Silverware in the dishwasher.

[Gargamel]

Issue of contention in my household right now.  Up or down?

[18Watt]

Depends how often you fall face-first into your dishwasher.  Ours has a flat tray above the two larger bins, so the silverware is roughly horizontal when placed correctly. 

Even that can be messed up though.  There are slots to hold the spoons and forks on their side.  If you just drop in the spoons willy-nilly, like my wife does, the dishwater pools up in the spoons instead of draining off them.

 

[kerbiloid]

On consulting with the https://www.marthastewart.com/8060706/how-point-silverware-dishwasher , I would vote for putting it pointing down. 

Let's take an extreme case.

Imagine that you are camping in the wilds, and eating the canned meat.

Spoiler

So,

Ten reasons to keep the fork pointing down.

1.
You have eaten the meat, licked the fork clean, and put it back into the empty can.

If put it pointing up, the fat remains on the fork will be flowing down, on the handle, making it covered fat, too.

When you will try taking the fork back, your fingers will be immediately covered with fat from the sharp end, but even the handle will not be better.
Also, you will stain the end of the fork with is put in mouth with dirt from the hands.
So, any hygiene just gives up here.
 

2.
You have filled the empty can with water to boil the tea.
Thus, you have washed the can.

You put sugar and stir it with the fork.
Thus, you have washed the fork.

Obviously, you would stir the tea not with handle, but with the sharp end.
Also, with the sharp end you can hold some rusk to soak it in water.

Why overturn the fork, make it all sticky, and grab the mouth end with dirty hands?
Of course, it's again better to put it back in the can pointing down.

So, the primitive self-containing dishwasher which the empty can is, votes for putting the fork poinying down.

 

3.
So, you are in the wilds, and there is happening a thunderstorm above.

As you know, pointy things attract the lightnings, so every instruction recommends to not pointing at the sky during the thunderstorm (even without speaking heretically).

This again means that it's more safe to keep the fork pointing down.

4. 
Say, you now see somebody in darkness and want to attract their attention.

By keeping the fork with handle up, you already have an improvised bell to ring.

5.
Say, the guest is friendly, and wants to take part in your meal.

He takes the fork with hand... and you even don't know, what was he doing with that hand previously.

So, it's again more safe to keep the handle up.

6. 
Say the guest is a foe, and wants to take part in your meal.

By keeping the fork handle up, you keep it dry, and can immediately grab the can, grab the fork out of can, and use the can as a projectile to shock and distract him for a second, and use the fork to fence.

So, it's again more prudent to keep the handle up.

7.
Say, you are sleeping.

Suddenly you hear a noise near your place.
It's a rat trying to steal a rusk from you. 
Or a wolf who isn't interested in the rusk, but would better be.

You quickly grab the fork from the can... and scream because you had put it with pointy end up, and no it stuck in your palm.

So, it's again more safe to keep the handle up.

8.
Say, you don't have the can anymore.
Say, used it as an alarm bell at your camp, or a trap for the river crawdads.

Will you stick the fork into a piece of wood with handle? No.
So, the handle is up.

9.
Say, you have sawed off the handle to make the fork twice lighter.

Then you have no other choice than point it down.

10. 
It's just easier to quickly count the handles than points to know, how many of them you have.

***

So, my vote is for the "points down" option.

Of course, at home this is not so important, but good habits should be developed in advance. 

[Chemp]

I'd say up but I think it boils down to a question: How often does anybody in the household get hurt if you place the pointy ends up?
If it's more than three or four times per year, then place them down. No amount of "be careful" and "pay attention to what you're doing" will change that.

Alternative solution: The person who gets to decide which way the silverware is placed in the dishwasher is also the one who has to put it back in the drawer.

[AlamoVampire]

For me, forks pointy up, everything else down. My knives however (non butter knives) NEVER go into the dishwasher. Its a far too harsh environment and will damage the scales on the tang and could damage the blades. I use professional quality forged knives being a chef so my knives are a financial investment for me. 
 

094902232023

[Nuke]

business end towards the jets or in the orientation least obscured by the holder.

of course its been so long since ive used an automatic dishwasher that i probibly am completely ignorant to the current state of the art. wouldn't be surprised to find uv lasers in there now. 

6 hours ago, AlamoVampire said:

For me, forks pointy up, everything else down. My knives however (non butter knives) NEVER go into the dishwasher. Its a far too harsh environment and will damage the scales on the tang and could damage the blades. I use professional quality forged knives being a chef so my knives are a financial investment for me. 
 

094902232023

i have been using the same 3 garage sale knives for the last 2 decades. its funny because people keep buying me kitchen stuff for the holidays, birthdays, etc. a toaster (which i am not a fan of toast), various kitchen gadgets that waste space in the cupboards, more pans, but never cutlery. mom wanted to know why we dont have a food processor, i said, id rather have knives. some years later i have 2 food processors and no knives.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Nuke

[Casellina X]

For me it's dishwasher dependent - for years I had a dishwasher that got the job done regardless of orientation, however I preferred business end down. Then I encountered a dishwasher that decided not to do a proper job unless they were handle down, so I stuck with that for several more years. Recently I've gone back to business end down because getting foodstuffs on my hands while loading the dishwasher makes me irrationally upset.

[Geonovast]

Steak knives down, everything else up.

But I have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad tabletop dishwasher....

[kerbiloid]

Okay, what if the dishwasher is not a hired labourer, but a kitchen machine? Does it affect the given advices?

[Nuke]

i routinely leave my knives sharp end up, to punish the undisciplined. way i figure it, anyone who gets stabbed by the dish drying rack probibly deserves it. mainly for not putting the dishes away. 

[tater]

Yes.

[18Watt]

On 2/23/2023 at 9:26 AM, Chemp said:

Alternative solution: The person who gets to decide which way the silverware is placed in the dishwasher is also the one who has to put it back in the drawer.

Another take on that:  Whoever does the dishes gets to decide how the silverware is loaded.  Don't like how I did it?  Do it yourself!  

I frequently re-load our silverware properly, because the way my wife does it drives me nuts.  And no, I'm definitely not a clean freak, or a neat freak.  

[lajoswinkler]

Obviously up because anything that touches the bottom of that meshed basket will be in prolonged contact with a liquid that is not sterile.  It never dries up. You do not want bacterial and fungal spores from the inevitable gunk to deposit themselves and fester on the parts of the silverware that goes into your mouth.

This is exclusively a matter of microbiological safety.

[Nuke]

23 hours ago, 18Watt said:

Another take on that:  Whoever does the dishes gets to decide how the silverware is loaded.  Don't like how I did it?  Do it yourself!  

I frequently re-load our silverware properly, because the way my wife does it drives me nuts.  And no, I'm definitely not a clean freak, or a neat freak.  

its funny. im lazy, incredibly lazy about house work. i pretty much just spot clean and put things away. though i do live with creatures that seem to have issue with putting their wastes in the correct receptacles. so when the maintenance guy comes over and tells me that we have the cleanest unit, or that im the only one who routinely cleans the filters on the heat pump, or that im the only one with working smoke detectors, it really makes me question what kind of filth live in the other units.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

On 2/23/2023 at 2:31 AM, Gargamel said:

Issue of contention in my household right now.  Up or down?

Whatever is easiest.

I just toss them in and make sure the spoons aren't nested and hiding jelly or salsa or something.

 

[StrandedonEarth]

Business end up, except pointy ends down for safety. Avoids nesting spoons and allows better exposure to the spray. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by StrandedonEarth

[FleshJeb]

Lick them clean and put them back in the drawer, you casuals.