Dishwasher or regular washing?

I use the dishwasher. Then again I'm no environmentalist. I do like the environment but I do not go out of my way to help. Just avoid littering and pick up trash when I do see it, try to keep from overusing electricity etc. Only litle things.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Jun 18 2006, 05:15 PM) [snapback]273214[/snapback]</div>

Depends on the "load." Sometimes size DOES matter.

 

We always use the dishwasher. It is more sanitary and we bought an ASKO European model which uses 1/2 the water of an US model. Gee, sounds like a Prius and gas mileage. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Jun 19 2006, 07:56 PM) [snapback]273685[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(burritos @ Jun 18 2006, 07:15 PM) [snapback]273214[/snapback]</div>

It's better for my back to use the dishwasher.

 

If you fully load the dishwasher, and you have a good model, you'll almost always use less water with the dishwasher.

 

My wife loves her dishwasher. It may not be the latest model or have all the features and dodads of a more modern one, but it gets the job done. Occasionally, it does not want to work, but usually with a little coersion, a gentle nudge, they'll get done. Some days, I'm sure she wishes she could just get rid of the old one and start fresh with a new model. But, she knows all the quirks of this one by now.

The food is always cleaned off and the drying cycle depends on the energy that we want to use to complete the process. If we use more energy, they drying will takes less than 10 minutes, if we use the air setting, they will dry in a couple of hours.

In case, you haven't figured it out yet, the dishwasher is ME!

 

We have all energy star appliances that use 20-50% less water than their counterparts of only 2-4 years ago.

 

I don't own a dishwasher. I do have a Dishmaster.

 

FWIW I use the dishwasher, Consumer Reports claims it is more energy efficient. In reality there are multiple dishpan methods where very little running water is used which probably are more energy efficient, but are not very convenient, maybe I'm just lazy. I do have a relatively energy efficient model, I run full loads, and don't use the heat for drying.

 

Is there a commercially available dishwasher soap that doesn't pollute? Any homemade recipes for such a thing?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Jun 27 2006, 04:17 PM) [snapback]277560[/snapback]</div>

Trader Joes and Whole Foods have dishwashing detergent that is biodegradable. I've been using Trader Joes and I don't have any complaints. If you research the natural ingredients, you'll likely find scary information but I'm fairly certain they're less toxic then the other commerical brands that I think contain formaldehyde and petro chemicals. An added plus - not tested on laboratory animals and no animal ingredients.

 

Trader Joe's carries a number of environmentally friendly cleaning products but I am not sure about dishwasher soap. I usually use the light wash and air drying on mine. It is most efficient and sanitary.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GasGuzzler87 @ Jun 19 2006, 03:45 PM) [snapback]273632[/snapback]</div>

:lol: B)

 

Consumer Reports stated Trader Joe's uses no chlorine or phosphates, making it enviro friendly. So did Method dish cubes, often found at Target. There might have been others I don't remember.

If you don't rinse your dishes, on full loads, the dishwasher will use less water than you do. It uses the same water over and over for cleaning, while manual dishwashing uses constant fresh water (hot water increasing the energy usage.)

Lowest impact, from what I've read, is to scrape your dishes as fully as possible before loading (without rinsing), using the "lowest" cycle on the dishwasher to get dishes clean (many current models have sensors, so you can set a low cycle and it will increase it if needed), and turn off the heated dry. Usually the heat from the water makes the dishes dry quickly, I use rinse aid to prevent spots. Also, using the time delay to run the dishwasher at times when its cooler or lower energy demand, such as nighttime, can lower A/C bills and reduce peak energy demand.

I suppose the best way to use the least water is a wash tub and a rinse tub, but this isn't very sanitary (the rinse tub harbors bacteria and doesn't rise the dishes very well)