this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2025
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Is there a real difference in water and electricity consumption? Personally, I don't use a lot of water to wash my dishes (by hand), but maybe I should install a flow meter to make sure.

What is your opinion on the subject? Do you have any evidence or studies available that could confirm your intuition? Or do you have other alternatives in mind?

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[–] lime@feddit.nu 47 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

dishwasher. it uses way less water than even filling the sink once. it obviously uses more electricity than doing it by hand though. you gotta think about the value of the time saved as well.

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 17 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Depends whether you wash in hot or cold water. If you use more hot water washing dishes by hand then it'll consume more electricity too.

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[–] Berengaria_of_Navarre@lemmy.world 39 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I have 4 children. I would literally sell a kidney to buy a dishwasher, if I couldn't afford one. Fuck washing dishes by hand. Anyone who doesn't agree with me is either brain damaged or a masochist.

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[–] chris@l.roofo.cc 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Everything into the dishwasher. Why would I waste my time with washing dishes. Dishwashers are more efficient and often more hygienic because of higher temperatures and optimized wash and rinse cycles. I put everything in there, even the stuff that doesn't belong. Apart from my good knives. I hate washing by hand...

One tip though: if your machine is connected to hot water. Let the hot water on the tap run until the water is hot. This helps the machine get a better cleaning result.

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Wouldn't the first batch of lukewarm water just be used for the prewash/rinse cycle? So it doesn't matter if it's fully hot yet or not.

[–] Tenniswaffles@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Oh boy do I have a video for you. This guy has done a whole series on dishwashers and how to get the most out of them. Highly recommend them.

https://youtu.be/DAX2_mPr9W8

[–] underreacting@literature.cafe 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks, I was wondering what to waste my weekend on this time around!

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's not entirely waste if you learn something!

[–] AnAverageSnoot@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago

I don't even need to open the link to know it's Technology Connections. Love that guy!

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[–] TechnoCat@piefed.social 17 points 2 months ago

Dishwasher. I've done hand washing and dishwashing depending on where I'm living each year. Dishwasher does a better job than me, uses less water than me, and saves me time. I run it at night and put away the dishes in the morning.

[–] burrito@sh.itjust.works 17 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Dishwashers are definitely the way to go. They use less water than hand washing (source: https://www.popsci.com/environment/science-of-using-dishwasher-vs-handwashing/).

I'm so firmly in the dishwasher camp that I installed a second dishwasher in my kitchen a few years ago and it has been one of the best upgrades I ever made on my house. I don't think I'll ever be able to live somewhere with a single dishwasher again.

Also, there's no need to buy any expensive pods or dishwasher detergent. The cheap store brand powder detergent works the best. Personally I use the Great Value brand powdered detergent and have been very satisfied with it. I do not pre rinse any dishes either. I just lazily scrape off my dishes in the garbage and put them straight in the dishwasher.

If you do go the dishwasher route, be sure to do your research and get a good dishwasher if you have a choice. I went with Bosch dishwashers based on reviews from Consumer Reports and have been highly satisfied with their performance. They're so quiet my wife sometimes opens them mid cycle and gets a surprise. I find this hilarious because they shine a red spot on the floor to let you know that it is running.

[–] onlyhalfminotaur@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Hello fellow Technology Connections watcher.

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[–] Jentu@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 months ago

Technology Connections and his stranglehold on dishwasher conversations lol

I use a dishwasher. It's easier and uses less water.

[–] JASN_DE@feddit.org 11 points 2 months ago

Machine, except those items that cannot go in (mostly wood and good knives)

[–] JakoJakoJako13@piefed.social 10 points 2 months ago

By hand. I've only lived in a place with a dishwasher for 1 year. During that time I felt like the dishes never got truly clean. Like if shit was stuck to a plate or bowl it would need manual intervention. If a pan sat for a day and shit got really caked on it wasn't even worth putting it in the dish washer. I don't see how it saves on water either. Like I don't leave the water running while I wash the dishes. I don't fill the sink. I rinse a plate. Turn the water off. Scrub it down. Rinse it again. Water is on for maybe 5-10 seconds a dish. Scrubbing does all the work.

Mentally, it's kinda like taking a shower in the sense that my mind goes to a completely different place and all things that bothered me before are flushed out. That change in activity or environment really lets me process shit in a way that meling in front of a screen doesn't.

[–] communism@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

By hand. I don't have a dishwasher. The place I rent didn't come with one, and I don't have the space for my own (plus no money). I think I've only ever met one person with a dishwasher, although I suppose I wouldn't know if someone has one unless I either go to their house or they bring it up. I don't see the issue with doing dishes by hand, and I pay a flat rate for water so water usage is not a concern to me.

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[–] thericofactor@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 months ago

What am I, a caveman?

