Is an automatic dishwasher as water efficient as washing dishes by hand?

Question

Is an automatic dishwasher as water efficient as washing dishes by hand?

Answer 1

Well, it has always worked for me, as long as you don't stuff it too full.

Answer 2

if you're only washing one or two dishes then yes it's more water and energy efficient to wash by hand.

if you have a full load then it's more efficient to use the dishwasher.  (and if your dishwasher is taking an hour to wash the dishes--have your dishwasher checked or get one that is more up to date.)

Answer 3

They did a survey in UK about this and came out in favour of the dishwasher.  Apparently it used less water to do a full load than those dishes would have taken being hand washed.  so you are saving the planet by using your dishwasher!!  Yeah.

Answer 4

I admit that I don't have figures to back me up, but the DW takes almost an hour to do a 5 or 10 minute job.  If it's efficient, I sure don't see how.

Answer 5

Automatic dishwashers are more efficient than handwashing simply because they recirculate the water and whereas handwashing water is wasted down the drain and you run more waterwhen washing the dishes than a dishwasher uses Good Luck !

Answer 6

In my opinion, no. When washing dishes by hand, you know exactly how much water you are using. Some automatic dishwashers, though, do have water-saving features.

Answer 7

studies show that less water is used by a dishwasher than by hand, but only because most people leave the water running to rinse the dishes.

Answer 8

The dishwasher uses less water than hand washing. Even dishwasher without "water saver" features generally use much less water than hand-washing, even if you don't run the water while washing, and use minimal water to rinse, because the dishwasher pulls in a specific amount of water to mix with the detergent and circulates that around to wash, and then drains that and pulls in another amount of clean water to rinse. Usually all of the water put together is barely enough to fill a dish bucket.