Josephine Garis Cochran's lack of formal mechanical training may have been a problem for some, but her technological acumen was strong enough to make her into a brilliant businesswoman who threw aside expectations for women in her time to become the inventor of the forerunner of the modern dishwasher. Her experiments with water pressure washing of dishes to preserve her time and her china led to her invention. Her innovations included racks that were moved manually and, later, mechanically, racks that moved back and forth, and racks that revolved.

In early models, hand-pumped water was poured over dishes held in stationary racks. Later models were motorized, spraying hot water and soap onto moving racks. Before her invention, it was thought that mechanized scrubbing was the only way to effectively clean the dishes.

The Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Machine worked so well that it sold in large quantities to hotels and restaurants across the United States, with the inventor herself traveling to cities such as St. Louis, Cleveland, and New York to sell her product. Her salesmanship was direct and bold, earning her a strong business reputation. Though her early dishwashing models were too large and expensive for general home use, Cochran invented a smaller model that would work in the home, and she creatively marketed it as a place to hide dirty dishware, appealing to a large number of homemakers (though the average home would not be able to afford one for decades).

As she built her business, Cochran and her machine became linked to several manufacturing companies. Her own factory, Cochran's Crescent Washing Machine Company, was invested in by Tait Manufacturing in Decatur, Illinois. The investments allowed her to make renovations to her machine, leading to a second patent in 1900. Her company was purchased by Hobart in 1926 and was later turned over to Kitchen Aid, which was acquired by Whirlpool Corporation in 1986.

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