Dishwasher efficiency

Lead: according to a dishwasher manufacturer, washing by hand is more energy-efficient and cleaner than using a dishwasher.

My addendum: for most people, the differences aren't worth worrying much about, wash dishes as you please. You're not saving or dooming the planet either way.

( Read more... )

For a typical US suburban household, with lawn and 2 cars and a large house to be heated and cooled, whether they rinse dishes before putting them in a dishwasher, or use a dishwasher at all, is pretty irrelevant. The base suburban lifestyle uses far more water and energy than any fiddling with appliances can make up for.

What about me? For the vast majority of my life I haven't even had access to a dishwasher, so moot point there. I tend to either wash my dishes right after use, or be a bit of a slob and just re-use them, maybe with a bit of rinse. Washing switches between "run tap" and "bath", depending on what I have to deal with.

And even as a non-driving small-apartment dweller without a lawn, my showers are probably 10-20 gallons a day, plus the occasional full bath, and thus, how I wash my dishes is pretty small potatoes. A drop in the bucket. ;)