Dishwashers v Hand washing

[happyhippy]

So.....on another forum,someone has suggested that handwashing dishes uses more energy than a dishwasher.I'm guessing they mean energy as in physically,and they also commented that handwashing dishes uses more water?I'm surprised by this if its true!So whats the verdict?Sinks are usually stainless,so are dishwashers,but dw's also contain plastic,wires and so on.

[Green Aura]

No, I think the energy thing is down to the amount of water/heating/detergent they use.

It's obviously more complex than this, and there will be lots of variables in both hand washing methods and dishwashers but at worst people heat an immersion heater full of water to run a washing-up bowl of water, use far too much washing up liquid because they like the water foamy and keep the tap running to rinse those bubbles off. A dishwasher heats the amount of water required to the right temperature for the job and have standardised doses of detergent - tablets etc. Then, of course some folks wash up each item as they use them, rather than waiting until there's a sinkful. But those people would probably run a half full dishwasher anyway so it probably wouldn't be any better.

That's the theory anyway. And a lot of sinks are made out of plastic these days too along with washing up liquid bottles.

[Odsox]

I read that same "fact" some time ago which prompted us to buy a dish washer.
However, what I hadn't thought of and only realised it watching a TV program, is that the "modern" trend of hand washing dishes appears to include having the hot tap running continuously over the 2nd or 1/2 sink to rinse everything as you go, as GA noted.
Now I can understand how hand washing is more expensive.

Unfortunately it doesn't apply to us, so we now have a dishwasher on false pretenses.
Having said that, it washes on off peak in the middle of the night and the water's free.

[diggernotdreamer]

We got rid of a dishwasher years ago, we found it a pain as there were too many arguments over whose turn it was to fill it up and empty it, you had to buy loads of crockery as we wouldn't run it until it was full. We use a washing up bowl which cuts down on water used, always wash the glasses etc first and then the rest in order of dirtiness, some things may need a bit of a rinse. In summer we use the washing up water to water the plants on the terrace. Our dishwasher didn't get things very clean, it made the glasses cloudy, and sometimes put a load of strange bran like stuff all over the dishes which we then had to wash up in the basin to get rid of.

We have our immersion heater on all the time, very insulated tank so there is always hot water when we need it, we didn't notice any increase in electricity consumption by doing this.

[Zech]

Allow me to present my research on the subject:
http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blo ... an-my.html

Short answer: Don't believe a word of it!

[MKG]

I'm not sure about that. When it comes to hand washing, I have to factor in the heating of the air as I stab my finger yet again on the tines of a fork (why does it ALWAYS get you just under your fingernail?), the extra dog food because the sod sits right behind me and I fall over him resulting in him sprinting hell for leather up the garden with one of my boots chasing him, and the fact that they all have to be done again because they don't meet someone's exacting standards.

Bugger that - get in the dishwasher. I'll save some compensatory energy by staying in bed an extra hour.

[doofaloofa]

All the cool kids have two dishwashers, and simply store the dishes, etc in one, and repoack it with the dirties when it's empty

On the plus side DW's do clean at a far higher temperature than it is usual to hand wash, so sterilising the contents

Great for jars

[happyhippy]

Thanks for the replies and discussion,As far as Im concerned,my dishes are washed as hygienically as possible.I obviously start with the cleanest.I don't rinse either!I wash in very hot water wearing rubber gloves.I often re use the water for plants outside too in summer.

[Zech]

I don't rinse either!

I hope you don't use as much washing up liquid as my cousin. He got it into his head that washing up liquid is sterile and safe (they wouldn't sell it for use on your dishes if it wasn't safe, would they?) and he doesn't rinse it off, so everything ends up with a film of the stuff all over it.

[ina]

What I wonder (and it's never been clear from the research I looked into) is whether the cost (environmental as well as financial) of the actual machine has been taken into account...

From my point of view - dishwashers might make sense for a family. They don't make sense for somebody like me (single person, very economic use of water, and especially hot water).

[Green Aura]

We bought our first dishwasher in 1985. It was that or a divorce!

We both worked full time, I cooked everything and couldn't see why I should clean up and OH had come from a Mummy who did everything and didn't realise I wasn't going to fall into that role. So we had a stand off until we ran out of everything and then had a mass clean up. The dishwasher followed shortly after.

OH took to the dishwasher straight away - it is a gadget after all.

We've only had 3 in nearly 30 years - and one of those was because we left our old one behind when we moved.

[Marc]

Allow me to present my research on the subject:
http://growingthingsandmakingthings.blo ... an-my.html

Short answer: Don't believe a word of it!

That's an interesting study, and I'd say it looks quite accurate. I don't have a dishwasher, I live off-grid.
I use about the same amount of water, and I rinse. I maybe use slightly hotter water, so perhaps use a tad more energy to heat it, but overall it's pretty close

[happyhippy]

I've never rinsed my dishes!lol I do use eco friendly dishwashing liquid though,and I don't over use it either.

[ina]

I've developed this system which I think is quite water and washing up liquid saving... I wash the cups and glasses while the tap is still running and rinse them under the tap. Once the sink is full, I've moved on to other kinds of dishes which don't get rinsed. And I use the minimum detergent I can get away with. If it turns out it's not enough for the last pots, I can always add another squirt, rather than having the bowl full of suds all the way through.

[baldybloke]

I wash by hand and don't rinse but dry with a tea towel. I also use an eco washing up liquid.
If you look at the embodied energy of the dishwasher then hand washing has to be far more environmentally friendly.