Dishwasher verses Washing-up

rach

jinkssick wrote:

I love dishwashiers. Only thing I could say negatively is that they start to smell when, theres only two of you and Im not putting on a wash for 3 plates, so we wait till its basically full and this could take 2 to 3 days. Smelly dishwasher becomes to be 'not nice'.

i put mine to come on the rinse cycle when its about half full which stops it smelling. i also put everything in now, i used to wash some stuff by hand but these days i think it all goes in the dw

Dobie

johnjp wrote:

DW on during off peak is much more economical and alot less time consuming.
Would you wash your clothes by hand?
By the way, as long as your meter is correct, off peak in winter months (GMT) is between 10.30 pm and 7.30 am. In summer 11.30 pm to 8.30 am. I try to stick to using those times for all the machines.

Don't like to condradict but off peak times vary according to where you live. I'm in the East Midlands area & mine is 1am - 8am regardless of the time of year.
The time doesn;t change because I have a modern electronic meter that changes automatically.

We've stopped using our dishwasher in the mistaken belief that we were being environmentally friendly & saving water. I've been reminded of why I wanted it in the first place (my husband believes that getting the big bits off is good enough LOL>)

Thanks for starting this thread, I'm going to start using it again.

johnjp

Dobie wrote:

Don't like to condradict but off peak times vary according to where you live. I'm in the East Midlands area & mine is 1am - 8am regardless of the time of year.
The time doesn;t change because I have a modern electronic meter that changes automatically.

I also have a new electronic meter installed only two weeks ago. I usually sit watching the telly adjacent to the meter (which is in a box outside) I can hear the meter clunk when it switches over to off peak at exactly 10:31pm and then hear the off peak immersion heater come on so I know it`s time to start the DW, WM or have a shower. The meter man who installed the meter assured me that the meter retains it`s time @ GMT (winter time) so the meter should ` clunk` at 11:30pm in summer. May I suggest you change to British Gas to take advantage of the longer, earlier off-peak times.

Spendi

I would never ever be without my dishwasher !!

I'm really bad, i dont care how much it costs to run - just the thought of having to put my hands in dirty yacky water and wash dishes again makes me feel sick !

jowie

Recent article:

https://www.annualcreditreport.co.uk/mailhandler.asp?display=dishwash

I'm still sceptical about all these articles that blindly tell everyone that using a dishwasher is more economical and more environmentally friendly. I do not have room for a dishwasher, but since there are only two of us, a couple of plates and maybe a saucepan or frying pan are all that we will use for one meal. Neither of us wish to have dirty crockery and pans sitting around in a machine for days until it is full, so we would be putting it on simply for those few items.

It may use less water, but how about the electricity it uses? How about the CO2 it took to make the dishwasher in the first place? If I use it twice a day, is it more or less environmentally friendly "in real terms" than washing up by hand?

Discuss...

ScorpioLady_2

I'm new to this board so please forgive me if this has been covered before.

Has there ever been an analysis made of hand washing up a household load of dishes compared to running one cycle of the dishwasher?

ie electricity for one cycle, full load, (no economy 7), suppose its just wishful thinking..........it must be moneysaving to wash the dishes by hand??

meanmarie

It is allegedly a proven fact that it is cheaper moneywise and ecologically to use a dishwasher...nor do you need to wash as many dishtowels! Someone else may have the exact figures.

Marie

~Chameleon~

I worked out that for me personally it's a lot cheaper to run a dishwasher than wash by hand, both in terms of water and energy used.

I used to have a bad habit of filling up a bowl with hot soapy water to 'let things soak' and then completely forget about it until it had gone cold so had to start over again with a new bowl of hot water :rotfl:

thriftlady_2

I don't have a dishwasher although relatives and friends swear by them. Apart from not wanting to give up a cupboard to house one, don't you need a lot of extra cutlery and crockery if you aren't going to run it more than once a day ? I only have 6 of everything (there are 5 of us) -we'd use it all up by lunchtime.

comping_cat

I love my dishwasher - i hate doing a couple of dishes (for example at breakfast 3 bowls, 3 spoons and 1 cup) but hate even more to see them waiting in the sink. With a dishwasher, you load it up, so all dirty dishes are hidden away, and then you put it on once it is full.

Yes, i do have lots of extra plates and cutlery (and most of it doesnt match, but that doesnt matter to us) but find it more economical to use a dishwasher - and better for the hands!!!

I was really pleased to see a few days ago on one of those Trevor McDonald programs that a carbon neutral lady (she was going around Roland Rivrons house, showing him where he could reduce his carbon footprint) when she got to the kitchen and saw the dishwasher, said she was really pleased. If you use a full dishwasher, it is more economical and carbon efficiant than hand washing.