Simple yet brilliant: mum’s DIY dishwasher water play table

There’s nothing better than finding the perfect distraction to keep your baby entertained – especially when you don’t have to go out and buy it.

One ingenious mum turned an everyday kitchen appliance into a fab new toy for her baby – and when she posted it to Instagram, the clip went viral.

Got a dishwasher?

Babies love water play, but instead of going to the expense and effort of purchasing a water play table (and finding somewhere to keep it) mother of three Allegra Dorothea came up with a fantastic alternative. She simply opened up her dishwasher, added some water, and her work was done – instant water play.

Thinking outside the box

The Instagram post, shows Allegra placing two towels on the floor in front of the dishwasher. “Got a dishwasher?” the captions says. “Put a towel down. Set baby up. Pour water in the door.” The mum then opens the lid to a horizontal position and pours water onto the door. “Don’t you just love a good mom hack?” she comments. Her  baby certainly does, as the post shows the little one sitting next to the lid and splish-splashing happily in the water.

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A post shared by Allegra Dorotheo (@the.3.bears.plus.2)

Top safety tips

Allegra also takes time to list a couple of sensible rules in the post. Firstly she says to “make sure all sharp silverware are out of reach inside your dishwasher” (or better yet, not in there at all) She also warns that if your baby can push up to standing position then you need to watch them carefully, “to be sure baby doesn’t face plant in the water causing drowning.”

A great idea

The post had a huge response with over 11,500 likes. Parents everywhere loved this idea, with many offering speedy and to-the-point comments such as “OMG YES!”, “I love this!” and just plain “Wow.”

One follower said, “GENIUS! I’m gonna try this when my youngest gets a little older”, while another commented, “Yr so smart! Now, why didn’t I ever think of that? Here’s to your brainy ingenuity.”

This DIY idea however was not suitable for everyone’s baby. “Our kids would be climbing to sit in the water,” said one viewer. Another said, “Too bad my kid climbs into the dishwasher when the door is down.”

For others it was more of an open and shut case: “What a great idea… oh wait we don’t have a dishwasher.”