Many homeowners love their dishwashers! After all, it saves us so much time! And, as a bonus, our children can be involved in the process of cleaning the dishes by filling, running and emptying the dishwasher. It would be more difficult for them to hand wash the dishes (if you could get them to do it!).
But if you are trying to be environmentally conscious, you may be wondering if hand washing your dishes would actually be better for the environment? – The short answer is NO but only IF you follow these two basic rules when using your dishwasher. One – only run your dishwasher when it’s full and two – do not rinse your dishes prior to putting them in the dishwasher. These two rules help you to save water when running your dishwasher.
The truth is that dishwashers are much more efficient at their use of water and washing dishes than hand washing.
Generally, hand washing uses 5 times as much water as a dishwasher would. Of course, this is true if the dishwasher model is a newer, efficient model. Older models will use up more water but still, not as much as hand washing.
To put it in gallons, an average of 27 gallons of water are used when hand washing dishes. Compare that to 3 gallons that an efficient dishwasher uses for the same amount of dishes and you can see that dishwashers are better for the environment as far as saving water.
Is It Cheaper To Hand Wash Dishes?
The answer to this would depend on a few factors:
- cost of hot water in your area
- efficiency of your dishwasher
- cost of electricity in your area
- cost of purchasing the dishwasher
Generally speaking though, it’s cheaper to run a full dishwasher than it is to hand wash your dishes. But if you are purchasing a new dishwasher you must factor that cost into your equation and consider how long it will take to make up that expense.
Also, consider your time as well. If it takes you an average of 15 minutes to clean your dishes – would you rather spend that time with your family? Is it worth it?
Does Hand Washing Dishes Save Energy?
Yes, it’s true that dishwashers do use electricity and hand washing dishes does not (unless your kitchen is equipped with a motion detection faucet).
On average, a dishwasher uses anywhere between 1200 and 2400 watts of power. You can contact your power company for information on what your cost is per watt in your specific location.
We hope you have found this information useful to help you decide whether hand washing your dishes is a better alternative than using a dishwasher.
If you have any questions about your plumbing system or are having some problems with it, call Atlantis Plumbing today at 770-505-8570. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.