Yes, There Is a Correct Way to Load Utensils in the Dishwasher

We asked food safety and dishwasher experts to settle this household debate.

Key Points

• How to load the dishwasher is one of the most hotly contested household chores, especially when it comes to the debate over whether utensils should be placed with the handle pointing up or down.
• Proponents of placing handles up argue that it prevents you from touching the head of the utensil with dirty hands, while the opposing view states that the eating portion of utensils is more effectively cleaned when pointing upward.
• After consulting experts, their advice indicates that loading utensils with the handles down is the best decision — with the one exception of knives — and that users should focus on washing their hands thoroughly before unloading the dishwasher.

Among all the daily tasks that households across the country face, perhaps none is as disputed as loading the dishwasher. Within this seemingly simple chore, a number of controversies can arise: Do you place bowls on the top rack or the bottom? Have you loaded all the plates in the most efficient, space-saving fashion? Do you hand wash the steak knives or put them in with everything else?

I haven’t had a dishwasher in my kitchen for the past ten years, but the strong opinions that this household appliance can evoke are still vivid in my childhood memories, and I’m reminded of them every time I visit my parents.

For as long as I can remember, my dad has had a habit of reloading the dishwasher after someone else has already put every dirty dish in it. Even when I try to load each item according to his specifications, he will undoubtedly end up redoing it. This is because he, like many other dishwasher owners, has strong beliefs about the best way to do it. And among the tenets of his dishwasher wisdom is a clear mandate about how to load the utensils into the silverware basket.

When I asked Food & Wine staffers whether utensils should be placed in the dishwasher with the handle facing up (so you can unload them by picking each utensil up by its handle) or with the handle facing down (so that the fork tines or spoon head face up), chaos ensued, proving my theory that this is one of the most controversial dishwasher questions you can pose — and everyone believes their answer is right.

To determine if I can find a definitive answer once and for all, I decided to ask dishwashing experts what you should be doing with your utensils.

What are the arguments?

To start, it’s important to understand the stances people take on either side of the aisle when it comes to loading utensils. Home cooks have two main concerns: Some individuals worry that placing utensils in the dishwasher with the handle down necessitates unloading them by touching the eating portion (or “head") of each utensil with your hands, making them dirty after they’ve been cleaned.

Other individuals are primarily concerned with how effectively the dishwasher cleans each utensil, claiming that if the head is positioned downward, it won’t be washed thoroughly. Of course there are also other issues and rules of etiquette at play too.

My dad has been a devotee of both sides of this argument at different times. He changed his strategy about six years ago and is now a fierce proponent of handles down, telling me, “I used to do handle up, but now I do handle down so the eating end gets cleaned better because it is much more exposed. Except knives, because you don’t want pointy, sharp knives sticking up. Could poke someone.”

Although most home cooks aren’t (and shouldn’t) putting a majority of knives in the dishwasher, many households do use the appliance to clean steak knives, which is what my dad is referring to.

Our photo editor, Doan Nguyen, is a handles-down person too, explaining, “My reasoning for handles down is that sometimes spoons and forks will stick together and the water won't be able to get between them.” However, she notes that “If I'm visiting a friend's house, I'll follow their example on the other utensils.”

For people who prefer to place the handles facing up, their choice is also a matter of hygiene, but they focus more on the germs that could transfer from their hand to the utensil head. Senior commerce editor Joe Morales says, “I am 100% a handles-up person. I don't want someone grabbing the spoon, fork, or knife from anywhere other than the handle. It feels so unsanitary to me.”

What do experts say?

There were two main sources I wanted to consult in search of a conclusion on this debate: a dishwasher expert and a food safety expert. Lindsay Jones, the integrated brand manager for Maytag, a major dishwasher brand owned by Whirlpool, recommends that “For proper cleaning of utensils in a dishwasher, it’s best practice to place silverware, like spoons and forks, with the handle pointing downward in the silverware basket. 

“Although knives should be loaded with the sharp end pointing down as a safety precaution to protect fingers and hands when unloading.” That’s one vote for the handle-down strategy, with the necessary caveat that knives should be placed with the sharp end facing downward.

But is there a risk that picking up your utensils by the tines of the fork or the head of the spoon could transfer germs or, in a worst-case scenario, make you sick? According to Dr. Ben Chapman, a food safety expert who serves as the department head of agricultural and human sciences, a professor, and director of the Safe Plates food safety extension and research program at North Carolina State University, that’s very unlikely. 

Chapman explains that “What we worry about in food safety is risk, which is the likelihood that something bad/dangerous could happen. For this action (grabbing the tines of a fork or bowl of the spoon) to lead to a foodborne illness, the person unloading needs to have a pathogen on their hand in the first place, and it has to transfer to the utensil. (Transfer rates from/to hands are often very low, with only 10% of microbial contamination being transferred with each touch.)

“Then the pathogens have to survive until the utensil is used, and then transfer to the food/mouth. All of this is possible, but a lot of things have to fall into place before you are even exposed to a pathogen. This is why in commercial food service settings we focus on handwashing/clean hands when unloading the dishwasher and don't require utensils to be up or down.”

To be clear: Chapman isn’t saying one method is better than the other, but he is confirming that it’s unlikely you’ll become sick or transfer pathogens by grabbing clean utensils at the head.

Another food safety expert, Dr. Abigail Snyder, a professor of food science at Cornell University, emphasizes that any risk from having dirty hands isn't exclusive to unloading the dishwasher, saying, "In theory, yes. Foodborne pathogens... on hands could contaminate the part of the utensils that people eat from. However, in practice, if your hands are contaminated with one of these foodborne pathogens, there are so many ways that the pathogens could get onto food or utensils.

For example, when you pick up a plate from the dishwasher, do you ever happen to touch the surface where food goes? Do you use your hands in food preparation? When you’re setting the table do you ever touch parts of silverware that go in people’s mouths? ... If you have pathogens on your hands, then there’s lots of ways that hand-to-mouth transfer or food contamination can occur. Better to wash your hands to remove pathogens, rather than focusing on the direction that utensils are loaded in your dishwasher."

Food Safety Facts: Here's What Really Matters

• According to a representative for a major dishwasher brand, the eating side of your utensils will be cleaned more effectively if you place the silverware handle down in the basket.
• However, you should always place knives with the handle facing up to avoid injuring yourself on their sharp edges.
• Food safety experts explain that the odds of transferring a pathogen to utensils when picking them up by the head are slim and emphasize that you should focus instead on washing your hands thoroughly before unloading the dishwasher.

Although you, your household, and your utensils will all be fine no matter which option you choose, the information points to one answer that is slightly more technically correct: loading your forks and spoons with the handle facing down.

That said, there are two important qualifiers here. First, load any knives with the sharp side facing down and the handle up. The blades will still be cleaned thoroughly, and it’s not worth the risk of cutting yourself by placing them blade-up. Most importantly, as is always the case when in the kitchen, wash your hands.