Coated pans in the dishwasher – yes or no?

«I put all my pans in the dishwasher,» my podcast partner Judith admits. In the latest episode of our Swiss-German podcast «Uftischt», we talked about bad kitchen habits. Check out minute 21:14 for our conversation on whether coated pans are dishwasher-safe or not.

I also wash frying pans in the dishwasher from time to time. Why worry? There’s a dishwasher symbol on the pan. However, this symbol doesn’t necessary mean it’s supposed to go in the dishwasher.

Dishwasher-safe

The dishwasher-safe symbol is a defined standard – DIN 12875 (mechanical dishwashing resistance of utensils). A standardised test procedure regulates how many wash cycles a pan or plate must go through undamaged in order to be considered dishwasher safe. The number above the three jets indicates how many wash cycles the dishes or pan can withstand.

Dishwasher-proof

This means dishes can go in the dishwasher, but there’s no guarantee they’ll survive a large number of washes undamaged. In other words, you bear the risk. My coated frying pans are all dishwasher-proof, but I wash them by hand most of the time. As dishwasher-proof isn’t a clearly defined term protected by DIN standard, it’s very misleading that manufacturers use these symbols. Their products don’t comply with the strict EU or DIN standard for dishwasher-safe, so they just invent a logo and a new word and hope that customers won’t see any damage on their pans after washing them in a dishwasher many times. Which is often the case, but not with a DIN guarantee.

The same applies to the term dishwasher-resistant.

Just like dishwasher-proof, this doesn’t mean your pans are safe to go in the dishwasher. Only dishwasher-safe means your pans are guaranteed to remain undamaged.

Dishwasher no-nos

Never put cast iron, silver or aluminium in the dishwasher. The same goes for copper, brass, zinc and wood. Be careful with painted or finely decorated porcelain. In these cases, no manufacturer gives you any guarantees.

Oh and if you’re wondering about table knives, our colleague Martin talked about that a while ago. The short answer’s «no», the long one’s here:

UPDATE 3.10.: In an earlier version of this article, a symbol was wrongly displayed with the claim that there was an EU rule on what’s dishwasher-safe. That was a mistake and has been corrected.