Dishwasher Vs. Hand Washing Water Usage: Ultimate Comparison

Last Updated on September 3, 2022

The most important appliance is the dishwasher to do the hardest kitchen chores. It makes life stress-free by handling all the irritating tasks such as cleaning leftover plates or scrubbing sticky utensils.

Though it helps a lot in taking charge of the kitchen burden, there are certain times when hand washing performs the job much better. Whether you are planning to buy a new dishwasher for your kitchen or you have the curiosity to find out ways to reduce your water bills by saving more water. You are at the right place.

Several questions might pop into your head about the efficiency, cost, effectiveness, and sustainability of dishwasher vs. hand washing. We have answered all your queries in our post dishwasher vs. handwashing water usage.

There is enough discussion on whether hand washing is more effective in water-saving or whether the dishwasher beats it in conserving water, reducing water bills, and saving time.

After receiving several consumers’ feedback and the advice of experts to evaluate what utilizes more energy, time, or water, we are here to help you make the right decision by having all the necessary information.

However, whether dishwasher or hand washing, each has some pros and cons. Therefore, it won’t be wise to pick a side before collecting all the relevant information.

A dishwasher uses almost four to six gallons of water, while hand washing can utilize four to fifteen gallons of water. A large amount of water usage in hand washing depends on how long you let the faucet run.

The water consumption will also increase in hand washing if you keep running the cold water through the faucet to get hot water. If the utensils are massively soiled, you also need to use more water. The overall water usage while applying soap, rinsing it, and then washing sponges in hand washing is much higher as compared to the dishwasher.

That is why a dishwasher is more efficient in using less water than hand washing.

Usually, a dishwasher uses four or six gallons of water per cycle, but the amount can vary. However, most certified dishwashers by Energy Star use three or even fewer gallons.

The information has been verified after testing that the dishwashers certified by Energy Star are capable of saving almost five thousand gallons per year. It has also been added that hand washing comprises about four percent of water use, and the dishwasher relies on less than three percent of water use.

If you are washing dishes under a running water tap, you will consume many gallons per minute by wasting large amounts of water.

It has been recorded that Bosch dishwashers use 3.15 gallons per cycle, but not each unit has a similar water-consuming speed. The Energy Star-certified dishwashers consume 3.2 gallons, comparably more than Bosch dishwashers. This shows the water using efficiency of Bosch, which is higher than many other good dishwashers.

The 800 series of Bosch dishwashers utilize only 2.4 gallons of water per cycle, while the Slimline dishwasher by Bosch uses 1.53 gallons per cycle.

The amount of water consumption varies from model to model in the whole Bosch series. A good dishwasher has different cycle options, including rinsing, holding, expressing, sanitizing, and filtration.

The energy consumption of a dishwasher depends on the machine’s condition and efficiency. Detailed statistics have been provided by Energy Saving Trust about dishwashers’ costs, which lie between $48 to $63 per year.

The highly efficient models regarding energy cost almost $9 per year. The Bosch dishwasher costs nearly $30 to $48, which is quite less than other models.

Some items in your kitchen do not require to be cleaned inside a dishwasher, and it is good to wash them by hand. Things like nonstick pans, chef’s knives, ceramic pots, cast iron cookware, cutting boards, and fine china should only be hand washed to avoid any damage to them. It is not recommended to place them in a dishwasher as these items can ruin inside it.

Though it is obvious that a dishwasher got more points for saving time and water, it is also best for cleaning heavy loads. Energy Star states that with a dishwasher, you can easily save 230 hours of labor in a year, in contrast, to hand washing manually.

So, if there is loads of unfinished work, a dishwasher will prove a life saver for you. However, if you don’t do dishes regularly, it is better to wash them by hand as it won’t be easy for a dishwasher to remove dried grime on plates.

As we have discussed many benefits of washing in the dishwasher, the dishwasher can’t beat the hand washing in some circumstances. One major task that even a premium quality dishwasher can never do is scrubbing the pots that must be cleaned this way.

If you have burnt your food during cooking, it must require scrubbing, which will only be possible to clean by hand washing. The same is for grime scrubbing from saucepans.

