Sink or dishwasher?

Question

Which one uses less water? i have to design a water efficient house and i'm not sure which one to put in.

Answer 1

A dishwasher.  It uses half the energy, 1/6 of the water, and not as much soap.

Plus, while you have your dishwasher running, you can get other things done around the house.

Answer 2

dishwasher. no doubt because they make energy saving dishwasher and if you think about it you have to fill up the sink to wash the dishes and then you have to run more water to rinse them. i started out with a sink and then put a dishwasher in the house and my water bill went down by 25% so that told me the dishwasher used less water...hope i helped and have a great day

Answer 3

sink

Answer 4

Both could be if used properly.  Dishwashers are avaiable that do not use much energy and you will not have to prewash.  Just don't use the heavy duty wash cycle.  Most average household use does not need to utilize this setting.

Look at a large water heater also.  This will cut down on expense of having to heat smaller batches of water more frequently.  

If you can think of a way to add solar energy too.  If your doing one might as well go for the gusto.

Answer 5

I've always heard dishwashers are a lot more efficient. . . think of how much water it takes if you're always rinsing off the dishes after they've been in the sink you also have filled with water.  Now repeat for the number of times that it takes for the average family to fill up a dishwasher. . . see what I mean?

Since you're looking at designing a new house, that would presumably mean you're also looking at a new dishwasher.  They seem to be getting more and more efficient all the time, so you might even try looking at some and see how much water they actually are supposed to be using vs. any estimates you see for doing the dishes in a sink several times if you like having real #'s to compare.