I have three roommates (for a total of 4 of us). We don't use the dishwasher b/c our water bill is already pretty high. Instead, we all just wash whatever dishes we use at the end of the day.
Sometimes, we'll skip a day and it takes like 15-20 minutes to do half a sink of dishes.
Just wondering if it's cheaper for us to wash a dozen or so dishes everyday (and like one sink full per week), or if we should just use the dishwasher 2-3 times a week.
If it helps, the dishwasher is full-size. The brand is a GE, Triton XL (Eterna series). And it has the Energy Star sticker. :)
Thanks.
2007-08-12 17:48:27 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Cleaning & Laundry
If you are washing full loads, the dishwasher is actually cheaper. This is considering water usage and electricity used to heat the water.
If you wash by hand and make sure you keep the water off between dishes, hand washing can be cheaper, but not much.
If you are mainly concerned with water usage you would be better off making sure you have a toilet that only uses 1.5 gallons of water per flush and have low flow shower heads.
Taking slightly shorter showers will also save you much more water than dish washing ever could..
2007-08-12 17:56:05 · answer #1 · answered by Wade M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ir's really a matter of personal choice. You would have to weigh the water used every day to wash the few dishes against the water used once a week in a full dishwasher. I have a dishwasher but I also work and have a busy family of 3, so I opt for the convenience. Also today's dishwashers are energy efficient and come in a variety of sizes. I also don't like the thought of standing in front of the sink, washing and rinsing each plate, glass and utensil individually when I can just load them all into the dishwasher and have the washing, rinsing and drying done for me. All that's left is to put them away. I personally think in the long run the dishwasher is cheaper based on running it once a week, but as I said I think it's a personal choice. Some people prefer to do them by hand.
2016-05-21 03:35:59 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes definetly, It takes just as much water to run a full load in the dishwasher as it does to do a sinkful of dishes. And with as much as the dishwasher can hold, it is much better than hand washing.
2007-08-12 17:56:22 · answer #3 · answered by Kim 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from what ive heard, it's cheaper to use the dishwasher bc when ur washing dishes, the water is running all the time which means more water is being used so ur bill is gonna wind up higher! lol and plus if ur bill is high, lessen water consumption in other ways...dnt blame it on the dishwasher (remember women bless the man who invented the dishwasher everyday! lol) ....like taking shorter showers or having the water pressure at ur sink lessened
2007-08-12 18:24:03 · answer #4 · answered by lifes a b*tch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Washing by hand is more efficient as long as you don't run the hot water at full blast the whole time you are doing it. Just rinse the dishes of the 'chunks' of food, submerge in a sink full of suds, then rinse under the faucet. Be sure to turn off the faucet between rinsing the individual dishes. As a note on how I came to this method, I used to fill a seperate sink to rinse in. One day, my father pointed out that it actually takes less water just to turn on the faucet for a couple seconds and rinse each dish after scrubbing. I measured the water that I used for both methods and found that he was correct.
2007-08-12 17:56:50 · answer #5 · answered by Bruce J 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is cheaper to use the dishwasher especially in your situation. You can't control how anyone uses the water to handwash but the dishwasher will always remain the same amount of water. Plus you are saving time and time is money as they say. It will work even better if you only use 2-3 times a week if you always wash daily! Don't make yourselves work harder than you need to! Hope this Helps :)
2007-08-12 18:17:52 · answer #6 · answered by Elizabeth B 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
From what I've read, they say it is cheaper to use the dishwasher to clean the dishes. I think that the figure that you will run the water full time while you are cleaning the dishes. Doesn't make sense to me either, but that is what the experts say. good luck guys.
2007-08-12 17:55:38 · answer #7 · answered by Fordman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
dishwasher, unless it takes u so many days for a lot of dirty dishes then u may be better off with running the dishwasher every 3-4 days at a time...
2007-08-13 03:54:20 · answer #8 · answered by THE UK WILDCAT FAMILY 10 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Use the dishwasher. The difference in water consumption is negligible, and there is no point in wasting your time doing what a machine can do.
2007-08-12 17:59:19 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
typically the dishwashers is more efficient with water usage and definately more time friendly.
2007-08-12 18:14:19 · answer #10 · answered by Gaby 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