To dishwash or not to dishwash

Dishwashers do use less water if you don't "prewash" your dishes first. My DH has a habit of rinsing off the dishes but with newer washers you don't really need to do that. The main reason they use less water is that you run a dishwasher usually once a day or only when it is full. It only fills about 4 inches deep but gets sprayed around. In order to conserve electricity you can turn off the heated drying cycle. That's my 2 cents.

 

Living with Ed said that a new energy star dishwasher uses less than hand washing.

I don't own a dishwasher and there is no place to install one so that's out for me. Also, I live alone and I don't think even an energy star dishwasher would use less water when you're only washing a few dishes for one person.

I do use a Dishmaster when I wash. That may or may not use more water as I don't plug up the sink and fill it up with sudsy water, then rinse. Considering how long it takes to fill the sink and how long it takes for me to do the dishes with the Dishmaster, I think I'm using less water, but I haven't done anything to prove or disprove that.

 

we only use our dishwasher every 2-3 days as opposed to hand washing every night when they're stacking up in the kitchen sink.

we do rinse our dishes beforehand, so that's unaccounted-for water use there. but we always use the short cycle, dry by air, and everything comes out perfectly clean.

my eczema makes hand washing very unpleasant though.

 

Our family of four with different meal times and lotsa snack times dirties waaay too many dishes to wash by hand. And I'm sure the dishes come cleaner in the machine than they would in the sink, which to me is an important health consideration.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Sep 9 2007, 10:48 AM) [snapback]509534[/snapback]</div>

The Dishmaster is a faucet that has a well for soap and a button on a wand. You can rechannel the water from the faucet out the wand to scrub the dishes. Push the button and soap comes out. Release the button and clean water comes out to rinse.

My pipes come out of the wall so I have the wall mounted one.

Dishmaster 76



But they also have a counter mounted one that has a much larger soap well hidden under the sink. If my sink could handle that one, that's the model I'd use.

Dishmaster 2000



They also come in left-handed versions.

 

I, too, heard that the new dishwashers use less water than does hand washing. I've been told that the dishwasher I purchased has a disposal in it that chops us the food present so no pre rinsing is required. I never did read the manual to find out if this is true. Sometimes I pre rinse, sometimes I don't. I never run the dry cycle. I just open the door and let them air dry.

 

I think it may have been my post that started this debate.

I can tell you that with our dishwasher, we were finding ourselves washing all of the dishes with soap and then putting them in the dishwasher to be washed again. We were often disappointed with the job our dishwasher did in fully cleaning the dishes, even with pre-washing. We know that for us, hand-washing is noticably better on water and especially energy comsumption, and our dishes are cleaner to boot.

Most of all, I really don't think that any generalizations can be drawn on this subject. I depends entirely on style. People who run the tap on blast with a pre-soaking are going to waste a lot of water. Duh. People who try to wash a sinkfull of dishes on a bowl full of soap and water and rinse quickly are going to do a better job.

It's kind of like driving a Prius. If you do it carelessly, it will not have a great effect. If you pay attention, it will. I still like washing dishes because it feels like it has a greater purpose than just getting dishes clean.

 

One thing hand washing will not do is sanitize. I think dishwashers, even the energy saver ones, heat the water up higher than the water heater is set, thus sterilizing the dishes the way no hand washing can do.

 

I am the diswasher in our house. No other option unless we ever redesign the kitchen and install high pressure water pipes. The hot water is boiling during the winter (connected to the coal range) and tepid during the summer. Nothing is sterile at our farm. But the grey water goes out into a soak hole in one of the paddocks.

 

Yes, EF, it seems that the majority in my circle leave their water running full blast the whole entire time that they are handwashing. What's up with that? I've never met a person that shuts off the water in between rinses. Seems to be the easiest thing to do to cut back on water consumption when dishwashing.

 

We use a dishwasher and heated drying. After reading about how heated drying is an energy hog, I tried non-heated drying, forgot to empty the dishwasher for a day, and lo and behold, many of the dishes had spots of mildew, as did the racks. I believe this is probably an apartment-specific problem (after two years here we still can't get rid of the mildew that grows and are planning on moving). But after that experience, I find myself inclined to continue using heated drying just for sanitation.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Sep 10 2007, 09:17 AM) [snapback]510019[/snapback]</div>

If you crack the door and let the dishes dry out, this probably won't happen. At least it hasn't to me.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Sep 9 2007, 07:23 PM) [snapback]509820[/snapback]</div>

Actually did a bit of research on this lately as we were in the market for a new one.

To sterilize requires about 15-20 minutes at 121 C with high-pressure steam, so there's no sterilizing going on unless the dishwasher is actually an autoclave.

"Sanitizing" as defined by most governmental restaurant cleanliness regulation requires 83 C water, but it's unusual for non-commercial equipment to do that, since that's hot enough to deform a lot of plastics.

Home equipment seems for the most part to consider "sanitizing" to be 75 C, since this is a safer level for home use in terms of plastic damage and burns to hapless homeowners.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Sep 10 2007, 06:34 AM) [snapback]510000[/snapback]</div>

That absolutely drives me nuts. BTW, when I wash by hand, I find the largest bowl from the meal and put it in the sink and use it as my wash basin so that I don't have to fill up the entire sink. Then I put a small amount of soap and water in it and start washing. As I rinse things, I direct the rinsewater into the basin instead of down the drain. This way I get progressively more wash water as I go through the dishes. I also start with the cleanest dishes and work my way to the dirtiest. Sorry if that is obvious. But that way the water stays good enough to use the entire time.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SSimon @ Sep 10 2007, 06:34 AM) [snapback]510000[/snapback]</div>

That absolutely drives me nuts. BTW, when I wash by hand, I find the largest bowl from the meal and put it in the sink and use it as my wash basin so that I don't have to fill up the entire sink. Then I put a small amount of soap and water in it and start washing. As I rinse things, I direct the rinsewater into the basin instead of down the drain. This way I get progressively more wash water as I go through the dishes. I also start with the cleanest dishes and work my way to the dirtiest. Sorry if that is obvious. But that way the water stays good enough to use the entire time.

 

I use a dishwasher only when it's full. I have a new Bosch dishwasher with an excelent energy and water rating. My water is heated with gas but my dishwasher uses cold water and heats with renewable electricity.
Get ready to be grosed out, my dog looks after the pre-wash. It's my belief if you sanitise everything you touch you become more likely to get sick.

 

I use a dishwasher only when it's full. I have a new Bosch dishwasher with an excelent energy and water rating. My water is heated with gas but my dishwasher uses cold water and heats with renewable electricity.
Get ready to be grosed out, my dog looks after the pre-wash. It's my belief if you sanitise everything you touch you become more likely to get sick.