I often use my dishwasher to give a 3- or 4-minute sudsing to pots and pans. I
then stop the dishwasher, take the pans out, and it is an easy job to give them
a quick rinse and going-over with a sponge.
I also do this with the filter from my air conditioner-- a few minutes is
all that's needed, and it saves wear and tear on the item, and saves running
the dishwasher through the whole cycle.
Nancree