We have already described the cost-effectiveness of a dishwasher to save the water bill expenditures, but it has very high initial costs. A dishwasher can come with a $500 price tag that doesn’t ensure high quality and quiet operation.

While a premium quality dishwasher will cost you more than $500 to almost $2000 without including the repair expenses. Some old-designed homes do not have particular space for installing a dishwasher, and the kitchen will require renovation, which will add more dollars to the overall billing.

So, a dishwasher is very expensive to afford as compared to hand washing which is quite common in every home.

It is important to wash dishes under an optimum water temperature to avoid any damage. On average, a dishwasher uses 60 degrees temperature to clean dishes properly, but this heat is unbearable while hand washing.

Thi temperature is favorable for most bacterial growths and provides a suitable environment to linger bacteria in your cutlery. The damage will not only be caused by bacteria; the warm water and dishwashing soaps can ruin your skin by drying it out.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to use gloves if the only available option is hand washing, or you should get a good dishwasher and put each item in it.

Without much debate, hand washing requires more time to clean dishes than the dishwasher. The dishwasher machine can do all dishes without needing enough effort, and your kitchen mess will clean within minutes.

You only need to load dishes in a dishwasher, and everything will be done automatically, from cleaning to rinsing.

Users have provided feedback on the time-saving facility provided by dishwashers: “I had to spend a month without a dishwasher, and it felt like a century to me. The cleaning of dishes didn’t stop during that period. I found some other ways to do this task effectively. However, hand washing took enough of my time to maintain the kitchen hygiene. Sometimes, handwashing took hours if I had to clean after a large meal, and drying took extra time. With a dishwasher, life becomes much easier as it doesn’t only save water and energy, it is much better, safer, and healthier for me than hand washing.”

If you spend ten minutes cleaning all the dishes and keep the water running through the tap during these minutes, the drained water will be twenty gallons per minute if an average of two gallons are used in one minute. This will waste a huge amount of water you won’t even realize.

However, there are some possible ways to conserve water by hand washing. For this purpose, you need to fill your split sink with hot water and some mild dishwashing soap. Fill another side of the sink with just hot water. If you do not have a split sink in your kitchen, use a bowl instead.

Before placing dishes in the sink, scrape off any left food particles into the waste basket. It is recommended to scrape food instead of pre-rinsing. If you pre-rinse dishes, it will consume more gallons of water.

Wash the dishes inside the soapy side and then put them on the other side to rinse the soap. Use some soft cloth or dish towel to dry at once, or you can simply put them on the rack to air dry.

In this way, hand washing uses an equal quantity of water as of dishwasher by Energy Star.

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends installing a WaterSense Aerator inside the kitchen tap. This can lessen the water flow through the sink by up to 30% without even making you realize it. It is also great for saving money.

There are several other useful easy to increase the efficiency of a dishwasher to get the most out of it. In order to make your dishwasher more feasible, you need to follow some tips and tricks that are applicable to all dishwashers without depending on the size, model, and material.

• Make sure to turn the machine only when you have fully loaded all the items to be washed. It will save your time and water bills up to a great extent.
• You can reuse the water from the dishwasher to give water to your ground or lawn.
• Try to load the dishwasher in the right way by packing dishes properly and tightly. If not sealed tightly, nothing will clean, leading to wastage of water and energy.
• We’d recommend using less detergent for dishwashing as only a small amount will be sufficient to do all dishes in the best possible way.
• Different settings are available in different dishwashers. Try to turn on the settings for the shortest cycle to get all dishes done in the minimum time.
• We would like to suggest pre-rinsing the dishes before placing them inside the dishwasher. In this way, you will get rid of large food chunks if there are any on plates. Rinsing them will prevent your dishwasher from getting clogged.
• Make sure not to waste more water during pre-rinsing. Adjust the settings to cold water to rinse dishes.
• It is better to use some good quality drying agents as it will help in drying dishes quickly and more efficiently by conserving more energy,
• Regularly cleaning the filter of the dishwasher will increase its longevity of it.
• Always look out if there are any leakages. Leaks can also compromise the competency of your dishwasher.