Back in 1970 as a pennyless couple in our house in Salisbury, I was building a J/P race car and faced with the problem of degreasing the radiator core. My wife was the proud possessor of a second hand Hoover Junior washing machine, the square one with a manual wringer. She at the time worked on Saturdays and I took the opportunity to use said machine to degrease the rad core, wonderful job! The down side became obvious when the next household wash took place as the contents all came out with boiled in black spots. This resulted in some domestic discourse and culminated in the purchase of a new washing machine. On balance, dishwashers are better degreasers than washing machines but plead ignorance if you encounter any resultant problems.
Ian, while I don't think I've ever done any major work in the house, a friend once showed me a photo of his Piper Cub fuselage in the lounge where he sprayed it. He is no longer with that wife, but there probably were other reasons for that. I lost touch with him long ago, but I think he now lives in your neck of the woods.