Hand wash dishes or use a dish washer?

Question

Which one is better for the environment and used less water?

Answer 1

Hand wash is better for the environment! It helps you burn calories too. You use less water, less energy and it keeps you from getting lazy!

Answer 2

defintely a dish washer ...c u need to use detergent for both but if dish washer is use then,time will besaved n energy too

Answer 3

I hand wash and use my dishwasher. I think it comes down to what kind of soap product you are using. Less and non- harming suds. Also, it's great to have energy saving dishwasher and not have water running while hand washing.

Answer 4

You will use less water if you wash by hand in one sink ... rinse in the other...do not let the water run as it uses atleast  three times as much water...the amount in your sinks depends on your amount of dishes....if it is a great deal of dishes ( parties, family get togethers, etc., then fill that dishwasher full and let it spin....

Answer 5

I don't have a dishwasher. I am the dishwasher! I wash all the day's dishes at the same time in the evening. I use one plastic basin of hot water with about a tablespoon of dishwashing liquid. I  wash the glasses first, dishes second, silverware, next, pots and pans next, and the range burner plates last. I leave the soap suds on the plates I have washed and stack them in the sink next to the basin until I need more room or I am finished. Then I turn the watertap on to barely more than a trickle and use COLD water to rinse everything. I once tried this technique to see how much water I used compared to starting with a full rinsing basin. The trickle method used less water. I don't think any washing machine, no matter how efficient, can use less energy/water than I do. On the other hand I spend about one hour cleaning the dishes, drying them with a towel, putting them away and cleaning the mess my wife made all over the kitchen counters and range top (we are only three people in our family). I find the time I wash the dishes to be meditation time. If we had a washing machine, I would probably waste the time I saved on silly TV sitcoms.

Answer 6

i use hands, as im not lazy... although a dishwasher can be more convenient at times... id say hand washing is better for the environment and uses less water....although water usage could be around the same amount depending on the user

Answer 7

I don't know. I wash dishes by hand with the water running full blast.

Answer 8

In this case it's kind of a catch 22 situation because in order to wash the dishes you need to expend valuable drinking water while at the same time consider whether or not to expend the energy used in a dishwasher.  Personally I hand wash but with a minimal amount of water because it doesn't take a lot of water to wash dishes.

Answer 9

Hand washing uses much less energy and a little less detergent.

but dishwashers are sooo easy !

Answer 10

dishwasher

Answer 11

It has been proven that washing dishes in an energy efficient dishwasher saves more water, and also gets them cleaner.  The dishwasher must be energy efficient though and you need to use soap that is phosphate free.  You should only use the dishwasher when it is full or near full.

Answer 12

Particularly if you have a relatively new dishwasher, I've always heard the average person will be using noticeably less water and energy if they use a dishwasher.  Automation, in general, tends to reduce waste -- I don't know why washing dishes would be any different in that regard from the industrial processes I'm more familiar with.

Answer 13

Assuming you have a modern energy efficient dish washer, load it completely before use, and you use no water to prewash them (scraping will get most of the food off) then the dishwasher will use less water, energy, get the dishes cleaner.

Answer 14

Dishwashers use less water I am told. Especially the wasteful way I hand wash dishes, rinsing each dish under the running faucet one by one.

Answer 15

I do both, I guess that's not the best thing for the environment!

Answer 16

Dogs can l**k any dish clean, and they don't use that much water.

Answer 17

i heard that dish washer saves more energy than hand wash if you wash many plates at one go of course. but i am not sure myself.

Answer 18

lots of people think that hand washing is better and uses less water but that is NOT true! an energy star dishwasher is a MUCH better choice - and much easier and less time consuming too!! [plus no pruney finger!s =]

Answer 19

Ok, you want to save the environment, but also keep your dishes clean. If you have pots and pans hand wash them. Dishes and glasses need to be put into the dishwasher.

P.S. Some people wash water bottles in the dishwasher!

GO GREEN!

Answer 20

I think washing a load in the dishwasher is better.

Especially if your hands don't work well.

It makes sense to me because it sanitizes and kills germs.

I sometimes add a little bleach, it helps to keep the interior clean to, and I feel better doing it that way.

Answer 21

Dishwashers never made sense to me because I was always being told to rinse my plate first. In my thinking, you're doing the dishes twice. Not to mention, to really conserve, you'd have to wait until a full load to wash. I wash dishes twice a day, takes less time to do so than a dishwasher, and I can recycle the dish & rinse water in the garden (helps reduce bug population + water plants & flowers)

We have our water heater up, so the water is boiling hot, and after a minute or two of soaking, I get in with my kitchen gloves & scrubbie-doesn't even take 15 minutes (compared to the shortest cycyle on a washer??)

I turn on the radio and before I realize it, the kitchen is clean (at least for a few minutes-family of 4!)

Answer 22

I have 3 dishwashers,..ages 14,16 and 9

Answer 23

If you have a full load and an energy saver dishwasher, use it.  If you've got just a few, handwash.  And keep them all to rinse at once, not leaving the water running to rinse.

Answer 24

Use the dishwasher preferably one thats an energy saver and water saver.