apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

regina, did you check your link? It's some kind of Al Gore-signup page.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/how_to_green_your_dishwasher.php

try this: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/how_to_green_your_dishwasher.php

A similar article appeared in Consumer Reports a couple of months ago:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/new-energy-star-standard-for-dishwashers-406/index.htm?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=1&searchTerm=dishwashers%20standards

Getting a new dishwasher means adding the carbon from the manufacturing process to your equation - something most articles don't address.

Well, there goes feeling virtuous for hand-washing!

No, seriously, when our old inefficient portable broke down, we pulled it apart to see if we could fix it ourselves. You wouldn't BELIEVE the mold that had built up inside it--where you wouldn't normally see, but the water definitely came in contact with it. I figured I'd been giving my dishes a bacteria bath for years. So, reluctant to spend a ridiculous amount for a portable (a built-in would have required lifting the counter top two inches) we chose not to replace it.

The other thing I factored into the decision was the kids. There really aren't that many chores for an urban kid (well, in comparison to the character building chores of a farm kid, anyway!) so it's one of their chores to help me whenever I ask.

Green is good: but isn't always the only consideration.

I've been handwashing dishes forever. So when I moved into my condo I thought I would be smart about my first dishwasher. I got a Fisher and Paykel dishdrawer. It's small, just big enough for two people. You can run it on an Eco cycle which uses less energy and water to get the job done. Most of the time the dishes are tea cups, silverware, a few plates, stuff that doesn't get debris stuck all over them. One complaint though, you need phosphates in the detergent! Otherwise, there will be a film on everything. Now I'm waiting for the next breakthrough in environmentally friendly dw detergent.

I believe it is important to pre-rinse the dishes. Many people may love to chuck the dishes straight into the machine and if they don't come out clean they'll just keep them in for another cycle.

At my workplace, a restaurant, I have supplied the kitchen staff with reusable cups to drink from. Since the kitchen is staffed for about 17 hours per day the amount of glassware that was in circulation was insane. It amounted to multiple racks of glasses every day multiplied by 7 days per week by 365 days a year. The amount of energy expended and the amount of toxic chemicals getting dumped straight into the city sewer system adds up pretty quickly. We as individuals have to try to conserve in our personal lives but the amount of abuse that takes place in the business world is irreversible in this lifetime (imho).

Sure, a dishwasher uses less water, but it's also made of plastic and metal that are mined, shipped, processed, and assembled all over the world. Then the finished machine is sent to warehouses, distribution centers, and retail outlets. Is it worth all that fossil fuel burning, transportation mining and manufacturing to save a little water, which is an abundant, renewable resource? No, thanks. I'll hand wash.

Is it worth all that fossil fuel burning, transportation mining and manufacturing to save a little water, which is an abundant, renewable resource? No, thanks. I'll hand wash.

Water in many places isn't abundant or renewable in the quantities we use it in. Wars have been waged and will be waged over water in the future, not oil. It's good to conserve water where possible too!

I confess I was too lazy to click on the link, so forgive me if the Treehugger post answers my question. Which is this: If you're trying to be green, don't you have to factor in the amount of power it takes to run a dishwasher? I'd be curious to know how much power it takes, and also to know why this rarely gets mentioned in these kinds of discussions.

Don't get me wrong: I do think it's important to conserve water. The way I wash my dishes has come a long way over the years -- now I try to wash dishes at home as I were camping in the desert (and I do camp in the desert, in the non-summertime).

kirstenasaurus--

So does a computer, but you seem to be using one of those.

Patrick (the other one)---that's funny!
Truth is people I'm not a big fan of bustin' sudds especially when I have parties. So, I recently invested in a new dishwasher and the Method dishwasher cubes and the job is done! As a result my water and electric bills are lower.

A dishwasher produces waste, but so does handwashing. I wonder how many sponges/scrub brushes/rubber gloves/dishrags/dish towels a typical household uses in 7-12 years? (That's the typical life cycle of a dishwasher according to this.

If there's a better way to do all the things a PC could do, fill me in. A dishwasher has a single purpose, unlike a computer.

Maybe I take water for granted, living at the confluence of the two largest rivers in north America, but I still don't think the small amount of water saved by having a machine do the job is a fair trade off for the other environmental costs.

Um, "handwriting" and "snail mail" is more green, no? What else do you really need a PC for, honestly?

And how often to you trash a dishwasher (mine been in operation 10 years and counting) versus how often a PC becomes obsolete?

True, it's not Apple to apples, but I think people are quick to discover the downsides of the pieces of non-green technology or convenience they *are* willing to live without... and skim over the issues with the ones they can't. Believe me, I do it too...

mary--
You also have to factor in the energy it takes to heat up the water for handwashing, too, plus the energy it takes to launder (and possibly machine dry) dish towels, so the plot thickens.

Plus, when I run my dishwasher (full only, shortest cycle possible, very rarely do I prerinse) the dishwasher runs in a dark kitchen. It's hard to do dishes by hand in the dark. :)

Sinks and kitchens without dishwashers are also manufactured somewhere and most likely imported by oil chugging barges. One could also bypass their refrigerator and buy only the refrigerated products they need on a daily basis from the large stores that already have everything you need refrigerated.

I care, but I've also come a long way since college when I used to help organize trips to chain people to trees in front of bulldozers. I like to think I've retained enough of that idealism to balance out my now heavier weighted practical life as a materialistic American.

Hey, what a coincidence! I know guys who still get chained to trees!

Of course, it is at a Gay campground in Pennsylvania... but a cause is a cause!!! ;)

Well that's all I need to say to get a dishwasher, I would have never guessed that dishwashers can be greener than hand washing. New appliance parts are always about better savings despite what some people think.

this was touched on, but it seems like replacing a dishwasher, even an older dishwasher, isn't green at all. the energy used to manufacture a new one and then get it to your house, plus the space and old one takes up in a landfill seems to eat into the greenness and the savings you get from a new one with greater efficiency. I found an online store the other day that sells magnetic and vinyl dishwasher covers ( http://www.applianceart.com). Not that these will make your dishwasher greener or save you money but they can make an older dishwasher (like mine) be not so much of an eyesore and keep a functional dishwasher out of the trash.