Hand wash or dishwasher?

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • pangit
    Participant

    Do I save much, if any, electric money and/or water to wash my dishes by hand versus using the dishwasher?  We just moved into a house with a dishwasher.  I haven’t had a dishwasher in 7 years so am rather used to doing them by hand.  But, this week with moving and needing sanitize a bunch of dishes that mice had gotten in with, we have used the dishwasher a lot.  I’ll admit it is kinda nice to just rinse the dishes and be done.

    chocodog
    Participant

      I heard that you use more water to fill the sink and rinse the dishes if you do them by hand.  You also have to use electic to heat the water for the hot water to fill the sink. I don’t know if there is a big difference because electic is use with the dishwasher. So, IMA it only saves water… and the convience of not having to stand there and waste time doing the dishes. 🙂  I could be doing something better than standing in front of the sink. For me it works. 🙂  I have been without one for a short period of time and it was frustrating for me to spend the time doing a meaningless chore when I could be doing something more fun… 🙂

                     Don’t know if I am much help. 🙂

                                           BLessings..:)

    momto2blessings
    Participant

    I have no idea about the math, but I’d have to be hard pressed to give my dishwasher up:)

    4myboys
    Participant

    I think it depends a lot of the efficency of your dishwasher and whether or not it’s full when you use it.  If you hand wash dishes three times a day verse run the dish washer once a night you may very well use more water.  Many of the newer ones are likely more energy efficient.  However, I don’t use mine any more because I’m not satified with the job it does.  I’ve tried a few different detergents, but I’m not thrilled with how it rinses.  I’d be happy to hear any suggestions on that front. 

    Tristan
    Participant

    We’ve done both and with 9 people in the house, most of whom still need a lot of my time (seven age 10 and under), I prefer the dishwasher. Especially because I’ve taught the children how to load and unload it! LOL.

    Misty
    Participant

    Dishwasher all the way.  As Tristan said we have 9 and they can do the dishwasher stuff alone.  If we were hand washing I’d end up doing it all the time or it would all be either dirty or greasy.  So I would not go without my dishwasher and yes the newer models are more water efficient and I run mine ONLY when it’s full to the max.

    Never had a dishwasher in England, only the newer homes have them, and ours was 350 years old, so no room for one, so handwashing is normal for me. We have a dishwasher here and I use it now and then, about 50/50 I guess, but mostly only if I have a lot of items. Anything small I do by had, and I never put glass or wooden items in the dishwasher. I only use glass storage and mixing bowls and wooden utensils so those always get done by hand, along with my mum’s Le Creuset which I inherited…some things are better hand washed.

    4myboys
    Participant

    Wow! 350 year old home.  Imagine the history that home would have seen! 

    RobinP
    Participant

    We milk cows and get 14 gallons of milk a day.  Between washing jars, buckets and strainers plus our dishes, I would be at the sink all day if I did them by hand.  On average, my dishwasher runs 3-4 times a day.

    pangit
    Participant

    I wouldn’t need to run it more than 1x/day unless we made a meal that really used a lot of extra dishes to cook.  My girls, 6 and 8, usually do the dishes after lunch every day.  They do a pretty good job.  My original plan had been to only use the dishwasher when we had company or a lot of dishes, but I just got to thinking that maybe I wasn’t really saving anything since I have to hand wash 3x a day versus dishwasher 1x a day.  Maybe I’ll see how the first bill or two turn out versus what I am used to paying.  I sure don’t mind having less to do!!

    petitemom
    Participant

    I use the dishwasher but wash the pots and pans by hand appart from Pyrex ones. I do not put any plastic, a friend of mine said it lets out chemicals so I just don’t but didn’t really research the subject, just not taking a chance!

    Kristen
    Participant

    I have never had a dishwasher. And I just say that I have four dish washers in training! They say you can’t miss what you’ve never had, but this post is making me miss it 🙂 I use a dish pan for the rinse water also so it isn’t always running from the faucet and down the drain, but I don’t know how efficient it is. I don’t have a choice though.

    LindseyD
    Participant

    We are a family of four and still run the dishwasher 1-2 times per day. I HATE washing dishes!!! Innocent In fact, I am the person who will leave dirty dishes in the sink if the dishwasher is full, run it, unload it, reload what I left, and run it again. I really value my time, and if I have to weigh in the balance dish washing or doing something else with a bit more meaning, I’m going to choose the latter every time! I have already gone backward in our food choices: soaking/sprouting grain, grinding my own flour, lacto-fermenting, brewing kombucha, clabbering raw milk for curds and whey, making all our food from scratch…something has to give sometimes! Praise the Lord for dishwashers!

    meagan
    Participant

    I’ve been without a dishwasher for about 7-8 years out of the almost 9 years that my hubby and I have been together.  We didn’t have one, briefly had one, and then when we moved into our current home 5+ years ago, went back to not having one. 

    I cannot stand washing dishes.  There was a brief 3 month period where I had gotten so sick of it tha I actually switched to all paper/plastic plates, bowls, cups, and utensils, so I wouldn’t have to wash so many dishes.  Our house is too old and too small for a dishwasher, so I just dream of the day that we can move into a newer/spacier home!

    jeaninpa
    Participant

    We were without a diswasher for a year after we moved and before we redid the kitchen.  It was actually pretty easy for me to get along without one although I do like it a lot when we have guests.  The one thing I really noticed and that surprised me was that when we didn’t have one, many more dishes were broken because my kids were washing and drying!

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
  • The topic ‘Hand wash or dishwasher?’ is closed to new replies.