Waterwise dishwashing
Jun 12th, 2008 by learningumbrella
We don’t own a dishwasher, and it’s been something I’ve gone around and around on. On the one hand, it seems convenient when I’m at other people’s houses to just set that dirty dish in the washer. But I don’t like the noise they make, they are ugly in the kitchen, they take up valuable cupboard space, and I’m convinced they are worse for the environment. But some people say that, in fact, a good dishwasher uses less water than the average person doing dishes by hand. Or some people say that handwashing is more efficient.
Either way you slice it, I’m still not convinced about those machines. Call me a luddite, but I don’t trust “labor-saving” devices in general, and I like to do things by hand. So, I felt guilty for not using a dishwasher (just to prove that we can feel guilty about anything) and thus, harming the environment and producing less-clean dishes. I brainstormed ways to improve my dishwashing routine, and now I feel good about it.
The first thing I did to cut back on water use, is to not plug the sink and soak the dishes. Instead I just fill one bowl or pot with cool soapy water. I use eco-friendly soap, and limit myself to one small squirt.
Meanwhile, I boil a kettle of water on the stove top.
With my washcloth, I scrub each item and set in the draining rack, without further rinsing. It helps to wash immediately after use, so the food isn’t dried onto the dishes. No procrastinating!
After the dishes are scrubbed, use the boiling hot water to rinse them. This does require handling the cups and bowls again to swish the water around inside, but everything else can just sit in the rack and get the boiling water poured over the whole thing. I let it all air-dry in the rack, with some overflow going on a towel to dry if it was a big load.
Total water use is usually about 15 cups of water for a load. Energy use is whatever it takes to boil my tea kettle. I do this 2-3 times a day, and I’ve got all my dishes clean!
Hi
Great post. The method you have described is very efficient, however it also possible to be both water and energy efficient using a dishwasher, some of the new ones can use as little as 6 litres to wash 15 place settings. Of course they are only as efficient as the user and if you use them to wash 1 cup they will still use 6 litres. At Waterwise we advise people to ensure they have a full load and to wipe food residue off the dishes before they go in the dishwasher rather than rinsing them. And in terms of handwashing this can be very effiienct as long as you dont rinse or wash under a running tap as this can use 12 litres a minute which adds up to a lot of water.
Thanks Jacob
This is pretty much how my mom washes dishes. Me, I’m a bad girl…I let the water just run while I do dishes….um, ya, I gotta make some changes, huh?
I’ve been meaning to write a similar post. I started handwashing dishes last year because I reduced our dishes to the bare necessities. Little by little, I took away pieces of storage containers, mismatched dishes, and plastic (just a few non BPA IKEA pieces for the little guy). I put them in a box and figured out how to live without them.
Anyway, when you don’t have many dishes, it is eaiser to handwash the ones you do use so they are ready for the next meal. I’m not as concerned about sanitizing them as you describe. I rinse only after I have washed all the dishes. I love handwashing because the dishes actually feel cleaner to me. My least favorite household task was to empty the dishwasher and now I don’t have too.
Great post. I hope it helps others consider the merits of living without a dishwasher.
Oh my Id be lost without my dishwasher. I’ll take any labor saving device I can get.
Sounds like a great system. I have a dishwasher but it is like a game to me to see how I can avoid using it. Since I like to clean I enjoy handwashing.
Great blog BTW!
We don’t have a dishwasher either, I use a similar method to yours. Good to not feel alone!
Very fine description of what we do in our home. It is the best method to save water and energy in my opinion. I find it especially useful to use the pot of water since it allows me to clean some very dirty dishes without getting the soapy (warm, in my case) water so dirty that I have to replace it often.
The part I do not understand is the boiling water. Why boiling? Or even hot? It dries slower with cold water, but it will dry.
Karsten
http://www.polluteless.com
Practical Advice to Pollute Less
Karsten,
I use the boiling water in order to get the dishes cleaner. I have a lot of bottle and sippy cup lids, etc., and that blast of boiling water gets everything nice and super clean. Also, I’m technically required to use a very hot rinse by the regulations for my daycare license.
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