Wine glasses and dishwashers

April 9, 2005 4:23 PM

Just how bad an idea is it for me to try putting wine glasses in the dishwasher?

In other words, (a) how likely is it that relatively sturdy-looking wine glasses (bought unboxed years ago) will break in the dishwasher? and (b) if they do, what colleral ill effects might that have? Could the dishwasher itself be damaged? Should I not even try?

posted by sueinnyc to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

We do it all the time. Not fancy stemware like Ridell, but sturdy looking everyday wine glasses will be fine.
posted by fixedgear at 4:35 PM on April 9, 2005

I have put wine glasses in the dishwasher and not had any breakage. But they are a little scratchy-looking now.
posted by xo at 4:35 PM on April 9, 2005

Best answer: If they're pressed glass it shouldn't be a problem. If they're crystal they might break (especially if you try to take them out while still hot & fragile). The only bad effect in that instance would be dealing with broken glass. Any potential lead poisoning is already happening as the wine you drink slowly leeches the lead from the glass, but the amount is miniscule. I drink from leaded crystal as have generations of my very long lived family.
posted by cali at 4:37 PM on April 9, 2005

Best answer: Dishwasher detergent acts like sandpaper on crystal. Over time the crystal will "cloud" and look like crap. Even cheap glasses are often crystal. Tap one, if it rings, it's crystal.

Hint from Heloise: if you're not going to clean a red wine glass immediately, put a splash of water in it. That way the red goo won't collect and dry in the bottom, making it much easier to clean later.
posted by Nelson at 4:48 PM on April 9, 2005

I do it quite often with our crystal glasses, though my wife doesn't like it. Just be absolutely sure they can't bang around with other glasses. After what Nelson says though maybe I'll start handwashing them.
posted by rolypolyman at 6:06 PM on April 9, 2005

It probably depends on the quality of your dishwasher as well. We have a very old, crappy dishwasher that regularly breaks glasses and melt's dishwasher-safe Tupperware, so we would never put stemware in our dishwasher.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 6:33 PM on April 9, 2005

cali - IIRC, the lead does not come out unless you store wine for a period of time in a lead decanter, or in a leaded glass. There is no measurable amount of lead in a freshly poured glass.

To anser sueinnyc's question - I wouldn't do it with expensive stemware, but I do it all the time with generic red and white glasses.
posted by bh at 6:58 PM on April 9, 2005

I've got two sets of wine glasses. My day to day usage ones if friends or family are over and my special occasion ones. The day to day ones get dishwashed and they're a bit scratched up. The special occasion ones only get hand washed.
posted by substrate at 7:07 PM on April 9, 2005

I've found that putting wine glasses on the bottom rack of the dishwasher helps them come out cleaner without picking up any bits of gunk.
posted by gokart4xmas at 7:17 PM on April 9, 2005

I've had a wine glass crack in the dishwasher without any other glasses touching it. Also, now that I read what Nelson said I have even more reason not to do it. (I stopped after I found that crack.)
posted by knave at 9:34 PM on April 9, 2005

I've broken one in the dishwasher. My fault though, not the dishwasher's. It was upside-down on the bottom rack, and I barely tapped the base with something else while I was unloading. It snapped right off at the stem.
posted by smackfu at 10:02 AM on April 10, 2005

We do it all the time. Never had a problem.
posted by SisterHavana at 7:29 PM on April 10, 2005