A dishwasher for the dishwasher-less apartment?

(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?

[audiodonald]

Thank you Caroline!

This might just save my marriage. Seriously. Now if you can just find me a robot that will clean the bathtub.

[csaunders4z]

Sometimes prohibited by landlords

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.

[mcastles]

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.