Dishwasher Soap Experiment Part 3 - Concerns

So today I was planning to admit defeat on the dishwasher soap experiment. However, while I was explaining my reasons for calling it off and double checking my data, I realized that my repeatability was not as bad as I initially thought. So, I shall plow ahead with the experiment after all. However, it is definitely taking a long time to complete so it will be a while before the results are ready to be revealed.

For today's post, I'll detail the concerns I've hit along the way.

1) Convenience:
As I mentioned in the previous post we have a tiny countertop dishwasher. It became clear very early in the experiment that I'd have to leave a lot of dishes sitting on the counter while I waited to meet all the criteria set in my DOE. This led to 2 issues. First, I started saying to myself "does it really matter how long the peanut butter has been on that spoon?" and I was started to stray from my rules. Second, dishes pilled up. So many dishes. They were taking over the whole kitchen. It's hard enough to keep up with dishes with our tiny dishwasher under normal circumstances. The added constraints of the experiment can quickly create an unacceptable situation.

2) Counting is hard:
I pull a bowl out of the dishwasher and it has some food stuck on it. If it's one or two small spots then it's easy enough to count. But, if its a larger area that didn't get clean it's quite hard to decide how to count that. Is it one big spot or 12 little spots? There's a lot of "creative counting" going on in this experiment. I'm trying to at least be consistent in how I count these areas but it is adding an additional layer of subjectivity to my results.

3) Lighting in important:
I've found that I need to be sure I'm standing in the same spot and have the same lights on when I rate silverware shininess and % dull/dirty. Even with those additional controls this is also more subjective than I had hoped.

So, with those concerns in mind, I shall cautiously re-start my experiment. I apologize for the additional delay I have caused.

Finally, there are a few other unrelated things that I'd like to share. Since this is a shorter post, it's a good one to add random bits to at the end:

1) An interesting graphic that relates to my post last week.
http://themetapicture.com/print-this-measurement-guide/

2) Vi Hart explains net neutrality. 

http://vihart.com/net-neutrality-in-the-us-now-what/

3) Loen Collins #53. Because Tap Dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHc8jd1Dqdc