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 8 points 2 months ago

Dishwasher. It saves a fuck ton of time. I've heard it saves water, but I haven't seen studies. I have a hard time believing it could use more if it's full. Regardless, it's faster. I hate chores. Make machines do them.

[–] Mongostein@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 months ago

Dishwasher for dishes, pots and pans get scrubbed by hand, simply because I can fit 6 or 7 plates in the same space pots take while it only takes a few seconds to scrub a pot.

[–] AnAverageSnoot@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 months ago

Dishwasher! Only my cast iron and stainless steel as well as my knives by hand. I spend too much effort sharpening them to throw them in the dishwasher.

[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 months ago

Dishwashers are superior to handwashing in basically every regard, and as such I lean towards it for everything in my kitchen that can handle it.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 6 points 2 months ago

dishwasher.

[–] MarieMarion@literature.cafe 6 points 2 months ago

Recently, I was house-sitting for friends, and the dishwasher broke. I had to pause it every few minutes to empty the water by hand. It amounted to 2 shallow oven dishes' worth of water. And not filled to the brim, either: I had to be able to bring them to the sink without spilling.
It was a really, really small quantity of water.

[–] GreyShuck@feddit.uk 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I have read comparisons in the past. I don't have them to hand, but the conclusion was that dishwashers were more efficient in terms of water use and energy. However, the type of hand-washing that it was being compared to was itself a very inefficient style of washing (tap running continuously? two full sinks for rinsing? I can't recall, but not the way that we do).

So handwashing the way we do is probably more efficient but it seems that there isn't THAT much in it either way, and given the time taken and that we cook from scratch almost all the time, we use a dishwasher for the vast bulk of stuff.

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[–] Sal@mander.xyz 6 points 2 months ago

By hand. We are only two people, and we usually clean after we cook/eat. When one is cleaning only 2 plates + a pot/pan at a time, it is easy to use little water. Spray of soap, metal scrub, sponge scrub, and then turn the tap on to rinse for a few seconds. Utensils get individually scrubbed and then all rinsed together for a few seconds.

Maybe when we have kids a dish washer will make sense.

[–] AstroLightz@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Dishwasher for sure. Many years ago, I had a dishwashing job where I had to wash everything by hand, and that made me really appreciate dishwashers ever since.

[–] octobob@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago

By hand. Haven't had a dishwasher or air conditioning for at least 10 years

[–] thejoker954@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Both.

I tend to wash the larger stuff by hand so it's not wasting so much space in the dishwasher.

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[–] sudoer777@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I use a dishwasher, but half of the dishes either don't get cleaned or aren't dishwasher safe so I have to wash by hand. I tried cleaning the filter, using detergent in the prewash, and running the water until it's hot before starting the dishwasher, and none of it did shit.

[–] Skysurfer@slrpnk.net 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You are they lucky one today! Here is just the video for all your dishwasher woes!

[–] Xavienth@lemmygrad.ml 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's been a while since I watched that video, but didn't the person you reply to address every point stated in the video?

The only other point not stated in the video (but is mentioned in the more recent video) is to not use a brand that also sells pods, because they're likely making the powder shittier to upsell you on pods.

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[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 5 points 2 months ago

Teeny tiny kitchen, I don't have the space to put a dishwasher, not even a small one on the countertop.

[–] blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

By hand.

One of my first jobs was a KP so I'm used to washing by hand.

Yes we had a dishwasher, had to prewash everything because it was so shit.

Also, never, ever put a chefs knives through the dishwasher.

I wash as I go when cooking because it's much easier and you're not left with a load of minging dirty dishes after a meal

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[–] Borger@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I do it by hand because I rent a small 1 bedroom flat. Those don’t typically have dishwashers here.

My last place had one though, and what an absolute godsend. I’ll definitely get one when/if I ever buy my own place.

[–] AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 3 points 2 months ago

They make countertop dishwashers that connect to your sink, still better than washing by hand imo

[–] nfreak@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 months ago

Both because the dishwasher in our apartment sucks ass and always leaves like 5 things that need to be redone by hand.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 2 months ago

I use the dishwasher for everything that can go in there, because I especially like the sanitization cycle.

When I worked at a summer camp, they had a commercial dishwasher that was amazing and could do a load / tray of dishes in about 45 seconds. But I don't think this was particularly water saving. I could be wrong, but that was my favorite dishwasher ever.

[–] megane_kun@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Dishwashers are not a thing where I live.

I wash my dishes in at least two passes. First (optional) pass is to remove the gunk, no soap, as little water as possible. Second is to apply soap, with just enough water to wet the surface for the soap to work. Third pass is the rinse, and this is where most of the water consumption happens. I plug the sink, put the soapy dishes in the sink, and let the slightly soapy water from the current item fill it, making sure that the rest of the items consume as little water as possible even in this step.

I think for an after dinner washing for a family of four, I take around 10 minutes for the entire thing.

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