The two most hotly contested household debates are over which way to hang a roll of toilet paper and which way to point utensils in the dishwasher. I don't care about toilet paper, but I wondered about silverware orientation, so I read four articles about it:
- Southern Living says, "handles up and sharp edges down." Not only is it safer, but it's also more sanitary since you can grab the utensils by the handles when unloading the dishwasher. "Picking up forks by their prongs with your fingers, especially if unwashed, can just cause the build-up of germs and bacteria, negating some of the work your dishwasher just accomplished."
- Martha Stewart asked appliance expert Jessica Petrino about it and she said items should go in handles-up. "You won't handle the part of your spoons and forks that will eventually go in someone's mouth."
- Ashley Iredale, Choice.com's "resident dishwasher wiz" is also in the handles-up camp. It's safer, easier to unload, more sanitary, and prevents smudges.
- NBC News asked Emilio Gonzalez, senior test program leader of Consumer Reports and he said do what the dishwasher manual says. His general rule is to "Put your spoons facing up, forks facing up and knives facing down, so you don't cut yourself."
So, it's 3 out of 4 for handles up. I'm siding with the majority.