Portable non-powered dishwasher

Abstract

A non-powered portable dishwasher, especially suited for insertion within a sink, has an enclosed dish-holding container with a rack for separating dirty dishes and a sealable top member for creating an enclosed washing chamber. Suspended from the top member, vertically descending, intermediate the various dirty dishes to be washed are a plurality of flexible washing bladders. Each of these washing bladders in turn has a series of washing apertures permitting the spray of water. Each of the washing bladders is manifolded to a wash-water manifold, which provides for connecting a continuous flow of hot water to the dishwasher, as well as providing for the addition of soap or detergent. When the dishwasher is assembled, filled with dirty dishes, and a source of hot water is supplied, the individual washing bladders will fill with the supplied water and detergent swelling to a larger size contacting the dishes. As a part of the swelling, the individual spray apertures will open emitting a greater volume of wash-water which in turn causes the bladder to collapse. A combination of the surging of the bladders and the substantially horizontal spray direction of the wash water upon the dirty dishes provides an effective cleaning capability and a mild scrubbing action. The necessity for granulated or abrasive detergents, as found in typical spray dishwashers, is eliminated. The dishwasher is particularly advantageous as a portable dishwasher not requiring electrical power for use in campers, mobile homes, campsites and the like.