If you really hate hand washing your dishes but don't have much room in your house or apartment, you may want to consider getting a portable dishwasher. Many people haven't heard much about these great little units, and may wonder how they operate. Built-in units have everything wired and hooked up directly, but with a portable dishwasher that is not the case.

A portable dishwasher is like the built-in models because all of them have at least one motor that is connected to a pump. The pump of the portable dishwasher makes the water move up into the main chamber where it enters through the rotating arms of the sprayer. As the water moves over the dishes it removes the food residue that has been left on them and then ends up at the bottom of the portable dishwasher. The pump also works during the draining cycle to pull the water out of the chamber and down the pipe. Higher end built-in models often have a separate pump to bring the water into the dishwasher and one to drain it at the end of the cycle. However, the smaller portable dishwasher usually only has one pump that fulfills both tasks.

Another feature of the portable dishwasher is the float switch. The float switch is connected to a floating device that is designed to rise as the water level rises. As the floating device gets to a set height, the switch is activated which shuts off the flow of water. This keeps the portable dishwasher from overfilling. Once in a great while, the float switch could go bad, which allows the portable dishwasher to spill water onto the counter or floor because it has overfilled.

A portable dishwasher cannot be directly attached to a water pipe like their built-in cousins. There is not a permanent connection to a water supply for a portable dishwasher. Usually, it will have an adapter that allows one to connect it to the kitchen tap. This means that the portable dishwasher can attached to the tap during use and then disconnected from the tap and rolled away when the job is done.

As you may expect, a portable dishwasher doesn't have a specific drain where the water always goes when it has finished running like the under-the-counter models do. Rather, a portable dishwasher is usually equipped with a hose that is connected to the unit. The hose must be placed in the sink or near some other drain. As your portable dishwasher drains, it is a good idea to use some sort of filter or food catcher to stop any large particles from blocking the actual sink drain pipe. This would assure that you don't have problems with your kitchen sink afterward.

As you look at the different options for a portable dishwasher, you will see that there are not many bells and whistles such as timers included. The portable dishwasher is generally considered to be a budget model and is simply designed to provide the cleaning power of a built-in dishwasher in a compact package for people who don't have lots of space to spare.

Portable Dishwasher