Dish washer domains

Once upon a time, there was a small child who liked nothing more than to stand on a chair beside the real 'washer upper' and pitch in. Sadly, she had too much of a good thing, and had a reaction to the soap powder – or maybe her family was an early adopter and liquid detergent was the problem. Whichever, she came out in rashes – or what she like to call 'rushes'.

I'm not sure how effective I was at washing up but I am told that what I lacked in technique I made up with enthusiasm. Those were the days before the rubber glove made its way into the kitchen – and anyway, my tiny hands would never have kept them on. Of course, once I donned the gloves I was fine, and would desperately hope to be designated the washer. I could never really understand those who preferred to wipe/dry, but the fact that they did, instantly made them compatible companions.

Doing the dishes together gave us a slice of time to talk – or not. We could catch up on the day's details, dissect the dinner party guests, simply chew the fat or toil silently in tandem. You only had to help out at the kitchen sink in someone else's house to discover the wealth of different practices – and idiosyncrasies – associated with washing up. One of my friends would sing along with her aunty, and 'Moon River' was always their starting point.

Given the first mechanical or hand-powered dishwashers were invented as far back as the 1850s, it was a long time before they cut our ties to the kitchen sink, or double sink – which I remember thinking was the ultimate in sophistication. Thankfully, my horizons widened.

It took a woman to invent a 'reliable' mechanical dishwasher in 1897. Not motivated by sisterhood or even self-interest, Josephine Cochrane's concern was for her tableware – her staff were chipping the plates while doing the dishes. Even General Electric's ad for the 'electrical' dishwasher' in the 1930s was a vision of the future rather than the status quo – and the same can be said for the actress in it, Bette Davis.

When our children were growing up we instructed (or begged, depending on the kind of household you ran) to pack the dishwasher. Now I'm noticing a growing trend of expert dishwasher packers who push family and friends out of the way to demonstrate their prowess: the 'I'll pack the dishwasher' brigade.

I'm not sure what's going on here. Do they like pitting themselves against the space constraints? I do admit, some people have practical tips I hadn't though of. Or maybe they want to exercise a little control? Speaking of which, I know someone who gets up in the night, after everyone is in bed, and re-packs someone else's packing.