How much does it cost, on average, to run one load of dishes through the dishwasher? How does a dishwasher compare to hand washing, in terms of water usage? Does a dishwasher continually take water from the tap or does it recycle water inside itself? Is the practice of ‘pre-washing’ dishes by hand a load of BS or is it really necessary?
If you want to use a dishwasher just to ‘rinse’ something, can you set the timer to halfway through the cycle like you can with a clothes washing machine? I tried to do this with my dishwasher and it made an unsettling noise so I stopped it immediately, but I’ve got someone insisting to me that it’s perfectly safe.
It’s my understanding that a fully loaded dishwasher is significantly more efficient than washing those dishes by hand. The cost would vary, but I believe all dishwashers sold these days in the US and Canada have to have a tag on them with average yearly cost.
Modern dishwashers, like modern washing machines, use only a small amount of water that they continually recirculate. I believe they use three fill cycles - rinse/wash/rinse - but that may vary depending on the model, manufacturer and cycle chosen.
Prewashing may or may not be necessary. Although the promotional material for my DW claims it is not, I’ve found there are certain substances (cream cheese and peanut butter come to mind) that the dishwasher cannot remove. Other substances (such as tomato sauce) are very difficult if they’ve been cooked on. Also, any large food items are going to cause the filter to clog more quickly, and may eventually end up being ground up and redeposited on the dishes.
Regarding rinsing, it sounds like you’re talking about one of the lower-end dial-controlled dishwashers. Yes, you can use them for rinsing (there should be a marking somewhere on the control). If you got an odd noise, maybe you turned the control in the wrong direction.
Most modern dishwashers have electronic pushbutton controls, and generally have a separate button labelled “rinse only”.
Thank you for the response, Running with Scissors, and congrats on the post count.
I’ve got little personal experience with Dishwashers since while growing up the adults in my family all insisted they were an ineffective and wasteful luxury. I was shocked getting my first apartment during college when my roommates loaded up the fairly old dishwasher with really, really encrusted dishes and they came out serviceably clean. I’m living with family again now, and the refusal to use the relatively new dishwasher installed here is driving me nuts. I’m going to go look for the manual, but it’s probably hopeless.
There’s no marked rinse cycle on this dishwasher, and what I’m afraid is happening when it’s started halfway through the cycle is that it’s trying to recirculate water from an empty reservoir. I’ve heard that water pumps can be damaged fairly quickly by being made to pump air.
Going by memory, when we bought our new dishwasher a year ago, the average cost of running a dishwasher is like 50 bucks a year! (Well, for energy: detergent needs to be included.) At any rate, $5 a month seems like a good deal to me.
I have to admit, I don’t understand this attitude, unless you’re Amish (and I’m fairly certain the Amish population on the SDMB is pretty low). Here’s your chance to help stamp out ignorance in your own family. The dishwasher is already paid for, so there’s no initial cost. It will get your dishes cleaner than hand washing, for the following reasons: a, it doesn’t depend on using the same sponge and towel that’s covered in millions of bacteria left over from the last washing, and b, it can heat the water to a higher temp than you’d be able to use without burning yourself. I’m sure you could find some cites on the web to back this up (I’d do it, but I’m too busy at my 1,000 post party). Here’s a hint to get the water even hotter: run the hot water in the sink until it doesn’t get any hotter; the dishwasher usually gets its water supply from the same pipe. This way, the water going in to the dishwasher will be as hot as it can be to start, and I believe the heating element increases it by about 40 F (at least, that’s what Kitchenaid told me). That, also, may depend on the make and model.
Also, how much is your family’s time worth? I think you’d probably spend close to a half hour washing a full dishwasher load’s worth of dishes…isn’t that worth the few cents of energy it uses each time?
That’s true. If the DW is 10 years old or newer, there’s a good chance you can find the manual (by the DW’s model number) on the manufacturer’s website.
One thing you CAN do to save energy with the DW is to turn off the dry cycle (which may or may not be an option; you may need to do it manually) and then open the DW door as soon as it’s finished. They should be dry in short order.
