No dishwasher - what is the greenest way to save water?

Question

I don't have a dishwasher so I have to wash everything by hand. I feel like I am wasting a lot of water rinsing the dishes and am looking for better ways to do the dishes.

When I was a kid, my parents made me fill up a second sink of water to rinse the dishes but it got soapy after a few plates. I don't really want a soapy film on the dishes. :)

Your suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

That second sink of water is still a good idea. It sounds like you may be using too much soap in the first sink. Try using half of the soap amount. After washing the dishes in the first sink, place them in the second sink all together and let them soak in the rinse water for half an hour while you empty the first sink and then fill the first sink with clean water. This first sink with clean water will be your "final rinse". Works like my clothes washer cycle which has 2 rinse cycles. The final rinse should scrub off the soapy film if any is left.

Answer 2

I also have no dishwasher and have thought about the same thing. The 2 solutions I can think of is:

1) Don't let the dishes pile up. I quick rinse a dish, bowl, cup or utensil right after I use it and set it on a hand towel next to the sink. As most of the water lost during hand washing during the process of hard scrubbing, this quick rinse/reuse technique prevents things from caking on your dishes and saves water as you don not have to give extra attention to a particular dish while the water is running.

2) The other option ( if you let the dishes build up ) Is to fill the biggest pot you have with hot soapy water and do all the hard scrubbing with the faucet off. After all of the dishes have been thoroughly soaped and scrubbed, you then turn on the cold water and go on a high speed rinse-a-thon.

If all of this sounds like too much you can always go the quick route and add an aerator to your kitchen sink head to reduce the outflow (cost $3). It all depends on how much you like/dislike doing the dishes :-)

Answer 3

Well when you rinse the dishes you can just have a little trickle of water. Not just a few drops, a lil more than that. But that would do the track if you move the dish around to get all the soap off.
Another way to save water that doesn't have to do with dishes is to save flushes. Like when you go to the bathroom maybe every three times or so you can flush it. That really does help a lot. And have a bucket in your shower that you can use to flush the toilet too. We do that here at our house.
Stay green,
Miss Soprano

Answer 4

Normally you only need a tablespoon of detergent to sinkful of water

Put a dish rack in the second sink. Spray rinse them all at once when the rack is full . I've never liked filling the second sink with water for rinsing either. Its just weird and doesn't thoroughly rinse the dishes

Answer 5

I also have no dishwasher. I fill up one side of the sink with soap and water. let them soak then scrub. make a pile of clean but not yet rinsed dishes when you have large pile then rinse. That way you can have the water off most the time. I will give you a link to an article that gives you lots of ideas on other ways to save water... Happy washing
peace
GG

Answer 6

Do you own your own home? It's possible you could look into a grey water system. We are doing that in our straw bale home.

The grey water is water from sinks, bathtubs and showers, dishwasher, and washmachines. Brown water is from the toilet.

Grey water can often legally be redirected to water your ourside plantings. That way every drop of grey water you produce is used yet again, by your lawn, trees, flowers, ect.

In our straw bale home we will actually have a GIANT sun room with built in planters. The grey water will travel through there, and water all the plants. We will be able to produce a signifigant amount of our fresh food, even during the winter.

Note, if you are on a septic tank, be careful, and get really good advice before switching your house over to a grey water system. Your septic tank depends on the water to keep it healthy and active. If you suddenly take away the water you may have a very expensive problem on your hands.

Our septic system is being designed from the start to operate will much less water.

By the way, for an easier idea, install rain barrels (if it is legal where you are) under all your downspouts and use that captured rainwater to water your lawn and plantings. Be sure to keep a sturdy screen over the barrels, so wildlife, pets and children cannot drown in the barrels.

Believe it or not, in some places, (like an Island on coastal Western Washington where it rains all the time!) it is illegal to capture rainwater from your own roof. Check your own laws.

~Garnet
Homesteading/Farming over 20 years.

Answer 7

Scrape food off plate. Soak dishes in cold water. Heat kettle for hot water. Empty water into separate container for watering plants. Use very little washing up liquid. Wash the dishes and then rinse in another bowl of hot clean water from the kettle. All the water can be then saved for watering plants.

I think that compared to having a shower or bath that the water use would be minimal for pot washing. I am just guessing at this though, I may be wrong.

Answer 8

You can get two rubbermade sink buckets - they are like these plastic bins that fit in your sink - and you can leave them in the sink as you wash your dishes and for rinsing. If you use eco friendly dish soap - you can then poor it on your plants as a natural alternative against bugs in your garden :) You will still have to run some water of course to rinse off the dishes - but it really doesn't take that much to rinse off the soap :)

Answer 9

If you are washing a big pot or pan, fill that with soapy water and put the other dishes inside instead of filling the whole sink. If you are not sure whether your method is better than washing them under running water, then try this: Plug up the sink but don't fill it. Then wash the dishes under running water. If the sink fills up before you are done, then this method uses more water. But then you can just put the rest of your dishes in to soak, so nothing's wasted in this little "test."

Answer 10

since u don't have dishwasher, my opinion is wait until ur sink is full. and istead of putting a lot of soap all over the dishes, pour a little bit in a container with water and it should do for a sink ful of dishes. i prefer palmolive. but the cheaper it is in this case is not good.
i hope i helped.