Dishwashers sometimes come in for some bad press,
particularly because it is assumed they waste energy and
water. However this is rarely the case – usually
dishwashers use less water and less energy than washing
your plates by hand. So it is quite possible to be
environmentally friendly and enjoy the convenience of a
dishwasher. If you want to get better and cheaper
performance from your dishwasher, here are some hints.
The reason that most people think more water is used by a
dishwasher is that it is so big and the sink is so
little. Yet very few people only wash up once a day,
so you need to add up all those sinks full of hot water
plus any rinsing water you might use. You can work this
out for yourself given the size of your sink and your
washing up technique. In contrast most modern
dishwashers make good use of water and may use only
20 liters (a little over 5 gallons) of water each time
it runs.
What’s more, you would be wise to do all you can to be
careful on the quantity of water used to operate your
dishwasher. For example, try to scrape off dirty plates
into the trash rather than running hot water to do this
duty. If you must use water before using the dishwasher,
put the dishes into a sink full only halfway. In
addition, you can usually skip the pre-rinse cycle. By
experimenting with these ideas, you may find where you’re
overusing your water.
Why run a dishwasher half full? Wait until the
dishwasher is full and then run it. Of course, you can
only do this if you own a lot of dishes. If going out
and purchasing more dishes is needed to do this idea,
you may find your purchases don’t exceed the cost of
saving water
Heating water can be an energy zapper. However, both
processes require hot water. So, the use of hot water
in the dishwasher costs no more than hand washing. In
fact, your dishwasher may use less hot water than many
people’s hand washing technique. Scale build up does
affect the performance and efficiency of the dishwasher,
so check this frequently. Scale build up generally
happens due to the hot water heating too rapidly. The
reason most people use this setting is due to the
misconception that hot water kills germs.
Unfortunately, the temperature required to effectively
do this is so much higher than a home’s hot water
setting for tap and the dishwasher. The job of ridding
germs then is left to a detergent. So, skip this
high temperature setting and save a few bucks by opening
the door during the dry cycle and let your dishes air
dry naturally.
If you do upgrade your dishwasher, look for washers that
carry the best energy saving rating. These newer models
heat water in safer and more efficient manners in
comparison to older units. Also, these newer
dishwashers are often far more environmentally friendly
and cost effective than many of your neighbor’s hand
washing habits.
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