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Jess
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Ok, I am full of questions today!
Does anyone know if it is more economical to handwahs dishes versus using the dishwasher. We tried making the homemade dishwasher soap and it left a white film on everything (and I almost couldn't get it off). I tried several ratios and it just didn't work for us. But I don't want to use the regular dishwasher soap anymore and I would like to save money (of course), so I decided we will just handwash from now on.
I was just hoping someone could tell me if it is more economical to do this.
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Jess
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Lisbet
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Jess, We hand wash here, always have. We can adjust the amount of water we use to the amount of dishes - and the same for rinsing. We wash three times a day and a small bottle of soap lasts us two weeks.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
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CrunchyMom
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I remember hearing some time back that it is actually more economical to use the dishwasher--though, come to think of it, perhaps is was actually just more ecological (used less water) and didn't necessarily cost less money?
I also didn't have luck with homemade detergent, and I now use Shaklee. I have since heard that adding citric acid (available in bulk at healthfood stores) to the detergent can help with the film issue.
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Michaela
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Is it Cheaper to wash dishes by hand or use the dishwasher?
It links to an article that has this info:
Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany who studied the issue found that the
dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-
washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most sparing and careful washers could
not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also found that dishwashers excelled in
cleanliness over hand washing.
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KC in TX
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Jess, I used to handwash everything. I find that in terms of using more water or electricity it didn't make much of a difference. In terms of my time, it was a big deal and since we're a busy family, it helped us a lot to use the dishwasher.
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RamFam
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Michaela wrote:
Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany who studied the issue found that the
dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-
washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most sparing and careful washers could
not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also found that dishwashers excelled in
cleanliness over hand washing.
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I can't believe this! I have been hand washing for years because I thought it saved so much water and electricity! Time to call the landlord to ask them to fix the dishwasher!
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Leah
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JodieLyn
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Did they consider the lifespan of the dishwashers into that? The dishwashers are made for families that everyone is gone during the day.. and maybe has one meal together and run the dishwasher once a day.. a large family that is at home and runs the dishwasher 3 times a day or more.. will "kill" the dishwasher that much faster.. so you have a replacement cost that is likely not worked into that equation at all. If a dishwasher is only good for 10 years under what they consider normal use.. a large family could have to replace it every 2-4 years.
Also you have to consider if you need the space the dishwasher uses for other things.. I have a small kitchen and no dishwasher.. and I would not put one in because I NEED that cupboard space. 
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Jess
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Our dishwasher is a bad one. We have lived here 6 years and it is a cheap one, so it doesn't really work very well anyway. I think I will try the handwashing for a while and see. I am really hoping it can save us money, or at least not cost anymore.
Jodie, I have a big kitchen (it's an eat-in) but it has terrible cabinet space. I actually thought about storing stuff in the dishwasher if we aren't going to use it 
Kind of off topic, but what I am really looking forward to is saving money by keep the thermostat down low this winter. It is so hot here that we have to run the a/c in the spring/summer/and part of the fall. But I am going to keep the temp really low so the heater won't come on much at all this winter.
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Jess
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Michaela
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JodieLyn wrote:
Did they consider the lifespan of the dishwashers into that? The dishwashers are made for families that everyone is gone during the day.. and maybe has one meal together and run the dishwasher once a day.. a large family that is at home and runs the dishwasher 3 times a day or more.. will "kill" the dishwasher that much faster.. so you have a replacement cost that is likely not worked into that equation at all. If a dishwasher is only good for 10 years under what they consider normal use.. a large family could have to replace it every 2-4 years.
Also you have to consider if you need the space the dishwasher uses for other things.. I have a small kitchen and no dishwasher.. and I would not put one in because I NEED that cupboard space. |
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I have to prepare for a bible study I'm hosting in my home this afternoon, but I plan to search for more info later about this. You've brought up some interesting questions. I never considered the number of loads each machine has been built for.
Quick search showed 7-12 years life span. Appliance Lifespan
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Lisbet
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Quote:
| Did they consider the lifespan of the dishwashers into that |
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This made me LOL! I automatically thought of myself, my 13, 11, and 9 year olds!
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Erin
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The dishwasher definitely uses less water than to wash by hand. When we first moved into this house dh rigged up the dishwasher to empty into a large bucket until such time as when the plumber arrived. We were totally amazed as to how little water was used. Washing by hand took far more water.
An irl friend with 11 children and a die-hand fan of hand washing became convinced and has just bought a dishwasher. Jodie, the answer with a large family is to buy the semi-industrial issue, in our case (and my friends) we went for the Miele. Ours is 4 years old already and we've never had any trouble. Would you believe we pulled it out and bought it with us from the old house  the stove too.
