April 5, 2007 7:31 AM PDT

A dishwasher for the dishwasher-less apartment?

by Caroline McCarthy
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(Credit: Compact Appliances)

Yes, to many of you this will look stupid. But if you're an urban apartment-dweller like me, there's a good chance that you saw this gadget and immediately said "OMIGOD, I NEED THAT." Our suburban brethren often don't realize that many apartments in New York, San Francisco, London, Tokyo, etc. don't have dishwashers due to space constraints. As a result, we've become very well acquainted with every brand of dish soap on the market (hello, Method Home!), the merits of relying on take-out Chinese food, as well as the deep drama involved in telling our spouses, partners, and roommates, "It's your turn to do the dishes."

Consequently, when I saw this counter-top dishwasher from EdgeStar on the Apartment Therapy blog, I was immediately impressed at the concept. As it turns out, these have been around for several years now, but I'd never heard of them until now. This one costs $189 and can fit "up to four standard place settings" according to its product page.

The catch is that I bet it's not all that efficient, to the point where it's probably speedier and more eco-savvy to just wash the dishes by hand. But I can dream, can't I?

Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline.
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Thank you Caroline!
by audiodonald April 5, 2007 9:21 AM PDT
This might just save my marriage. Seriously. Now if you can just find me a robot that will clean the bathtub.
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Sometimes prohibited by landlords
by csaunders4z April 9, 2007 11:43 AM PDT
Hey. Here in NYC, landlords typically frown on this sort of thing. It's because portable dishwashers are believed (wrongly, perhaps) to often leak and cause nasty in-building flooding. My lease prohibits them, for instance, and this is fairly commonplace.
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by mcastles August 13, 2009 3:49 PM PDT
My apartment complex also prohibits these dishwashers. The reason I believe is the older buildings have older pipes and can cause a clog on another persons unit. I knew of a tenant who owned one of these a couple stories up and it caused overflow of suds at my sink and the guy's above me.
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