Care · Apr 11, 2026

Dishwashers and handmade pots

The most common question we get is whether a handmade mug can go in the dishwasher. For our stoneware, the answer is yes. It is fired to cone 6, where the clay vitrifies and the glaze melts into a hard, sealed surface. Heat and water won't hurt it.

What the dishwasher does, slowly, is wear on the glaze. Dishwasher detergent is alkaline and slightly abrasive, and hundreds of hot cycles can take the sheen off a satin surface and make it look a little dry. It takes years, not months, and it doesn't make the piece unsafe. It is the same thing that happens to factory dishes.

If you want the finish to stay as it arrived, handwash. If you want a mug you never think about, use the dishwasher and accept a little softening over time. Both are fine.

A few things to avoid either way. Don't take a pot straight from the fridge into a hot oven, or pour boiling water into one that just came out of the freezer. Sudden temperature swings can crack any ceramic. Our pots are microwave safe because we never use metallic lusters, but the bare foot can get hot, so use a towel.

The Ridge vase is the exception: its unglazed exterior should be handwashed so the raw clay doesn't pick up detergent residue.