Okay, now I"m jealous of those who have a dishwasher.

[MikeH]

Thinking that something is environmentally friendly because it biodegrades is pretty naive.

[BeBMan]

I'm seriously, you guys. ISTR that a lot of people on this site have themselves down as Eco-positive types, but everyone is bragging about using their shiny, electricity and water-guzzling dishwashers without discussing the footprint.

Can we afford a Carbon Gap?

This Kraut articles claims using a (modern) dishwasher is more 'eco' than manual cleaning even when you count in energy, material etc. to produce the machine http://www.zeit.de/2009/21/Stimmts-Spuelen

Not that I claim to be an expert in this **** though so I have no idea how credible that is.

[C0ckney]

i find that a bit hard to believe on its face.

[rah]

Agreed, especially since I basically rinse and clean my stuff before putting it in the dishwasher in the first place.

[BeBMan]

Well, they refer to a study of the university of Bonn with people from several countries having to clean a 140 piece set manually using their normal cleaning habits. There were lots of variations in water use etc. between those persons, but none of them came even remotely in the (low) range of the machine to clean the same amount of stuff. For the comment about production cost etc. they mention an US study.

"Die Zeit" from where that article is counts usually as a serious newspaper, though without the original studies at hand it's hard to say how much "journalistic freedom" that article contains...

edit: of course pre-cleaning manually before using the dishwasher spoils the results.

[MOBIUS]

Thinking that something is environmentally friendly because it biodegrades is pretty naive.

Phew, it's just as well that's not what I said...

[Dinner]

You can get a dishwasher pretty cheap if you buy a floor model or look around for sales (and assuming you have a spot for it in your kitchen). I got a nice stainless steel finished Frigidaire a few months back for ~$400.

[C0ckney]

Well, they refer to a study of the university of Bonn with people from several countries having to clean a 140 piece set manually using their normal cleaning habits. There were lots of variations in water use etc. between those persons, but none of them came even remotely in the (low) range of the machine to clean the same amount of stuff. For the comment about production cost etc. they mention an US study.

"Die Zeit" from where that article is counts usually as a serious newspaper, though without the original studies at hand it's hard to say how much "journalistic freedom" that article contains...

edit: of course pre-cleaning manually before using the dishwasher spoils the results.

that's interesting certainly. picking up on rah's point, i think they would have to do a study into how much 'pre-cleaning' people do when they use a dishwasher to get accurate results on the environmental impacts, water usage etc.

[rah]

edit: of course pre-cleaning manually before using the dishwasher spoils the results.

How many people here don't rinse off their stuff before putting it in the dishwasher?

[MOBIUS]

Well, considering my goal is usually to eat everything I put on my plate, the answer is not very often.

[BeBMan]

Hm, the machine handles most stuff perfectly without pre-cleaning. I hardly ever do this, ca. 99% goes only through the dishwasher and nothing else.

[rah]

Since it's only me an my wife now, I only run the dishwasher once or twice a week. If the food dries and hardens, (especially eggs, gravy or other sauces) the plates don't always come clean. I've always referred to my dishwasher as a dishdryer.

[Dinner]

How many people here don't rinse off their stuff before putting it in the dishwasher?

I do but that's mainly because I hate cleaning food bits out of the food trap at the bottom of the dishwasher.

[MOBIUS]

Sounds like that environment raping bastard has more money than sense.

Actually, it would be interesting to see what is more expensive/environmentally detrimental out of:

A) Washing dishes etc manually

B) Using a dishwasher

C) Eating everything using disposable and biodegradable plates and cutlery

I'm willing to bet that the results would be surprising...

[BeBMan]

I do but that's mainly because I hate cleaning food bits out of the food trap at the bottom of the dishwasher.

This shouldn't happen at all unless your throw entire meals into it (seriously). Buy a new dishwasher, use the fridge for storing your food