According to the Centers for Disease Control, putting pet items, including toys, in the dishwasher with your regular dishes is acceptable, sanitary, and safe as long as you use standard detergent and a high-temperature setting to kill any germs.
Some pets like reptiles carry Salmonella, and some pets, like birds or rodents, may get waste on their dishes, which can spread harmful bacteria like E. coli. So the CDC recommends running the dishwasher on its hottest or sanitizing setting to ensure it effectively destroys germs.
A dog owner turned to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subReddit for feedback after clashing with her new boyfriend over her dogs' dishes.
8pawsaround asked:
"AITA for washing dog bowls in the dishwasher?"
The original poster (OP) explained:
"I have 2 dogs. They each have 2 food bowls. They get a clean bowl with each meal."
"After each meal, I pick up their bowls and place them in my kitchen sink. At the end of the day, I run the four dog bowls in the dishwasher alongside my own."
"For additional context, the bowls are made of ceramic, and I use the high-temperature sanitizing cycle on the dishwasher."
"I started dating 'Steve' a short time ago. Last weekend he came to my place, and I made him dinner."
"After dinner, Steve saw me place my dogs’ dishes in the dishwasher along with our dinner dishes, and he was absolutely disgusted. He said that running the dogs’ bowls alongside my own was unsanitary and a health hazard."
"According to Steve, the dog dishes should be hand washed with a separate sponge and kept out of the dishwasher."
"I have never seen an issue with this because in my mind, the heat from the dishwasher kills bacteria."
"Steve’s argument is that dogs have different bacteria in their mouths than us and 'mixing it' can be dangerous. He insists he won’t eat anything off any of my dishes again until I promise that I will start handwashing the dogs’ bowls separately because only 'human dishes should go in the dishwasher'."
"Is this unsanitary? Thoughts?"
Redditors weighed in using the AITA voting acronyms:
- NTA - Not The A**hole
- YTA - You're The A**hole
- NAH - No A**holes Here
- ESH - Everyone Sucks Here
- INFO - more information needed
Redditors unanimously decided the OP was not the a**hole (NTA).
"NTA. The dishwasher is intended to clean things. That’s the whole point of it." ~ fomaaaaa
"Saves water, too." ~ 2dogslife
"Unless the bowls are specifically not dishwasher safe, nothing wrong has been done here." ~ Kristikuffs
"AND it saves her from having to date Steve. Win-Win!" ~ medusasfolly
"I run my cat’s bowl through the dishwasher too. Like this is normal, at least in my mind." ~ AGioiellierr
"I bought an entire set of 2 dozen cute little blue ceramic dishwasher-safe plates at the dollar shop specifically to feed my grubby cats on a fresh plate every meal, and then slop everything into the dishwasher."
"I refuse to handwash anything. And it means they stay out of the dang sink cause it's empty and has no dirty dishes for them to try to lick or spoons to steal.NTA." ~ ijustneedtolurk
"I did the same, but not matching. They have to get a wet food 'treat' each night so they will take their pill (both cats on a steroid for IBD)."
"I got tired of washing the plates every night, so bought about a dozen-ish so I could just pop them in the dishwasher each night and run it when I'm almost out." ~ Mauvaise3
"Same. I clean their bowls every couple of days, and they go in the dishwasher. I have never batted an eye. There is detergent, very hot water and everything is spotless." ~ Cudi_buddy
"NTA, and this dude is big-dumb."
"I put my (wood-fiber composite) cutting board in the dishwasher. That’s my 'dirty stuff' cutting board, and it’s frequently covered in raw chicken juice. If I’m trusting my dishwasher to sanitize chicken juice in the same load as my coffee filter, I can certainly trust it to clean the dog bowls."