I recall specifications for a dishwasher that claimed to use 9 litres of water per completed wash. When I stay with my parents, they fill the dishwasher and then run it about every 3rd or 4th meal, though the evening meal pots are washed by hand.
[QUOTE=Running with Scissors]
I have to admit, I don’t understand this attitude, unless you’re Amish (and I’m fairly certain the Amish population on the SDMB is pretty low).
I know a large number of Amish who would likely consider this a remark made in ignorance.Amish kitchens have conveniences powered pneumatically vs. electrically.They are considered tools not luxuries.
“Here’s your chance to help stamp out ignorance in your own family. The dishwasher is already paid for, so there’s no initial cost.”
If the money came from another's pocket,yes.
“It will get your dishes cleaner than hand washing, for the following reasons: a, it doesn’t depend on using the same sponge and towel that’s covered in millions of bacteria left over from the last washing, and b, it can heat the water to a higher temp than you’d be able to use without burning yourself.”
I strongly contest that claim.The "millions of bacteria "on the wash device aren't guaranteed.
Unless the water is in excess of the boiling point for sufficient duration,sterility won’t occur-the typical 140/160F of a dishwasher being well below that.
“Here’s a hint to get the water even hotter: run the hot water in the sink until it doesn’t get any hotter; the dishwasher usually gets its water supply from the same pipe. This way, the water going in to the dishwasher will be as hot as it can be to start, and I believe the heating element increases it by about 40 F (at least, that’s what Kitchenaid told me). That, also, may depend on the make and model.”
While that hint is true ,efficiency (and money ) is going down the drain.
My understanding was that most modern dishwahers (and washing machines) are “cold fill”; that is, they only take water from the cold water supply and heat it with an electric element to the required temperature. This has some obvious advantages, one of which is eliminating the need to run any hot water beforehand.
That is what’s happening, mine does the same thing if you just start anywhere, on mine the dial is marked where the various cycles start. When I turn it to the spot marked ‘rinse’ and close the dishwasher it begins to fill with water and then starts a cycle.
You should be able to identify the various stages in a cycle by sound. Water running, fill. Sloshing/humming wash. Pump and gurgling in your drain, drain. Just put a little dot next to the dial where the final rinse starts (the last time it fills) and turn the dial to that point when you want to rinse.
While I don’t know any Amish, I am somewhat familiar with their society, and I’ve never seen an Amish kitchen with a dishwasher.
I think it’s fairly obvious that the dishwasher came with the house; since the poster’s family is opposed to them, why would they have paid money to install one?
I’m not claiming sterility (although some dishwashers do have a sanitize cycle), just cleanliness. The master speaks
While that may be true in the UK, US dishwashers all take their water from the hot water pipe (I’ve installed quite a few in the past 10 years).
Actually, that’s the only advantage, as far as I can tell; in the US, heating by electricity is almost always significantly more expensive than using the home’s hot water source (assuming your water heater isn’t electric)/
My brother lives on a farm in an area where he has to sometimes buy water for his tank. He insists that using a dishwasher saves them hundreds of gallons of water.
Mind you they cater for it by having lots of crockery and cutlery and not turning on the dishwasher until it is full.
They could use compressors run on propane. Their objection is not to electricity per se, but to being connected to the electrical network with the rest of the world. They use electric fans and electronic cash registers powered by propane-run generators in their stores.
Their restrictions are not as clear cut as they might seem at first glance; they don’t automatically shun all modern conveniences. I believe it is up to the bishops to determine what’s allowed.
Typically,a diesel motor runs a lineshaft which can power hydraulic pumps,compressors and generators.But gasoline,propane,windmill all serve their stead.
Kitchen gear is air,but clothes washers are usually small IC engines belt coupled.Monday (wash day around here) is fairly noisy.
Photovoltaic with battery bank is popular too.As Running with Scissors points out,it's the grid connection that is verboten,unless they buy a house with extant electric via mortgage through "English" banking,in which case the system stays in place.
One wonders whether buying petro products is not dependency on the outside world.