Expert consulted: 
You've cleared the table and loaded the plates, but the dishwasher is only half full. Running it now feels wasteful, and leaving it until tomorrow feels a little gross. So which is it?
The good news is that waiting until morning is no big deal. "It's generally fine to leave dirty dishes in the dishwasher overnight, especially if you've just loaded them after dinner," says Noah Pinsonnault, reviews analyst in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Home Care & Cleaning Lab.
The trouble starts when one night stretches into several.
Why you shouldn't let dirty dishes sit for days
"The dishwasher makes a poor long-term storage cabinet for unwashed dishes," Pinsonnault says. Food residue left in a closed, damp appliance can encourage bacteria and mold to grow, and it can quickly turn into an unpleasant smell when you open the door. Lingering scraps can also attract pests, which is the last thing you want setting up camp in your kitchen.
His rule of thumb is simple: don't let dirty dishes sit for more than a day.
How to keep a half-full dishwasher from getting funky
- Scrape, but skip the rinse. Dishes don't need rinsing before they go in the dishwasher, Pinsonnault says, but you should always scrape off large chunks of food first.
- Use the rinse cycle. "If you find that the dishwasher isn't full enough to warrant running it after dinner, the rinse cycle can help wash away food residue and prevent odors from developing," he says. It buys you time until you have a full load.
- Run it within a day. Once you've got a full load, or about 24 hours have passed, start the cycle.
There’s no need to feel guilty about waiting until breakfast. Just don't treat the dishwasher like a holding pen for the whole week.
Noah Cortez is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor writing about
travel, culture, food, and lifestyle. Prior to this, he was a social media
editor at GQ Magazine, Complex, and Conde Nast Traveler, and his writing
has been featured in Tripadvisor, Hotels Above Par, Conde Nast Traveler,
and more. Find out more at noahcortez.com.
Noah works as a product reviews analyst in the Home Care & Cleaning Lab where he helps design and perform tests on various product categories. He draws on scientific expertise garnered during his time as an environmental researcher, where he managed environmental monitoring equipment, analyzed water samples in a lab and developed protocols for restoration projects. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in environmental science from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
