EarthDay is Coming Do you hand wash dishes or use a dishwasher?

Dishwashers may save some water for their owners, but it is not a trend here for people to use such machines. How much cost can be saved depends on the unit cost of water charged by the utilities company. But don't forget that you need to still offset whatever savings against the capital cost of the dishwasher as well as the electrical cost to operate the machine. To me, that makes it not really cost-effective to use a dishwasher. Furthermore, my impression is that dishwashers do not wash the dishes very cleanly. For my household, we are very mindful of saving water all the time. In my kitchen, I have installed a secondary tap where it allows me to control the rate of water flow from the tap at the sink. This really helps me to save water over time. According to my utilities company, the water consumption for my household falls below the average for similar households, going by the number of people staying within it, so I am quite happy about how much water we are consuming.

I didn't until very recently when I read it in '1001 ways to save the planet' and since then I have in fact been using the diswasher since then which before I hadn't been doing as I thought they used more. Thanks for sharing this though with others so that they too can save money and save water. Ellie :D

Anymore, we use the dishwasher and only handwash those things that we cannot put in the dishwasher. I knew that handwashing dishes used more water but it was hard to convince others that it did. I'm glad we've finally moved towards a greener lifestyle though.

Hi Doll. That doesn't take into account the fact that a lot of people rinse their dishes etc before they go into the dish washer. In fact, everyone I know who has a dish washer rinses their dishes first in running hot water.

we dont have that in our country

i always hand wash my dishes. i dont like dishwashers. and no, i dont run the water the entire time im doing them either. i fill the dishpan, shut the water off. wash everything, then turn the water on and rinse it all. it takes about 5 minutes total, so the water is only running about 3 minutes max, and i KNOW theyre clean. whereas with a dishwasher, itll run continuous for at least a half hour running my electric/gas bill up, and then they still arent clean sometimes and need to be handwashd anyways. whoever researched the sposed "better for the environment" theory on using dishwashers, didnt do their research very well. it may use less water (if the person runs their water continuous while washing) but there are other utilities used to run the thing besides water, and they affect the environment as well.

We do use the dishwasher for most things. We actually got it due to our back problems. Doing dishes by hand caused us a lot of pain. We have a portable type since our kitchen doesn't have the space right now for under the counter. What we noticed though was how much cleaner the glasses were especially after using it. They were very clear and didn't have all the residue film on them. We loved that. I'm not surprised to see it uses less water. I had the feeling it did. Of course we only run it when it is full so that makes the big difference.

In my house we wash dishes with hand. i never knew that hand wash is harmfull to the planet. i guess now i will switch to dish washer and save water as well as time. That way i can pay less to my Maid too. This sounds a good idea both in protecting the planet and as well as saving some thing for me.

I clean or wash the dishes with my hand. I never use a dishwasher. I think for me dishwasher is more waste in water consumption and as well as electricity consumption. I have been washing dishes using my hands for many years and I think I am saving more than a dishwasher does.

Hi raydene! I do hand wash my dishes. Unfortunately here in our country, dishwashers are not available in any appliance store in our area. I guess, the reason maybe is that there is no great demand for it. And maybe one of the reasons for this is because that most households here with average income has at least a maid or a househelp which is why they really don't bother to have one because a maid will do the dishwashing instead. However, if people will be informed of its positive effect on the environment, probably businessman will be selling dish washers here. Just my thoughts dear friend! Take care and have a nice day!

No idea until i read this post. We don't have a dishwasher so we used our hands to wash our dishes..But this post is a informative so then i guess if ever we will use dishwasher.

I didn't know dishwashers were more environmentally friendly than washing by hand. It may save the amount of water used but I think it would take more electricity to run the dishwasher than to hand wash in water that has already been heated. I have always washed dishes by hand. I can understand that for a big family or large household it may be worth buying a dishawasher but I have never felt the need for one.

With or without earth day, we handwash dishes here in our house. You are right, it's cost efficient - it saves water and electricity!

Well then I guess I'm doing something good for the earth. I only use a dishwasher to do my dishes. I don't really have anytime to wash dishes by hand. If everyone did that then maybe we would have more water and not have to worry about a shortage of water as much.

I majority of the time I use the dish washer, but there are some things that won't fit or can not be done in the dishwasher that I have to do by hand.

I wish I had the money to buy a dishwasher but it really is an expense that I cannot afford living well below the poverty line as I do. Who knows maybe one day I might have one, got to say positive right?

Sorry I will still not use my dishwasher. I live alone, do not have enough dishes to wash that would save me water or electricity.

I didn't know that I have always washed my dishes by hand I have never liked diswashers they never seem to get the dishes clean. I suppose if you bought one of those brand new dishwashers they probaly do. I like to handwash my dishes so I know they are clean though.

hm this i guess should help us to save more water and probably some more money and energy but i wonder what happens to the families who cant afford a dish washer

Well i wash my dishes by hand..I always have and I always will!!..I enjoy to wash them..then I rinse the soap from them...I usually rain thm ...then finally put them away!! I know its moern and up to date to use a dish washer..but its not for me....I hate the idea of all thew dirty dishes being stored in there until its full enough to run.... So hands in the sink for me !!!