In 1886, a widow defied the odds and turned a household frustration into one of America's greatest inventions; the dishwasher

Dishwasher invention story: In 1886, Josephine Cochran received a US patent for a dishwashing machine after turning a household frustration into an invention. The idea came after she grew tired of seeing her prized heirloom dishes chipped during washing, and it became even more important after she was widowed and left with mounting debt, as per a report.

Her first customers were hotels and restaurants, while dishwashers did not become common household appliances until the 1960s.

Chipped dishes inspired the invention

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Josephine Cochran enjoyed hosting dinner parties at her home in Shelbyville, Illinois, where she often used a collection of heirloom dishes believed to date back to the 1600s.


She became frustrated when servants chipped the dishes while washing them. Although she initially decided to wash the china herself, she soon concluded there had to be a better solution.

“If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I’ll do it myself,” she said before sketching out her design, as quoted by USPTO.

The invention became a financial necessity

Around the same time, Cochran's husband died in 1883, leaving her with $1,500 and mounting debt.

What had begun as an idea soon became a financial necessity.

She later said that finding skilled help was difficult because many mechanics insisted on trying their own ideas before accepting that her design worked better.

Cochran filed her first patent application on New Year's Eve in 1885 under the name "J.G. Cochran," as per USPTO. With the help of mechanic George Butters, she built the first prototype in a woodshed behind her home.

On December 28, 1886, she received US Patent No. 355,139 for her "Dish Washing Machine."

A new way of washing dishes

Although dishwashing machines already existed, Cochran's design worked differently.

It used water pressure instead of scrubbers to clean dishes and included specially designed racks that held dishes and flatware in place during washing. Earlier machines required users to pour boiling water over the dishes.

Hotels became her first customers

Because household models were expensive, Cochran focused on selling her invention to restaurants and hotels.

Her first order came from Chicago's Palmer House hotel, followed by another from the Sherman House.

A major breakthrough came in 1893 when the Garis-Cochran Dishwashing Machine was displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The invention received the highest award for "best mechanical construction, durability, and adaptation to its line of work," and nine of the machines were also used in restaurants throughout the fair, as per the USPTO report.

The business continued to grow

Following the exposition, orders increased from hotels, restaurants, hospitals and colleges.

Around 1898, Cochran opened her own factory and established the Crescent Washing Machine Company, expanding sales to businesses as far away as Alaska and Mexico.

Cochran died in 1913. A second patent for improvements to her dishwashing machine was issued posthumously in 1917. The Crescent Dishwashing Company was later acquired by Hobart Manufacturing Company, which produced dishwashers under the KitchenAid brand.