Using a dishwasher in a one-person household?

Chris94

I'm contemplating the idea of investing in a dishwasher - sounds better than having dishes build up throughout the week and wasting an hour every few days washing up or dealing with the hassle of washing every day.

But I'm unsure about the efficiency of using a dishwasher when I live by myself. In order to reach a full load it would take at least 3 or 4 days and I still wouldn't be able to put pots, pans and such in it. Also is it ok to leave dirty dishes in the dishwasher for up to a week? I wouldn't be surprised if the grub hardens and doesn't wash off in the dishwasher.

mattk_180

I wouldn't want to leave dishes in dirty water for any period of time, let alone a week. But maybe that's just me.


A dishwasher just seems like it would be totally inefficient for one person. Would you not rather save money by not buying a dishwasher and just spending a few minutes each day washing stuff as you use it?


As long as you only use enough water for what you need, I imagine it would be a lot cheaper than the energy a dishwasher would use together with the cost of actually buying one.


There's only myself and 1 other in the house I'm about to move in to and even then I will only have a dishwasher because there is one built in. I wouldn't buy one personally unless you have a family where you'd have to do several manual washes a day.

Cardew

Disagree with the post above.

IMO a dishwasher makes perfect sense for a single person household.

There have been trials that show that a dishwasher is more economical than washing by hand; this would apply even more so when saving lots of hand washing-up sessions.

However life isn't about saving a penny here or a penny there, the sheer convenience and time saving is more of a factor in my book, not to mention sparkling glasses and crockery.

P.S.
Why cant you put in pots and pans?

mattk_180

That's fair enough, was only giving my opinion, you're more than welcome to disagree.


Didn't know all the ins and outs myself which is why I only said I imagine it is cheaper. Just goes to show how maybe the pre-conception of doing things by hand is cheaper is maybe outdated.


Personal preference though I would still rather do it myself if it was only me rather than shell out for a machine to do it and then let it all build up until it's worthwhile putting on. Obviously others will prefer the opposite.

Sosumi

Cardew wrote: »

Disagree with the post above.

IMO a dishwasher makes perfect sense for a single person household.

There have been trials that show that a dishwasher is more economical than washing by hand; this would apply even more so when saving lots of hand washing-up sessions.

However life isn't about saving a penny here or a penny there, the sheer convenience and time saving is more of a factor in my book, not to mention sparkling glasses and crockery.

P.S.
Why cant you put in pots and pans?

Presumably, because s/he hasn't got enough pots and pans left with which to "cook" if s/he starts accumulating them, dirty, in a dishwasher for a week.

I would be more concerned about his/her concept of hygiene than his/her economics.

One wouldn't want to be anyone whom s/he invites round for a meal. :eek:

Chris94 wrote: »

I'm contemplating the idea of investing in a dishwasher - sounds better than having dishes build up throughout the week and wasting an hour every few days washing up or dealing with the hassle of washing every day.

But I'm unsure about the efficiency of using a dishwasher when I live by myself. In order to reach a full load it would take at least 3 or 4 days and I still wouldn't be able to put pots, pans and such in it. Also is it ok to leave dirty dishes in the dishwasher for up to a week? I wouldn't be surprised if the grub hardens and doesn't wash off in the dishwasher.

lisa110rry

Well, when my husband is away, I am a one-person household. I rinse dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and running it every three or four days. I like the fact that the dishwasher uses much hotter water than I could tolerate, indeed hotter water than comes out of my hot tap, as I have the temperature of the hot tap on my combi-boiler set to the perfect temp for shower and bath so as to be fuel efficient as both my washing machine and dishwasher are cold feed.

You can't beat a dishwasher for sparkling clean dishes.

DigForVictory

My parents like the way the dishwasher not only leaves plates etc clean but also, judiciously timed, hot. No need to microwave them to take the chill off.
Two of them, though.

Tammykitty

When my husband is away, I am a single person household, and I still use the dishwasher.


I use the rinse cycle on days when I don't do the full wash cycle

[Deleted User]

Don't own enough dishes to leave things.

Hand wash as we go along

lydriver

Wash as soon as finished with plates/cutlery/etc, much easier to wash before the food dries in. Usually leave on the dish rack then use same plate etc next time.
Dont see how a dishwasher could save time tbh!

Sosumi

By dishwasher or by hand, everything is washed within hours (and usually immediately) after use in our household. The cost of that is subservient to the hygiene of it.