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It seems to me that a lazy person who reads or hears about this article and who worries about potential harm from dishwasher detergents is likely to run the cyc
by hilbert42 4y ago
It seems to me that a lazy person who reads or hears about this article and who worries about potential harm from dishwasher detergents is likely to run the cycle a second time with only water.
A rough calculation would seem to indicate that a complete rinse-only cycle would reduce residue levels to well into the safety zone but at the cost of double the water and possibly double the power (if hot water were used).
If this became a widespread concern and people acted this way then it wouldn't bode well for water conservation efforts.
- samtho 4y agoModern dish washers use under 4 gallons per cycle, so given you have at least one wash and one rise cycle, you’d only use a about 50% more if you are able to opt for rinse only. Compare that to a 2.2 gallon per minute water/efficient kitchen faucet where you’ll approach the amount of water consumed by your triple cycle load after just 5 minutes of leaving your water running.
- throwaway290 4y ago5 minutes of running water at full speed to wash up dishes seems like way too much, unless it's a really large household. Washing up after a quick meal takes a few seconds, and if a proper dinner with cooking you'd fill the sink enough to soak the load then come back to rinse.
- samtho 4y agoRunning the water continuously is not recommended but for people who were not taught water-saving practices, it is likely the default way one might go about hand-washing dishes.
- pja 4y agoA modern Bosch dishwasher will use 9.5 litres per cycle or < 3 gallons btw. IIRC 10l / cycle is a standard set in the EU, but I can’t find a reference right now.
- samtho 4y agoMy data was from memory as of >10 years ago from when I worked in construction, I am very happy to hear it is likely even less than I originally thought.