Knives up or down? Expert reveals the right way to stack cutlery in your dishwasher

There are so many things around the house that cause huge debates, one of them being the 'right' way to load a dishwasher — especially the cutlery.

Are you the kind of person who puts knives and forks facing up, or are you on the more safety-conscious end of the scale and put them facing down? Or have you never even thought about it and just thrown it all in and turned the machine on?

No matter where you stand on it, it's a hotly-debated topic.

But thankfully, there's a definitive answer on the correct way, and CHOICE expert Ashley Iredale revealed which method is best.

Firstly, Iredale explained that the right way to load up the cutlery basket varies between dishwasher models.

For LG machines, forks and spoons face up but knives face down for safety. Bosch advises cutlery "always unsorted with the tips face down, in the cutlery basket", with "long, pointed implements and knives on the knife shelf".

So, what does Iredale do? He believes that down is the right way to go about your cutlery in the dishwasher.

While there are some valid arguments for having your cutlery facing up, he said there are far more reasons to put it down. One of the biggest reasons to go downwards is safety.

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"The last thing you want to do is get your clean knives and forks dirty again by bleeding all over them because you stabbed yourself reaching into the tub without due care and attention," Iredale said.

"While you'd have to be especially aggressive to do yourself an injury on a spoon, forks can do just as much damage to you as knives if they're tines up."

He believes it's also easier to unload the dishwasher because all of the handles are facing the same way, meaning you can grab them with ease.

"It's not a huge deal — you're saving seconds, not days. But hey, the whole point of a dishwasher is to save time and effort in the kitchen, so every little bit counts," Iredale said.

There are also fewer smudges and germs by loading and unloading the cutlery basket this way too.

Think about it, when you're putting things away by only touching the handles, you're avoiding touching the blades of a knife or the end of a fork you — or your family or guests — are going to eat off. You also won't leave any fingerprints on the ends people eat off either.

So there you have it, cutlery goes down according to the experts.