A nostalgic look at the ever useful electric dishwasher

The end of World War II marked a turning point in American life. Not only was the war over, a happy time indeed, but families could resume a normal life, without rationing or women working in factories geared to the war effort. Construction was booming and many families were for the first time able to buy their own home.

Rather than building war planes, ships and bombs, factory owners now turned their attention to more family oriented products, such as the television and the 'automatic' washing machine. This was the beginning of the age of electric appliances, which Americans embraced with great enthusiasm. This phenomenon began to snowball, with household and kitchen electric gadgets and appliances becoming the envy and source of marvel to enthusiastic housewives. Around 1960, the electric dishwasher appeared on the scene. What will they think of next? was the excited refrain of many a housewife.

The first electric dishwashers were called portable, due simply to the fact that kitchens had not been designed with cabinetry that accommodated such an appliance underneath a counter top. Thus, the portable dishwasher was a standalone appliance which, with rollers for feet, could be moved near the kitchen sink where it was then attached to the pull-out hoses and then plugged into an electrical outlet to do its thing. When the dishwashing task was completed, the hoses were detached, the unit was unplugged and returned to its station along a wall. Although this arrangement made the average sized kitchen a bit less spacious, the top of the portable electric dishwasher proved compensation in the form of additional counter space when the appliance was not in use.

Today, almost every American household sports a dishwasher of the non-human type. Most young people cannot imagine what a boon this invention proved to be for Grandma, washing and drying all the dishes from a holiday dinner with just a half-hour's effort. Although the first dishwashers required that you rinse each dish well before turning the task over to the appliance, wipe spots from glasses and silver after the cycle and wash pots and pans by hand, the electric dishwasher was every housewife's most beloved appliance.

With almost every household task now automated by some gadget or appliance, it's difficult to guess what might be next. Say, how about an electric oil changer? Mom's had the electric dishwasher for almost a half century. It ought to be Dad's turn.