Comments on: Dishwasher versus Hand-Washing

By: ecojoe

ecojoe — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:19:22 +0000

That's a good question — I didn't think about that side of its environmental impact, but it'd definitely affect its "greenness". Kudos to you, KTL, for pointing that out.

By: KTL

KTL — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:35:21 +0000

Has anyone calculated the full environmental cost of using a dishwasher–the materials used ot manufacture it and then disposal of the machine when it breaks down–considering that most kitchen appliances are now made to last for about 5 years or less? If you do not scrape or rinse your dishes before putting them in, the dishwasher breaks down even sooner. I would like to know if hand washing is more environmentally friendly than using a dishwasher given the planned early obsolesence of dishwashers.

By: James H Thomson

James H Thomson — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:07:05 +0000

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By: Christian Aube

Christian Aube — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:05:11 +0000

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By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:28:15 +0000

Wow, you based the handwashing/dishwasher decision on the cost of the soap? Do you realize how many loads you get out of either purchase? It comes down to mere cents per load, whichever way you go. So, science shows that a dishwasher is more efficient, but it's worth $0.08 per load to you to stand at the sink for 30 minutes instead?

By: Carmen

Carmen — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:57:05 +0000

what about the true cleanliness of the dishes? which is healthier to eat off of? I'd bet the dishwasher kills more germs –which is why if there is some sick in my home I use the dishwasher. Just wonder if anyone has done a study ?

By: PMehta

PMehta — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 08:08:00 +0000

Let me be more specific with the article.. draw your own conclusions (energy efficiency, etc.), but I think that it is pretty disgusting to keep dish water around, seriously germs are one of the things that cleaning is about and adding germs to your dishes is less than ideal. To be honest, I do both though, with small loads wash by hand, medium-to-large loads I use the dishwasher.
OK, enough discourse, here is the link:
http://www.landtechnik.uni-bonn.de/ifl_research/i...

By: Mommyfrugal

Mommyfrugal — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:28:40 +0000

After reading I want to know is there any study that show hand washed is cleaner than machine washed? or vise verse .

When it come to our old apartment washer ;it doesn't do a good job. so we end up pre wash and clean some glasses or dishes that have been already washed by the washer.

In addition the dish washing liquid or gel for the washer is more expensive than the dish soap .

I prefer to hand wash but if its not as sanitized as the dishwasher .I might go back the the dish washer even though is as time consuming as the hand wash.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:25:08 +0000

It seems like everyone is forgetting to mention the cost of soap. Dishwasher detergent is far more expensive than dish soap, and you use more of it also. That is the main reason we started handwashing all of our dishes.

Also, most of these studies are assuming that you will put all of your dishes in the dish washer and never have to hand wash. Unless you buy a top of the line dishwasher, there are some things that will just never get clean in your dishwasher and you will have to wash them by hand any way. Even if we did use our dishwasher, we would still have to hand wash every day to clean the really caked on stuff, so why not wash them all while we're at it.

By: ecojoe

ecojoe — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:29:33 +0000

It all depends on how new (and efficient) the dishwasher is, and how the dishes are washed by hand. If you leave the water running the whole time you're rinsing dishes, then yeah, that definitely uses a lot of water.