[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I've often heard that it's less expensive to use the dishwasher than to wash by hand. But, with only two people in the house it doesn't seem that we create enough dirty dishes to justify running the dishwasher daily. In addition we have some items such a a chef's knife that we only have one of so I don't want to throw it in the dishwasher and not have use of it for a week.

Ny question is, is it still more efficient to run the dishwasher when it is not full than to wash by hand?

Do you run your dishwasher every day? If not, how often do you use it?

[outahere]

I have no idea if it is more efficient to hand wash versus running the dishwasher, but we typically run ours every other day. By that point, the dishwasher is not completely full, but close. We only put glasses, mugs, plates, bowls and silverware in it. We do hand wash good cutlery and any utensils with wooden or plastic handles.

[golfing eagles]

OK, who cares??? Whatever the difference in water usage (hand washed vs. half full dishwasher), it is miniscule compared to lawn and golf course irrigation. And before someone states the irrigation is "recycled" water, please remember all water ultimately comes from the same place.

[bagboy]

I'm not sure why we run our dishwasher, our dishes have to be clean before we load them.

[Carla B]

We only use the DW when we have company for dinner. Otherwise, my husband washes them in the sink.

[jnieman]

We run our dishwasher mostly every day because I do a lot of home cooking. I put my pots and pans in there as well as china or whatever. I have nothing I cannot put in there. I do rinse my pots well before putting them in but they are stainless copper bottoms and come out looking great. I do not put dishes in there that have a ton of food on them unless I am running it immediately. Occasionally I will wait to run it the next day if it is not full. I think it all depends on if you go out to dinner a lot. For me not having a dishwasher would be a huge inconvenience.

[Henryk]

Originally Posted by outahere

I have no idea if it is more efficient to hand wash versus running the dishwasher, but we typically run ours every other day. By that point, the dishwasher is not completely full, but close. We only put glasses, mugs, plates, bowls and silverware in it. We do hand wash good cutlery and any utensils with wooden or plastic handles.

I use the DW about every other day. While I don't ever wash my good knives in the DW, I always wash my wooden spoons in the DW, along with my plastic cutting boards.

Except for the knives, my motto is, "If it fits in the DW, it goes in the DW." You can't imagine how annoyed I was when my refrig shelves didn't fit! LOL!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

OK, who cares??? Whatever the difference in water usage (hand washed vs. half full dishwasher), it is miniscule compared to lawn and golf course irrigation. And before someone states the irrigation is "recycled" water, please remember all water ultimately comes from the same place.

I care. I'd like to know. If it's minimal as you assert then it won't make any difference. However if I started using my dishwasher every day or every other day and my water bill increased significantly I'd stop doing it.

Lawn and golf course irrigation are completely unrelated to my question so I don't know why you brought it up. I'm not going to stop watering my lawn and it would be irresponsible for The Villages to stop watering their golf courses.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I care. I'd like to know. If it's minimal as you assert then it won't make any difference. However if I started using my dishwasher every day or every other day and my water bill increased significantly I'd stop doing it.

Lawn and golf course irrigation are completely unrelated to my question so I don't know why you brought it up. I'm not going to stop watering my lawn and it would be irresponsible for The Villages to stop watering their golf courses.

Sorry. I took your post to mean you were looking to conserve the environment/water. My bad.

[bluedivergirl]

I run mine every day. I cook dinner almost every night, and often cook breakfast as well.

I don't put my knives, or anything else with a blade in the DW. I also hand wash Tervis cups. They seem to look nice longer when they're hand washed.

[Harry Gilbert]

This is an older study but it may be interesting

Built In Dishwashers vs. Hand Washing: Which is Greener? : TreeHugger

[Fred R]

I live alone. It makes no sense to ever run the dishwasher. If I had a gal living with me, it might be different. But then, maybe she would help wash the dishes once in a while.

[spring_chicken]

I use the dishwasher because I don't like eating bacteria for dinner.
Unless You Use a Dishwasher, You'll Probably Be Having Bacteria for Dinner... Again

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by spring_chicken

I use the dishwasher because I don't like eating bacteria for dinner.
Unless You Use a Dishwasher, You'll Probably Be Having Bacteria for Dinner... Again

Just saute them with lemon and butter----delicious!

[TheDude]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

I've often heard that it's less expensive to use the dishwasher than to wash by hand. But, with only two people in the house it doesn't seem that we create enough dirty dishes to justify running the dishwasher daily. In addition we have some items such a a chef's knife that we only have one of so I don't want to throw it in the dishwasher and not have use of it for a week.

Ny question is, is it still more efficient to run the dishwasher when it is not full than to wash by hand?

Do you run your dishwasher every day? If not, how often do you use it?

Just hand wash the easy stuff (large pans, delicate stuff like a teak block), and put the stuff that builds up (glassware, silverware, plates) in the dishwasher and wash every 2-3 days. If you put something in the dishwasher that you need and it isn't washed yet, just pull it out.

I usually rinse off everything before I put in the dishwasher just because I am like that. I also like to use a dishwasher cleaner (get at publix) every month or so just to keep everything cleaner.

Bottom line, no need to run dishwasher daily. Think of it has a giant sink to put dirty stuff in until you get to it.

Hope this makes sense.