Dishwater versus handwashing?

Question

Our area has been experiencing a drought and I've become very conscious of our water usage. I was wondering if anyone knew whether it uses more water (and energy) to wash a load in the dishwasher once daily (we don't use the heat drying cycle), or to wash by hand twice daily. I grew up handwashing, and use the dirty water on the plants outside, but maybe the dishwasher is a better option? We're on a well, so we don't see any difference in our city bill either way.

Answer 1

If the dishwasher is full it uses less water than hand washing. This is because everything in it is being rinsed art once.

Answer 2

depends on how many dishes your talking about. one dish doesn't take much to hand wash. 100 dishes may be less water use done by machine.

Answer 3

I would bet you that the dishwasher uses less water.

Look in the manual for your dishwasher - the amount of water it consumes should be printed in their.

The heat drying cycle does not contribute to the water usage.