Which uses more water, a dishwasher or washing by hand?
I just saw an advert for a Bosch dishwasher, which reminded me that there’s a common misconception about how much water dishwashers use compared to a human dish washer. The ad says that a Bosch dishwasher uses as little as 9 litres of water, which is, “a lot less water than washing up by hand – saving as much as 50 litres for a similar load”. The ad also describes how much more hygienic dishwashers are too because they can wash in higher temperatures.
It’s a good advert for all dishwashers in general although Bosch do make decent ones. Of course it’s only part of the story though, and if we looked at the total environmental impact of building and transporting dishwashers and the impact of their factories and eventual disposal then washing by hand might very well win the environmentally-friendly competition.
Another article quotes a manager at Hotpoint/Indesit saying that using an efficient dishwasher can save up to 75% of water, 65 % of energy and 80% of time when compared with washing the pots by hand. Of course the time factor claim is derived from comparing the time spent loading and unloading the dishwasher with physically washing them, and not comparing the time a dishwasher takes, which is clearly much longer than washing by hand. The time saving only comes from the fact that although the machine takes longer to wash, you are free to use your time elsewhere, so it really is quicker than washing by hand.
All things considered it’s difficult to decide which uses less water, washing by hand or washing by dishwasher. The dishwasher manufacturers are keen to get us to believe that it’s better to use a dishwasher and they are probably close, but as ever with adverts they often tend to give a two dimensional view which favours themselves.
The Advertising Standards Authority has just upheld a complaint about the Bosch dishwasher advert saying that, “The commercial did not make clear that in some cases washing up by hand could be more water-efficient than using a dishwasher”.
I think it’s at least safe to say there’s maybe not as much in it as many people might assume these days but it’s not clear cut just yet.
I wonder if you are as surprised as I was to learn that 70% of British households do not have a dishwasher?
Written By - Washerhelp on May 15th, 2007 with
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