I know, I know. The headline alone is going to spur some angry comments. Even some debate . Before you get up in arms, we have to go over the science, the opinions, and the facts surrounding this hotly contested subject.
Recently, a study revealed that yes, running your dishwasher does use less water than washing by hand. But how? And why did our parents and grandparents think otherwise? Let’s find out.
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Growing up, most of us were told one very important thing about the dishwasher:
Do NOT run it until it’s full. Better yet, hand-wash the dishes if you can. And make sure they’re mostly squeaky clean before they go in the dishwasher — that way the machine does less work.
Well, none of that is true.
According to the brand Cascade, dishwashers use less water than hand-washing. I KNOW. My mind has been blown, too. Apparently, even a small load is more efficient than hand-washing.
So, what are the stats on this?
According to Cascade, it takes the average person 15 seconds to wash one dish by hand. During that time, they use roughly half a gallon of water.
Even worse, a typical faucet will run through about four gallons of water in two minutes.
And get this:
An energy-efficient dishwasher uses that same amount of water (four gallons, if you’ll recall) to wash one load of dishes — even if it’s not a full load. So, the dishwasher doesn’t even have to be full for you to save water by running it.
However, it’s naturally more efficient to run a full load.
Not water wise, but time wise. The dishwasher will use the same amount of water no matter what, so it’s simply more efficient for you to wait until it’s full to run it.
Not everyone is on board with these facts, however.
Twitter had a HOT debate about handwashing versus using the dishwasher, which blows my mind. Do y’all not like saving time? Do you enjoy having pruny hands? Help me understand this.
A journalist even went as far as writing an entire article against the dishwasher.
“I put on headphones and listen to two to three songs. I sing to myself a little. My hands are wet so I can’t get distracted. It’s nice. I feel godly in a Quaker way, doing the sanctifying and simple work of cleaning,” Charlie Bardey wrote at Gawker .
I mean this is true.
People who live in cities (that includes me) will do a lot to wave away the odd things we do to fit our lives inside tiny apartments. But justifying washing dishes by hand? Get outta here.
In the end, the dishwasher reigns supreme.
As someone who had a single mom and no dishwasher as a kid, I did my time hand-washing dishes. I am NOT going back to it — you can pry my dishwasher from my non-pruny, moisturized hands.