"Particularly since I spend hundreds of dollars per year ensuring that my dogs have no communicable parasites or diseases." ~ pierogi_waystation
"Yeah, this dude is wrong. I once had a roommate who freaked out when I put my cat's bowl in the dishwasher. So scalding water and detergent aren't enough? Nutty." ~ Beautiful_Camel_17
"I have many cats. I’ve found that sterilization in the dishwasher cuts down on them transmitting colds, etc... between them. Yes, I put human dishes in too. It’s much more sterile than using a sponge to wash pet dishes and then using said sponge to clean knives." ~ Justsadie519
"And if you’re using the sanitize cycle, it’s cleaner than washing them in the sink." ~ ImColdandImTired
"NTA. The dishwasher is literally designed to clean dishes with hot water and detergent. If ceramic dog bowls can go through it, I really don’t see why they suddenly become dangerous just because a dog ate from them first. Steve seems way more bothered by the idea than by an actual hygiene issue." ~ Proper-Pirate-5006
"If it handles raw chicken plates, dog bowls aren’t exactly a biohazard." ~ fresaduulce
"Yup. I put dishes I prepped raw chicken with in the dishwasher. Never got sick. Dog bowls are not a problem." ~ MJC0961
"Yeah, I put raw meat prep in the dishwasher specifically because I trust it to clean and sanitize better than if I hand washed it." ~ Cudi_buddy
"Seriously, I'd eat out of my dog's unwashed bowl before I ever ate out of an unwashed raw chicken bowl." ~ technohippie
"I'll bet Steve is one of those idiots who think throwing a used tampon/pad in the garbage is unsanitary too." ~ EffectiveNo7681
"You're supposed to incinerate it upon exit - WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT LET A MAN BE AWARE OF ITS EXISTENCE. HIS FEELINGS MIGHT GET HURT." ~ ArcticAcademic
"Doesn’t the dishwasher generally use hot water settings that a human couldn’t tolerate? Steve’s dumb." ~ HotThanks2630
"Steve would be horrified to know how many people let their dogs clean regular plates sometimes before they get washed." ~ CitizenCue
"Every single dish gets a canine pre-wash in my house unless there was something toxic to dogs in my food." ~ gusandsadie
"My old husky refused to eat from a dog bowl and in his last year I’d just feed him from one of our bowls. Most weeks he was demanding human food anyway… but he was still licking the plate with his dog bacteria mouth! I’m in camp 'get a new Steve'.” ~ Old-Memory-Lane
"...but by handwashing them you'd be getting them LESS clean. Are you also supposed to have a separate sponge for just the dog bowls? NTA." ~ seventythousandbees
"According to the FDA, you should be using a separate sponge if you hand wash them. As long as your dishwasher is set to sanitize, it's safe to wash them with everything else in the dishwasher, though." ~ alliejim98
"Maybe Steve can bring his own dishes and take them home after then, or have him eat off a paper plate, or maybe never have dinner with him again." ~ quirkypeabrain
"Tagging on here, friend... Steve is angling to separate you from your dogs. No further discussion needed. A new Steve is in order. Pronto." ~ jamminsami
"Stevie is obviously an idiot who is comfortable forcing his stupid ideas on the most minor parts of your life. This is the kind of red flag you should pay attention to." ~ Tiredofthenuts
"NTA. I think Steve can either:"
"A. Shut the f*ck up"
"B. Purchase paper plates to use at your house if he’s going by to be so f*cking precious about saliva that was since washed off"
"C. Hand wash the dog bowls himself!" ~ fuzzy-lint
"You missed option D (which may should be option A) - Be single!" ~ Kitchen-Arm-3288
"Option E: OP can be with someone who loves dogs and understands dishwashers." ~ MimiPaw
"Option D: Give Steve his own set of dishes that doesn't go in the dishwasher. What he doesn't know is that the dog cleans those." ~ Comfortable_Coach_35
"NTA, Steve has no idea what he's talking about."
"For the record, I'm a vegetarian, and the only meat in the house is cat food. I wash the cat dishes in the dishwasher in part because then I don't have to deal with meat residue or have it touch the brushes I use to clean my pots and pans like I would if I hand washed them."
"High heat at near boiling is going to kill any bacteria that didn't evolve near volcano vents. And I assume your dogs don't have any of those in their mouth." ~ SnipesCC
"NTA. I do that with my cats bowls. Never really thought about it before, but I can see why someone might find it a bit yuck. It wouldn’t stop me though, I’m lazy." ~ CharieRarie
"Yup, 4 cat bowls a day, at least 50% of my dishwasher is cat bowls. They all come out perfectly clean, and I'm not saving up a pile of dishes to run them separately." ~ Jerseygirl2468
"It’s funny because mentally I agree but logically… either you believe the dishwasher sanitizes items or you don’t. It’s definitely a mental hurdle I can understand but Steve is definitely wrong!" ~ spilly_talent
"Yeah, is Steve also grossed out when raw meat dishes and utensils go in together? That’s what the dishwasher is for—to sanitize. I’d put my dog bowls into the dishwasher, but they aren’t dishwasher safe so hand wash it is." ~ Dramallamakuzco
Well, Reddit seems clear, and they've given OP some great options, like having her dogs clean their plates going forward.
Bon appetit, Steve.
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