I've just been reading a bit of Richard's section on Green living, and I was very interested to see that research on the water use of dishwashers.
I have heard many times that they use less water than washing by hand, and I thought it was just a sales pitch invented by the dishwasher manufacturers!!!
I was amazed to see some of the average water usages in the report were as high as, or more than, 100 litres !!!! That does seem like a lot of water to hand wash dishes. I guess it must be people running the tap full blast to wash individual things, without filling the sink. I would love to know how much I used to use to hand wash when I wasn't on rainwater tanks! (probably a lot more than I imagine )
At the moment I only do one wash per day and that about half fills the (very big) kitchen sink. I think that would be about the same as the dishwashers' quoted figures (around maybe 16 litres average). Maybe less.
So the reason I am pondering all this is because I was wondering how environmentally destructive it would be to get a dishwasher in the house we are going to build! I think at the end of the day one less appliance has got to be a good thing, but if I get a water and power efficient model it won't be too bad an option. Maybe a good, efficient, secondhand one? That's a bit greener! (and more frugal!)
I used to think Dishwashers were just a 'gadget', even a kind of status thing.
I 'd see the value that in modern society and living they are a good timesaver for larger families though.
I think a lot of it is that some people wash as they go. I don't like sitting down to eat knowing I've got pans to wash afterwards so tend to do them before hand.
This can be un-friendly because I'm tending to wash bit and bit.
However, although I don't go into things a lot on those pages, I did really look into it and researched around quite a lot of sources and it surprise me as well.
A lot must depend on the size of the family, but for the larger home, busy couple, they are very good and eco-friendly as well.
Just the initial outlay.
On that section overall, it isn't always of direct benefit (outlay wise) to your own home and fuel costs etc, it's looking at the bigger picture.
Space of course is the other consideration as you say.
At work in the Club Kitchen last night I did the 3-course meal plus coffees for 40 people washing up using only about one large sink full of water.
To wash the six large flat pans and two large saucepans, I probably used three times that much.
Therefore if you have a water meter (here in UK all new houses have a meter system) they are cost effective.
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We have a dishwasher, and use it about every other day, as there is only the two of us. I am sure that we use less water.
But it is having to have enough crockery to do that, that may be a problem
Wendy
I have to agree with Wendy about the crockery, but my problem is I run out of pots & pans first! When I bought the house I live in now, the previous owner was unable to take the dishwasher and I find I can't live without it now. I also have what was/is Economy 7 so even my electricity bill should be better off for it - its just a case of remembering to set it going as soon as I get up in the early hours of morning.
In our house it depends who washes up. OH does a lot of rinsing under running taps, and would if we had a dishwasher.
And some people do a rinse cycle every time they put something in the dishwasher, to stop it getting smelly while waiting for it to fill up. Or do a wash before it's full, so thay's not efficient.
So like everything else it's depends on the person to be aware and concerned.
I have had a dishwasher for many years now. I didnt want one, but my husband did. I must admit I wouldnt be without it now.
I dont think it saves you time, what with stacking and unstacking, but it redistributes your time, so when you have had a meal you dont have to stand and wash up.
I try to put mine on on the economy 7 time, but must admit I am to say it is not every time.
Just remember if you do get one that your largest plate can be put in it without being bashed by the whirly in the middle that spins round. We had one and it chipped a lot of my plates. So when ours needed renewing I made certain (took a plate with me) to check it was the correct depth at the bottom to accommodate my largest plate!
Thanks Gwenoakes that's a good thing to remember about the plates - I actually had that problem in the last house I was in !!!
It did have a dishwasher but our large plates just managed to be a bit big for it.
When we had that one I thought it didn't really save time, as you had to take so long to stack it. Now that I'm back to hand washing I think it really did save time It does depend on how many dishes and how you normally would do them by hand I guess.
Couldn't live without my dishwasher now. when I lived alone, I'd only wash up when I'd used the last plate. When I moved in with my husband, he generally washed up.
Now it's great - just fill it up with dirty dishers, put it on overnight to save on electricity bills, and hey presto. I generally empty it as I go along, and my hubby empties it whilst he's watching the cats eat their meals, so it' snot wasting too much time.
(otherwise they'd steal each others food, and one is on a prescription diet, and the other on medication, so that wouldn't be a good idea!)
we used to row over the washing up
not now
we just tell the kids to empty the dishwasher
then we row over who put the things back into the proper places
becaues the kids always do it wrong!
"The trouble with quotes over the Internet is that you never know if they are genuine." -- Abraham Lincoln
I used to think they were some sort of useless gadget, since owning one I would not like to be without it.
I bought a new model last year that is very energy efficient and the middle basket is movable up or down to accommodate larger items in the bottom. The cutlery tray is uppermost and much better than a holder - takes up less space.
I run it every day even though there are only two of us and use an economy programme.
We had no thought of getting a dishwasher until we had an extension and new kitchen about 6 years ago. You would have thought that with a family of 5 this would be a natural addition. But in all that time we have only used it about a dozen times. I am not sure why. Given that people generally follow the line of least resistance, why do we seem to find it easier to hand wash? It just does not seem to fit into our routine. We wash up as we go along and never let it pile up. I hear a lot of people say they would never do without one so I am not sure what we are doing 'wrong'. I have puzzled over this for a while.
Morph i sympathise with you having to feed your cats different meals - mine are absolute little terrors in that respect! I usually try at all costs to avoid giving them different meals because of course the SECOND your back is turned they are eating each other's food! (oh and always when you've just run out of the special food)
Of course this isn't always avoidable with various health issues, and I've had my fair share of wanting to strangle them for their contrary eating sometimes!!! (I just go off and shout at the world in general instead of actually strangling them
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