5 ms·

Washing dishes by hand iirc uses 2-3x more water though.

CameronNemo 3y ago
Do you have a source for that? I've always heard it, but... I've also watched a lot of people wash dishes in ways that waste lots of water unnecessarily. I'd be curious how the study was conducted, and if they have video of the study participants washing their dishes.
- winrid 3y ago
  If you fill the sink you're likely already using more water than the dishwasher.
sixseven 3y ago
I have always heard that but I never understood how that's possible. I filled a rice bowl with water and reuse that same water to wet all the dirty dishes before rubbing, then rinse with cold running water from the tap. The majority of the energy used in dishwasher is from heating up the water. If you wash with cold water, you are using less energy than the dish washer.
- jve 3y ago
  > rinse with cold running water from the tap You'd better rinse with hot water to get the soap away.
- Izkata 3y ago
  Fill up the sink high enough to submerge cooking pots, that's most if not all the way there. Edit: I just measured my kitchen sink and pot for this, 17x19 and 4 inches high = 5.6 gallons. If I go all the way to the sink's overflow at 6.5 inches high, that's 9 gallons.
- midoridensha 3y ago
  No, you're not. Water isn't free, and a good dishwasher is more water-efficient than you. Water requires a LOT of energy to pump, so less water means less energy.
hasbot 3y ago
From earlier comments, it appears that a dishwasher will consume at least 2.5 gals per cycle. No way does hand washing use 5 to 7.5 gallons of water per wash. Being a single guy, I stopped using my dish washer for the several dishes I dirty every day and always hand wash. I first put in about an inch of hot water and wash the utensils. I turn on the hot water again to rinse the utensils with the cast off water going back into the wash sink. The rinse sink is used only to hold the clean, rinsed dishes. I continue on washing each item this way (from cleanest to dirtiest). Most of the time when I'm done the sink isn't half-full. Because I can only use water cool enough to put my hands in, the dishes are not as clean as what a dishwasher can do, but, again, no way does a single wash consume 5+ gallons.
- Izkata 3y ago
  The standard way my family would clean pots and pans by hand is to fill the sink and let them soak for a bit before scrubbing them. With my current sink, that's just under 9 gallons of water.
- brightlancer 3y ago
  > it appears that a dishwasher will consume at least 2.5 gals per cycle. No way does hand washing use 5 to 7.5 gallons of water per wash. Rinsing dishes requires fresh water from the tap, which runs somewhere from 1-2 gallons per minute. After filling a sink (or bucket) with water and rinsing everything, it's easy to use 5+ gal to wash dishes.

Do you have a source for that? I've always heard it, but... I've also watched a lot of people wash dishes in ways that waste lots of water unnecessarily. I'd be curious how the study was conducted, and if they have video of the study participants washing their dishes.

winrid 3y ago
If you fill the sink you're likely already using more water than the dishwasher.

sixseven 3y ago

I have always heard that but I never understood how that's possible. I filled a rice bowl with water and reuse that same water to wet all the dirty dishes before rubbing, then rinse with cold running water from the tap. The majority of the energy used in dishwasher is from heating up the water. If you wash with cold water, you are using less energy than the dish washer.

jve 3y ago
> rinse with cold running water from the tap You'd better rinse with hot water to get the soap away.
Izkata 3y ago
Fill up the sink high enough to submerge cooking pots, that's most if not all the way there. Edit: I just measured my kitchen sink and pot for this, 17x19 and 4 inches high = 5.6 gallons. If I go all the way to the sink's overflow at 6.5 inches high, that's 9 gallons.
midoridensha 3y ago
No, you're not. Water isn't free, and a good dishwasher is more water-efficient than you. Water requires a LOT of energy to pump, so less water means less energy.

hasbot 3y ago

From earlier comments, it appears that a dishwasher will consume at least 2.5 gals per cycle. No way does hand washing use 5 to 7.5 gallons of water per wash. Being a single guy, I stopped using my dish washer for the several dishes I dirty every day and always hand wash. I first put in about an inch of hot water and wash the utensils. I turn on the hot water again to rinse the utensils with the cast off water going back into the wash sink. The rinse sink is used only to hold the clean, rinsed dishes. I continue on washing each item this way (from cleanest to dirtiest). Most of the time when I'm done the sink isn't half-full. Because I can only use water cool enough to put my hands in, the dishes are not as clean as what a dishwasher can do, but, again, no way does a single wash consume 5+ gallons.

Izkata 3y ago
The standard way my family would clean pots and pans by hand is to fill the sink and let them soak for a bit before scrubbing them. With my current sink, that's just under 9 gallons of water.
brightlancer 3y ago
> it appears that a dishwasher will consume at least 2.5 gals per cycle. No way does hand washing use 5 to 7.5 gallons of water per wash. Rinsing dishes requires fresh water from the tap, which runs somewhere from 1-2 gallons per minute. After filling a sink (or bucket) with water and rinsing everything, it's easy to use 5+ gal to wash dishes.