DISH VS. HANDS?
H
ave you ever had a lively discussion about dishwasher
vs. hand washing and want to know thoughts on the great
debate of the dish washing conflict?
After some careful research and talking with Doug Rupp
of Quality Maytag, washing dishes using an Energy Star
dishwasher rather than washing by hand can save you money
and time. If you wash your dishes by hand, you’re wasting
more than just time.
I must admit that I am one that washes and rinses the dishes
prior to inserting them into the dishwasher. Why do I do
that? My New Year’s Resolution is in the making. Doug
said “instead of scrubbing and rinsing each dish, just load
them all in an ENERGY STAR dishwasher and press start.
Dishwashers love cleaning food off the dishes and that is
when they work best, by chomping and chewing off the food
particles. Using an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher can
save you over 230 hours of personal time over the course of a
year and what I couldn’t do with almost 10 extra days in my
life!
Wash by hand or run the dishwasher? The short answer is
that running an Energy Star dishwasher loaded to capacity is
the best, most efficient method of doing the dishes. It’s also
the least time-consuming. But efficient hand-washing is a
close second in terms of electricity and water use, particularly
if your only other option is to use an older machine.
Found as a baseline from Smarter Living “remember water
flows out of your tap at a rate of 3 to 5 gallons per minute.
Energy Star-qualified dishwashers use as little as 3 gallons of
water and 1 kilowatt-hour of energy per load. New machines
not only use less water and energy but are also better at
cleaning dishes, and manufacturers recommend against rinsing
dishes by hand before loading a washer. This practice can
waste up to 20 gallons of water, while the machine’s rinse
cycle requires only 1 to 2 gallons. But if you must rinse your
dishes beforehand, use cold water instead of hot”.
Water
Electricity
1. New Energy Star machine
3-5 gallons
1 kWh
2. Efficient hand-washing
Up to 8 gallons 1 kWh
3. Older machine
Up to 15 gallons 2-3 kWh
4. Regular hand-washing
27 gallons
2.5 kWh
Washing by hand is almost as good as using a new machine,
provided that the hand-washer uses efficient techniques.
Installing an aerator in your faucet can save 3 to 4 gallons
for every minute that your tap is running. Scraping food off,
soaking dishes in a basin of soapy water before getting started,
and not letting the water run while you wash every dish will
help you save water and energy.
Coming in third is using an older machine. Depending on
how long you’ve had it, your dishwasher could use anywhere
from 8 to 15 gallons per load and up to three times as much
energy as a new machine. In any event, running a full load is
the best way to get the most out of your machine, since it will
use the same amount of water and heat whether it’s washing
one saucer or a dinner party’s worth. Skip the dry cycle and let
your dishes air dry.
Regular washing by hand takes last place; it can use a
whopping 27 gallons of water and 2.5 kWh of electricity if
you let the water run the whole time.
If you haven’t replaced your dishwasher in more than a
decade, think about switching to a new model. You’ll get a
return on your investment:
One of the advantages of energy-efficient machines is that they
use less hot water and have soil sensors to adjust the length of
a wash cycle and the water temperature according to how dirty
your plates are. That way, your dishwasher won’t waste energy
cleaning dishes more than they need to be cleaned. If your
machine has a “light wash” or “energy saving” mode, that’s
another way to save on water and power.
A new ENERGY STAR dishwasher can use less than half
as much energy as washing dishes by hand and saves nearly
5,000 gallons of water a year!
The dishwasher has revolutionized the chore of cleaning
endless amounts of plates, utensils, and cups. However,
many people still do it by hand. Yet experts from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the American Council for
an Energy-Efficient Economy, and the Natural Resources
Defense Council all agree on one thing: It’s time to turn to
technology, if it’s available to you.
Dishwashers have come a long way over the years, and it’s
possible to find modern, eco-friendly models that use between
2 and 8 gallons of water – far less than what goes into washing
dishes by hand. Notably, models made after 2013 now have to
adhere to a 5-gallon limit, according to the American Council
for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Put away that sponge because dishwashers can give you
a level of cleanliness you can’t achieve by hand. Most
dishwashers operate with water between 140 and 145 degrees
Fahrenheit to eliminate gunk. Some dishwashers have a
sanitation option, which means the dishwasher meets the
NSF/ANSI 184 Standard, reaching a rinse temperature of 150
degrees Fahrenheit and reduces bacteria by 99.999 percent.
When washing dishes in the sink, your hands simply can’t
withstand those temperatures and hot-water heaters are preset
to top out at 120 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent scalding.
It’s also worth noting additional innovations in dishwashing
technology that have debuted over the years. For example,
many dishwashers now have sensors that detect the amount
of dirtiness of the items inside. In response, the machine uses
only as much water and heat as necessary.
And remember in addition to using a dishwasher whi