and attach a clean/dirty card.

[cin]

We just look at the inside of the door. If it is clean, then the dishes are clean.

[Elisabeth in IL]

We have an interesting system that my mother developed as we all live together during the summer months. If the dishes are clean the soap dispenser is empty and if they are dirty the soap dispenser is filled and closed. That means, that right after emptying the dishwasher, you refill the soap dispenser. It took some getting used to but even my 7 year old can tell if the dishes are clean or dirty.