dishwasher vs dishes in the sink

**favesis37** · 05-12-2008, 10:00 AM

anyone know which is cheaper?

**nuisance26** · 05-12-2008, 10:14 AM

~Here are some previous discussions on this topic.~
[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51759"]Which do you think is cheaper - dishwasher or hand washing? - Frugal Village Forums[/ame]
[ame="http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90425"]My Dishwasher Electricity Experiment - Frugal Village Forums[/ame]
http://www.frugalvillage.com/forums/...her#post741899

**C@rol** · 05-12-2008, 10:18 AM

I'd be interested in knowing also. I love washing dishes but we're installing a new dishwasher and the info would be good to know.

**sweetpeadrgnfly** · 05-14-2008, 09:33 PM

Thanks for the links. Dh and I are moving into our first (non rented) house next week with a dishwasher and I've been wondering what is cheaper....hand washing.....using dishwasher....or using dishwasher and air drying.

**Lilolme** · 05-14-2008, 11:31 PM

I have always hand-washed my dishes. I enjoy doing so. I got a dishwasher about 5 yrs. ago and used it once then gave it away. I'm so picky with my dishes

Now I'm scared to go read the links to see just which one is cheaper!

**StaceyS** · 05-15-2008, 09:49 AM

I always washed in dishwasher and let them air-dry. This month I'm experimenting with hand washing. I've taken the racks out of the dishwasher and stuck them in the garage. My electric bill is read on the 13th of every month, so I started then. It's really not that much more work and I bet I save water (but landlord pays for that, so I can't measure). We'll see what happens with my bill!

**Momto2Boyz** · 05-15-2008, 01:41 PM

We checked our water usage a few months ago and found that using the dishwasher vs. handwashing for us was about the same.

We checked the water meter, wrote down the number, ran the dishwasher (didn't let anyone use any water while the dishwasher was going) and found that our dishwasher uses 11 gallons of water to run. Then I hand washed dishes and found that I use about 3 gallons of water, handwashing, but have to do it 3 times a day, so I use about 9 gallons handwashing, sometimes a bit more, so to me, it is more convenient just to use the dishwasher, since it doesn't make much of a difference.

If you do check your meter to see how much water your using, you might need to convert the measurements. Our meter reads cubic feet, so I had to find a conversion site on the web to convert it to gallons, but it was easy enough to do!

**cissylu** · 05-15-2008, 02:30 PM

I have heard it was cheaper to use the dish washer.
I don`t like washing dishes so I use my dish washer all I can.

**StaceyS** · 05-15-2008, 03:36 PM

Originally Posted by Momto2Boyz

We checked the water meter, wrote down the number, ran the dishwasher (didn't let anyone use any water while the dishwasher was going)

You could do this with the electricity, too.

**Dancing Lotus** · 05-15-2008, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Momto2Boyz

We checked our water usage a few months ago and found that using the dishwasher vs. handwashing for us was about the same.

We checked the water meter, wrote down the number, ran the dishwasher (didn't let anyone use any water while the dishwasher was going) and found that our dishwasher uses 11 gallons of water to run. Then I hand washed dishes and found that I use about 3 gallons of water, handwashing, but have to do it 3 times a day, so I use about 9 gallons handwashing, sometimes a bit more, so to me, it is more convenient just to use the dishwasher, since it doesn't make much of a difference.

If you do check your meter to see how much water your using, you might need to convert the measurements. Our meter reads cubic feet, so I had to find a conversion site on the web to convert it to gallons, but it was easy enough to do!

Thats good to know. I think when a lot of people compare they are just looking at one cycle but they don't stop to think that they probably hand wash more then once a day.

**kabin63** · 05-17-2008, 12:26 AM

I can honestly say that the dishwasher is the cheaper way to go for us. We don't have a water bill because we have a well, but I looked at the electric bill after using the dishwasher for a while and it went down using the dishwasher.
I only run a load every other day though.

**PrairieRose** · 05-17-2008, 08:40 AM

We only run a load of dishes about every 3rd day. We have a kitchenaide dw and I don't have to rinse most dishes (stuck on, dried egg won't come off but otherwise just about everything else will). For us the dishwasher is much more efficient and besides I much prefer using it to washing dishes by hand.