simple + green

Ever wonder whether washing dishes by hand uses less water than using the dishwasher?

I stumbled on some good research on the debate, and have an answer.

TreeHugger points towards a dishwashing study done in Bonn, Germany. The results are decisive!

The Bonn study proves that the dishwasher uses only half the energy and one-sixth of the water, less soap too. Even the most sparing and careful washers could not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also rated the cleanliness achieved, again in favor of the washing machine…

Here is how each system fared: handwash versus dishwasher.

The study found the average handwasher used 103 litres of water and 2.5 kilowatt hours of water-heating energy, while the appliances used 15 litres of water and between 1 and 2 kilowatt hours, depending on the wash cycle.

In non-metric terms, the handwasher used 27.2 gallons to the dishwasher’s 3.9 gallons!

This post at Green Living Online covers information from the same study, with a few extra considerations.

Their main tips:
* Owning an energy-efficient dishwasher that always runs fully loaded is great, but air-drying your dishes after the wash cycle can further reduce power use.
* Reducing the number of dishes you use will create even greater savings.
* Biodegradable dish soap is heavily recommended to decrease environmental impact.

I covered eco-friendly cleaning agents in a previous post.

The consensus: use eco-friendly dishwashing liquid and load up your dishwasher. You may just be saving energy and water. Not to mention time (now go relax!).