Although the first hand powered dishwasher can be traced back to 1850, commercial domestic dishwashers were one of the last household domestic appliances to realise their full sales potential. This may be due to the fact that the manual act of washing dishes was considered to be a normal practice compared with other chores around the kitchen that were considered in more need to be automated. The modern integrated and built in models of today were a figment of the imagination when Josephine Cochrane exhibited her commercial version (still hand powered) dish washing machine at the 1893 Chicago world fair, no doubt with the help of her father who had invented the steamboat.

1924 witnessed the first domestic machines which were anything but the built in devices we know today. However, they did resemble many of the modern day characteristics such as front door loading and wire trays. Drying elements were only introduced as late as the 1940’s. By 1970 dishwashers were commonplace in the United States and later integrated, semi integrated and fully integrated versions were revolutionizing the average household kitchen. Plastic and stainless steel had replaced the wood and cork from years before. Dishwashers did not catch on in the Uk till much later, probably due to the fact they were deemed as a very expensive luxury. Today, prices are so cheap that they are almost considered a necessity in the developed world. In terms of time saving, they are considered one of the best labour saving electric devices on sale in the Uk. Because they can be fully integrated into the built in kitchen or semi integrated, they tend to be an invisible element in the modern day kitchen. Many people now consider them to be a cheap best buy in this time-demanding busy world. Many machines come with variable programmes and settings that protect dishes from the ravages that earlier models did not. Special electric dishwasher detergents have been developed to protect crockery from losing colour, and glasses from being scratched.

There is certainly one thing that the integrated dishwasher has resolved; the number of domestic arguments as to whose turn it is to wash or dry the pots.