The compact Countertop Dishwasher by Tetra doesn’t use detergent or plumbing, but it does clean anything from dirty dishes to kids’ toys.
If you live in an efficiency, van, or RV, chances are you wash your dishes the old-fashioned way. Heck, even if your apartment does have a dishwasher, chances are it’s pretty antiquated and (if my experience is a bellwether at all) crappy.
Kiss your appliance-free (or might-as-well-be-appliance-free) days goodbye with the Tetra Countertop Dishwasher. It’s a unique unit that sits on any countertop and requires no plumbing. With its novel cartridge system, it bypasses traditional detergent and even says it saves water. Still not sold? It also cleans just about anything, including household items and fruit.
Not only that, it’ll give you a seriously chic upgrade over your current coffee-stained, under-cabinet white box. Available on pre-order at a price drop from the manufacturer, here’s what the Tetra Countertop Dishwasher is all about.
How It Works: Countertop Dishwasher User Experience
The world’s only fully self-contained dishwasher (patent pending) requires no fill or drain hoses. “Just lift the lid, pour in three liters of water, load the unit, select a cleaning cycle, and turn it on,” the brand says, stopping just short of “it’s a snap!”
Once it’s done, remove the grey water tank in the unit’s base, unscrew its top, and pour out the wash water.
All that, and it looks cool, too. It took me a while to figure it out, but the wavy top surface isn’t a rendering; it’s the shape of the lid. As a bonus, it promises to be fun (if a little gross) to watch while it’s in action.
Tetra Dishwasher Specs, Efficiency, and Savings
Tetra says the countertop unit will clean 50% more dishes using 40% less water in 55% of the time “than the leading brand.” We’re not sure about its claim that using it to wash dishes from one meal a day for a year will save 15,000 liters of water over handwashing. (Are you, like, handwashing your dishes with a fire hose?) But with its 3-liter water requirement, it does seem efficient.
At the same time, you will definitely save on detergent: the Tetra doesn’t use it. Instead, it implements a first-of-its-kind “custom dosing and multi-chemistry cleaning cartridge system,” which it likens to an inkjet printer. It injects pre-set amounts of prewash, enzymes, and spot removal depending on the chosen cycle.
In full, the Countertop Dishwasher is about the size and shape of a microwave, at 17 inches wide and tall by 15 inches deep. That makes it big enough to fit 10-inch plates. There’s even a setting called “FRUIT,” which you can use to wash fruits and veggies or other household items such as…toys.
There’s a lot to tell about the Tetra Countertop Dishwasher, which has been hotly anticipated since winning multiple awards at CES 2019. Check it all out at the manufacturer’s website, and preorder yours for $400 — 20% off its $500 MSRP.
Learn more at Heatworks.com.
