A Test to Save Water and Energy Washing Dishes
Skeptical that your dishwasher is more energy and water efficient than washing by hand? To test this theory, Leah Ingram of The Lean Green Family suggests stopping up your sink as you hand-wash dishes and then measuring the water you’ve collected. It’s likely more than you think.
Ingram is right. In my test, I used 8.25 gallons on a day’s worth of dishes (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for a family of four. My methodology? I quickly rinsed our dishes, turned off the water, scrubbed, and then rinsed off the soap. I’m not sure I would have saved water even if I had filled the sink first, as the sink itself would have required a good scrubbing and rinse, too.
Considering the average standard dishwasher built since 1994 uses 9 gallons a load, and I can fit two day’s of dishes in one load, I can cut my water usage, not to mention my water-heating, by more than half. Good-bye dishwashing gloves!
They’ve Done Studies
I’m not the only one who found dishwashers come out on top. Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany studied 113 people across seven countries and found that new, energy-efficient dishwashers use only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-washing. The study also notes that dishwashers get dishes cleaner, too.
More resources:
Energy Star Dishwashers
American Council for and Energy Efficient Economy
Waterwise a water-industry organization in the UK
November 21st, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Hiya, I was surfing around your site and noticed that a lot of your images are not loading. Thought I ought to let you know
February 11th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
You are so funny!!! I’ve become obsessed with your website and I spend most of my work hours reading all your archives. And I made an account JUST to post comments. I wish I’d found you sooner, and I wish you posted as much as you used to! You must be constantly busy now though because you are so famous!!