Sustainability: Dishwasher or washing dishes by hand?
In recent years we’ve been wondering which is more sustainable: Washing dishes by hand or using a dishwasher? Internet does little to clarify the doubt, since it offers many posts defending one or another statement. But in the end, the answer depends (as usual) on the way of doing things.
In 2009 the public Spanish company Canal de Isabel II published a study on “potential efficiency with the use of a dishwasher” which, in short, concludes that an AAA class dishwasher spends less water and energy than washing dishes, glasses, pots, pans etc. by hand. Specifically, the report says that “there has been a reduction in the consumption of water equivalent to 9 percent of all water used in the household (…)” and “there has been a positive balance in energy consumption, which has been evaluated in a saving of 1.06 kilowatt per hour each day.”
It therefore seems that in terms of energy efficiency the machine wins. But there are many different ways to wash dishes by hand und to use a dishwasher. Nor should we forget the resources we need to manufacture the machine and the waste it generates at the end of its useful life.
If you wash the dishes by hand and with the water running, logically you waste a lot of water (up to 30 liters) – an expense that can be greatly reduced by using two sinks or tubs. Use one sink to soak the dishes, adding a little of our Lemon scented dish liquid or our Ultra dish liquid, and the other sink or tub for rinsing the clean dishes. If you further wash in order (starting with crystals along with the dishes, trays and cutlery and ending with the most greasy utensils and pots, pans etc), the dirtier utensils are soaking longer, which eases the removal of fat.
The same applies to washing with a dishwasher. If you don’t fill it or use the wrong cycle, you’ll also waste water and energy. Always try to fill the machine, use Dishwasher Tablets by Casa Kiriko and select the economy mode instead of a high temperature program.
Following these simple tips and using dishwashing products by Casa Kiriko, you’ll always have clean and shiny dishes and protect the environment.
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