Wash your dishes by hand for a month challenge

[Aleta]

There are so many items that you shouldn't put into a dishwasher. I wouldn't put wine glasses, good knives with wooden handles, pots or pans. or even fine china. I also use the quick cycle and keep in my kitchen a dishpan with water for rinsing off items and washing by hand.

[Dixiechick]

According to the website someone previously posted about how much it costs to run certain appliances...it shows running the dishwasher once a day (like I do) costs about $3.06 for a 1200 watt washer. That's about what my bill indicated. When I went without a washer for 2 months, I didn't notice much difference, if any, on my bill than I did when running one every day. So I'm happily using my everyday!

[cicy33]

I have been to several sites and determined that depending on the site, I have found from 4.50 to over $5 per month to use your dishwasher per the site. Two of the sites both stated, does not include using hot water. I just can't see that is right. I am not saying that it runs a ton but my dishwasher runs almost an hour (without the drying cycle) If you ran anything for an hour every day sometimes twice a day you are going to spend more than that in a month. here is the specific from one site:
item age kw cost how much
Dishwasher - 15 years old 2000 66 load
Dishwasher - new 2000 34 load
Since my dishwasher is between those ages I went between them and took .43 per load. If I did one load per day for 30 days I just spent $12.90. How do they get on some sites $4.50 a month? and that does not include water.

[InDebtInDC]

What about cleanliness? I prefer to pre-rinse and then use a dishwasher.

Are there any negative health hazards to just handwashing alone?

[Aleta]

I have read that it is better to use hot water for rinsing. Letting them airdry is healthier than using a dishcloth to dry them.

[cicy33]

Originally Posted by InDebtInDC

What about cleanliness? I prefer to pre-rinse and then use a dishwasher.

Are there any negative health hazards to just handwashing alone?

I think handwashing is better than a dishwasher. The only thing a dishwasher does is spray water on the dishes. With handwashing you wipe the soapy water on the dishes and scrub the food off. I do use a dishwasher from time to time but not every day anymore. And for me to drop even $5 - $10 off my light bill is worth it.

[InDebtInDC]

Originally Posted by Aleta

I have read that it is better to use hot water for rinsing. Letting them airdry is healthier than using a dishcloth to dry them.

I agree about the hot water. When I worked in the restaurants they were required to use hot water and soap.

What about using a clean dishcloth?

[thkgranny]

Air-drying your dishes prevents spreading of bacteria. If you use a dishtowel to dry your dishes, whatever 'invisible' stuff is left on something gets spread to everything you dry after it.

[Aleta]

You should change your dish cloths and towels at night. I try to keep my towels for my hands separately. I also try to let my dishtowel and rag hang in such a way so that it can dry easily.

[sweeps]

Low-cost ways to conserve water at home

The dishwasher is your friend: Even old-school dishwashers don't use as much water per dish as hand-washing. Newer, more efficient dishwashers use only 1/6 of the water used during hand-washing, and save 230 hours of your time each year.

[cicy33]

Originally Posted by sweeps

Low-cost ways to conserve water at home

Well, if that is the case then my dishwasher uses less than 1 gallon the whole time and I am not buying that. I just finished washing a sink load of dishes, I filled the sink completely up. I washed all the dishes. Rinsed with cool water at the end. Rinsing took less than 3 minutes total. Maybe 2. When I was finished just because I am strange, I measured the water left in the sink with a gallon pitcher. By the way when I was done, the water was still hot and soapy and I could have washed more dishes just didn't have any more to wash. Total gallons in sink: 4 and 1/2 (this is an estimate after 4.) There was not enough water to total 5 gallons. I am unsure how many gallons to rinse but for argumenative sake I will say 2 gallons. so I am currently at 6.5 gallons of water. Now if the site is correct then my dishwasher is only using a gallon of water to do the dishes. How is that possible?

[Brokemofo]

Fact: A dishwasher uses much less water than hand washing.

Fact; A dishwasher is more sanitary than hand washing.

Fact: A dishwasher uses more electricity than hand washing.

Fact: A good dishwasher WILL clean dshes, pots, pans, etc., and no, you don't need to pre-rinse them.

I will always use a dishwasher, and I only run it when full.

[crazyBMB]

Originally Posted by Brokemofo

Fact: A dishwasher uses much less water than hand washing.

Fact; A dishwasher is more sanitary than hand washing.

