Is there a real difference in water and electricity consumption? Personally, I don’t use a lot of water to wash my dishes (by hand), but maybe I should install a flow meter to make sure.
What is your opinion on the subject? Do you have any evidence or studies available that could confirm your intuition? Or do you have other alternatives in mind?
I use a dishwasher, but half of the dishes either don’t get cleaned or aren’t dishwasher safe so I have to wash by hand. I tried cleaning the filter, using detergent in the prewash, and running the water until it’s hot before starting the dishwasher, and none of it did shit.
dishwasher.
I use a dishwasher. It’s easier and uses less water.
Dishwasher! Only my cast iron and stainless steel as well as my knives by hand. I spend too much effort sharpening them to throw them in the dishwasher.
The house we bought a few years ago had a dishwasher. It doesn’t work.
We’d like to replace it but we asked the shop guys if they can help with that they told us they don’t have any local contacts who do dishwasher installs.
We’ve never used one before, but with two little kids it feels like hand washing is getting a bit much sometimes.
You just slide it out, turn off the inline tap, unplug it, plug the new one in, turn the inline tap back on, slide it in, you’re good to go. You dont need a professional for this, it’s a very basic job.
At least where I live? Maybe the US has weirder dishwashers?
That’s how it is in the US. Sometimes you may have to disconnect and connect things underneath with limited clearance, and usually have to disconnect the drain tube on the sink side. It may be screwed into the countertop. There are leveling feet to adjust. It also may or may not be hard wired. It just takes a few minutes in theory, but tight clearances can make it a pain.
Maybe the US does, but I don’t live there.
The existing dishwasher is built into the cabinetry. As I’m neither plumber nor cabinetmaker, I’m not going to do this on my own.
Get a portable one that attaches to the faucet.
I usually do both because I have never had a dishwasher that actually cleans anything off the dishes, no matter what I do or what cleaner I use. I am at the point I think they’re a myth propagated by Big Dishwasher. JK… or am I! Yeah, they probably do exist, but just for everyone else but me.
Unless your dishwasher truly has something wrong with it, there’s just a few things you should do every time for it to work flawlessly.
- remove big food particles off dishes (sauces, peanut butter is fine)
- if your dishwasher and sink share the same water line, most likely they do, run the sink until it’s hot before running the dishwasher
- put detergent in the actual dispenser and close it, it serves a purpose
- avoid using pods, powder detergent works fine
- clean filter regularly
those are the main things. if you really want to nerd out then check this video out.
Technology Connections provides great explanation of how they work and goes way more in depth on how to properly use a dishwasher, especially with detergent. honestly he provides great content on most things we use in our daily lives and is worth checking out.
My dishwasher used to be for sanitizing only - id have to hand wash first, but now I use the Kirkland pods and I don’t even rinse things. I used to also think dishwashers were a scam.
I was the same, dishwashers seem mostly pretty crap at eashing dishes. I’ve had about 6 different ones over the years and they never seem to save much time because you basically have to clean the dishes before you put them in anyway.
But we finally got a good one. It wasn’t cheap but I can at least recommend this one: https://www.bosch-home.co.nz/en/mkt-product/dishwashers/built-in-dishwashers/underbench-dishwasher-60-cm/SMP6HCB01A
Now I just scrape food off but dont bother with a heavy pre-rinse or scrub (except for things like dried eggyolk which still never comes off without a decent scrub)
Dishwashers are definitely the way to go. They use less water than hand washing (source: https://www.popsci.com/environment/science-of-using-dishwasher-vs-handwashing/).
I’m so firmly in the dishwasher camp that I installed a second dishwasher in my kitchen a few years ago and it has been one of the best upgrades I ever made on my house. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live somewhere with a single dishwasher again.
Also, there’s no need to buy any expensive pods or dishwasher detergent. The cheap store brand powder detergent works the best. Personally I use the Great Value brand powdered detergent and have been very satisfied with it. I do not pre rinse any dishes either. I just lazily scrape off my dishes in the garbage and put them straight in the dishwasher.
If you do go the dishwasher route, be sure to do your research and get a good dishwasher if you have a choice. I went with Bosch dishwashers based on reviews from Consumer Reports and have been highly satisfied with their performance. They’re so quiet my wife sometimes opens them mid cycle and gets a surprise. I find this hilarious because they shine a red spot on the floor to let you know that it is running.
Hello fellow Technology Connections watcher.
By hand. We are only two people, and we usually clean after we cook/eat. When one is cleaning only 2 plates + a pot/pan at a time, it is easy to use little water. Spray of soap, metal scrub, sponge scrub, and then turn the tap on to rinse for a few seconds. Utensils get individually scrubbed and then all rinsed together for a few seconds.
Maybe when we have kids a dish washer will make sense.
By hand. I’ve only lived in a place with a dishwasher for 1 year. During that time I felt like the dishes never got truly clean. Like if shit was stuck to a plate or bowl it would need manual intervention. If a pan sat for a day and shit got really caked on it wasn’t even worth putting it in the dish washer. I don’t see how it saves on water either. Like I don’t leave the water running while I wash the dishes. I don’t fill the sink. I rinse a plate. Turn the water off. Scrub it down. Rinse it again. Water is on for maybe 5-10 seconds a dish. Scrubbing does all the work.
Mentally, it’s kinda like taking a shower in the sense that my mind goes to a completely different place and all things that bothered me before are flushed out. That change in activity or environment really lets me process shit in a way that meling in front of a screen doesn’t.
Recently, I was house-sitting for friends, and the dishwasher broke. I had to pause it every few minutes to empty the water by hand. It amounted to 2 shallow oven dishes’ worth of water. And not filled to the brim, either: I had to be able to bring them to the sink without spilling.
It was a really, really small quantity of water.Dishwasher. I’ve done hand washing and dishwashing depending on where I’m living each year. Dishwasher does a better job than me, uses less water than me, and saves me time. I run it at night and put away the dishes in the morning.
Dishwashers are superior to handwashing in basically every regard, and as such I lean towards it for everything in my kitchen that can handle it.
Yes
Dishwasher for sure. Many years ago, I had a dishwashing job where I had to wash everything by hand, and that made me really appreciate dishwashers ever since.
dishwasher. it uses way less water than even filling the sink once. it obviously uses more electricity than doing it by hand though. you gotta think about the value of the time saved as well.
Depends whether you wash in hot or cold water. If you use more hot water washing dishes by hand then it’ll consume more electricity too.
I use a dishwasher. Produce all my own power so that’s not a concern. Also on a treated well system so it really just makes more sense.
Generally wait until it’s full before I run it but yeah. Inefficiency is the enemy.
of course.
I used to wash by filling the sink till I met my wife - she always wet each item, scrubbed with soapy scrubber, and then rinsed. It’s a far better method!
That’s like the second most wasteful way of washing dishes, with the most wasteful being the same thing but not turning the tap off while scrubbing.
Well, presuming you have enough wares for a full wash. Filling the sink for just one plate would be unnecessary…
You can plug the sink and wash with your current tap method and see how many dishes it takes to fill the sink with water - that’s how many you need to collect to save water with the sink method.
That’s what I thought, so that’s what I did! Way less water than filling the sink. Way less. I will add though that I have a pretty big sink.
Cool! My sink was small enough that I’d fill it thrice while washing under the tap haha. Now I have a washing machine and won’t be going back.