Truthfully with a large family you are best going semi-industrial for many of your appliances. We have with our washing machine, dishwasher, stove, juicer and food processor. I didn't bother with the clothes dryer as that is only used rarely, when it is raining. This way I get 10 years plus. My above mentioned friend has gone through far more appliances than I have as until recently she has bought the cheaper appliances that do not stand up to the demands of a large family. It really pays in the long run to buy semi-industrial.
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LisaR
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Michaela wrote:
Is it Cheaper to wash dishes by hand or use the dishwasher?
It links to an article that has this info:
Scientists at the University of Bonn in Germany who studied the issue found that the
dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap than hand-
washing an identical set of dirty dishes. Even the most sparing and careful washers could
not beat the modern dishwasher. The study also found that dishwashers excelled in
cleanliness over hand washing.
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yep, I read that too. I have a rule that we only run one load per day, and it runs on hot to sanitize. way more hot than my hands could ever handle (well, I keep our hot water heater pretty low anyway, so these dishes are sterilized!)
We get the Sam's Club detergent, it lasts forever. really cheap. I go through one thing of hand dishwashing soap every 6 months or so!!
consumer reports magazine online or from library is good for these types of comparisons too. our cheapo dishwasher uses very little electricity, and I know those nice ones use even less!
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LisaR
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JodieLyn wrote:
| Did they consider the lifespan of the dishwashers into that? |
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we had a dishwasher that was already 15 years old when we moved into one house, and when we left it still was not broken!!
in this house our dishwasher was installed in 1985, and we just replaced it a few months ago...
and with a $270 model from sears!!
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Lisa
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LisaR
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this is what I used to convince dh that the 1985 model was ready to go!!
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
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Kristie 4
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But what about dishwashers that you need to rinse the dishes so well before you put them in? We usually handwash because I figure by the time we have rinsed the dishes clean that we have used just as much water as we would have to wash them. Our dishwasher just doesn't wash the dishes well unless they are very well scraped and rinsed clean....
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lapazfarm
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The modern ones are much more energy efficient than the older ones as well. Make sure you look for that info when buying as it will save you money.
I do not have a dishwasher here now, but I really want one. We have to have water delivered here at 8 cents per gallon, so water use is a pretty big deal. I absolutely cannot stand to leave dirty dishes sitting in a sink and so I do dishes all day long. With a dishwasher I do not mind rinsing and letting them sit until I have a full load at the end of the day. So I know I would use less water with a dishwasher.
Now, to find a place to put one in my tiny kitchen.
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LisaR
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Kristie 4 wrote:
| Our dishwasher just doesn't wash the dishes well unless they are very well scraped and rinsed clean.... |
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My kids literally have to be told repeatedly not to lick their plates and bowls, so maybe we are going into it cleaner than most
I usually keep dishes from breakfast and lunch in the sink. then, as I wash hands or rinse something throughout the day, the dishes get rinsed off. then at night after dinner designated ds just loads up the whole thing and we run it.
we do not do the heated drying feature. before we go to bed, we open the door, the dishes are dry by morning, when another ds unloads and puts away before breakfast...
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Jess
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Our dishwasher is the same way, you have to rinse everything so well before you put it in that you might as well just handwash them. We also already handwash our pots and pans.
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Jess
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helene
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We also use the dishwasher only once daily. I run it only at night, hand-washing the larger pots, pans and awkward items as we go through the day (doesn't amount to much). I turn off the heat-dry cycle so the dishes air dry overnight and this reduces the electricity it uses significantly. Eleven people eat here 3 meals and many,many snacks every day but I find running it only once to be very manageable and economical. We buy detergent cheaply, too, at a big box mart store. I would never part with my dishwasher! Over the summer we lived without one because we were replacing our kitchen floor. My TIME is worth far more to me than whatever I could spend on washing dishes by hand!
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LisaR
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helene wrote:
| We also use the dishwasher only once daily. I run it only at night, hand-washing the larger pots, pans and awkward items as we go through the day (doesn't amount to much). I turn off the heat-dry cycle so the dishes air dry overnight and this reduces the electricity it uses significantly. Eleven people eat here 3 meals and many,many snacks every day but I find running it only once to be very manageable and economical. We buy detergent cheaply, too, at a big box mart store. I would never part with my dishwasher! Over the summer we lived without one because we were replacing our kitchen floor. My TIME is worth far more to me than whatever I could spend on washing dishes by hand! |
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yep, us too! we do exactly as you posted, it is inspirational to see you have a larger family than mine and it still works!!
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Lisa
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: handwashing vs dishwasher