Fact: A dishwasher uses more electricity than hand washing.

Fact: A good dishwasher WILL clean dshes, pots, pans, etc., and no, you don't need to pre-rinse them.

I will always use a dishwasher, and I only run it when full.

I totaly agree. And newer appliances use much less soap & water and I turn off the dry cycle and let them air dry

[ttilmo]

Hi i live in the UK and i think owning a dish washer is far less common, i've only ever known one person who had one and she didn't need it either.

Although i find dish washing a bit of a pain it is really no big deal and i share the job with my partner.

I hate to think what the electricity bill would be if we had a dish washer, it's bad enough having a washing machine.

[pjmama]

I started washing my dishes by hand last month, actually, and I find that I have much more clean dishes on hand because I wash them much more often if I do them by hand rather than using my dishwasher. My electric bill seems to have shown some difference, too, and every little bit helps!

[cicy33]

Originally Posted by Brokemofo

Fact: A dishwasher uses much less water than hand washing.

Fact; A dishwasher is more sanitary than hand washing.

Fact: A dishwasher uses more electricity than hand washing.

Fact: A good dishwasher WILL clean dshes, pots, pans, etc., and no, you don't need to pre-rinse them.

I will always use a dishwasher, and I only run it when full.

Sorry, don't mean to be argumentative, but FACT by who? Just because it is on the net or a manufacturer says so does not make it a fact and I feel that I proved it cannot be true. I washed my dishes with less than 7 gallons of water and like I said I could have washed more, so I could also start only filling up the sink half full. So then I could use less. My dishwasher runs for about an hour. even dripping that is a lot of water! I would never not use my dishwasher but I don't use it every day anymore. Based upon the facts on the net by the "experts" a dishwasher uses 1/6 the amount of water I would. If that is true then ick! That is not enough water to rinse, wash and rerinse my dishes. I have noticed a drop in my electric bill. I did do several things, like turning off lights and tvs and unplugging appliances and also not using the dishwasher every day. My bill dropped about $25 total. That is huge to me. my water doesn't change a lot so I would say even though it also dropped, went from about $16 to $14, I don't get crazy about that. and that is for 3,000 gallons of water usage for a month.

[ThriftoRama]

Hmmm. All this dishwasher talk has me thinking. I read something in the Union of Concerned Scientist's Consumers guide to effective environmental choices that sometimes doing dishes in the dishwasher is more water efficient than doing them by hand. I remember being shocked by that, as well as by their suggestion that using a microwave is the most energy efficient way to cook.

Being kind of a green geek, that book inspired me to buy a super high efficiency dishwasher (we had the 1970s one that came with our house, which we used as a drying rack) and the buy a microwave. Of course, being a frugal geek, I bought a Bosch dishwasher at a scratch and dent place and saved $500 and I bought the microwave of my dreams after it went on clearance!!

Since both have entered our kitchen I haven't noticed a significant change in our water or energy bill. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention?

[getforfree]

Originally Posted by ttilmo

I hate to think what the electricity bill would be if we had a dish washer, it's bad enough having a washing machine.

Maybe we should start washing our clothes by hand to? lol

[Pollyanna]

I've heard that old "dishwasher saves water" spiel so many times - and I still don't believe it.

I use cookware/dinnerware/utensils that would be damaged in a dishwasher - my iron skillets, antique dishes, wood and marble rolling pins, wooden salad bowls, knives, old utensils with painted wooden handles... - all of those items would have to be hand washed in any case, so I may as well hand wash all the dishes. I would be using double the water if I used the dishwasher too.

Further, I use a mild, biodegradable soap for dishwashing, and in all but the worst winter weather, my dishwater gets poured on a flower bed or into the compost pile - I surely wouldn't do that with water with harsh dishwasher soap in it, if I could manage to capture it in any case. So the water from the dishwasher doesn't have the option of a second use - it's wasted.

I use a 12 qt dishpan, and start with very little water in it, rinsing with a trickle of hot water that falls into the dishpan. It's a very rare occasion that the dish pan gets over 3/4 full of water by the time all the dishes are done. I don't do dishes 3 times a day, once a day is sufficient for us unless we are doing a large amount of cooking.

And it gives me a chance to stand at the window and look outside

[pjmama]

I find that washing my dishes by hand gives me a little break from doing my homework on the weekends