Which uses more water a dishwasher or washing by hand?
A dishwasher uses less water than hand washing – but only when compared against hand washing under a running hot tap. If dishes are washed efficiently in a basin without continuous rinsing, hand washing can use less water than a dishwasher cycle. For most households of three or more, a full dishwasher load on an appropriate programme is more economical than hand washing. The time comparison is different: hand washing is faster, but ties up the person doing it; a dishwasher takes longer but frees up time during the cycle.
Water Use: Dishwasher vs Hand Washing
Modern efficient dishwashers use approximately 9 to 12 litres of water per cycle on an eco programme. The comparison against hand washing depends entirely on how hand washing is done.
Hand washing under a running tap
Rinsing each item individually under a continuously running hot tap uses a significant amount of water – estimates range from 40 to 60 litres for a typical load. Against this comparison, a dishwasher uses substantially less water and the manufacturers’ claims of saving 50 litres or more per load are credible.
Hand washing efficiently in a basin
Washing dishes in a bowl of hot soapy water and rinsing in a second bowl or briefly under the tap uses far less water – potentially less than a dishwasher cycle. The Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against a dishwasher manufacturer’s water-saving claims on this basis: the comparison was not valid for all hand-washing methods.
The ASA ruling noted that the manufacturer’s claim did not make clear that in some cases washing by hand could be more water-efficient than using a dishwasher. Efficiency comparisons between dishwashers and hand washing are only valid when the hand-washing method is specified.
Energy Use and Running Costs
A fully loaded dishwasher on an efficient programme uses less energy than heating enough hot water for hand washing under a running tap. Research consistently shows that a full dishwasher load on an eco cycle is cheaper to run than hand washing for a household of three or more. For one or two people who rarely fill the machine, the comparison is less clear – a half-empty dishwasher is less efficient per item than a full one.
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Always run a full load. The energy and water cost of a dishwasher cycle is largely fixed regardless of how many items are inside. A half-empty machine is significantly less efficient per item than a full one. -
Use the eco or auto programme for everyday loads. Economy programmes use less water and lower temperatures over a longer cycle, which is more efficient than shorter high-temperature programmes for normally soiled loads. -
Use the intensive programme only when genuinely needed. Heavily soiled pots and pans may need a higher-temperature programme, but using the most powerful cycle for everything wastes water and energy unnecessarily.
Hygiene
Dishwashers wash at temperatures (typically 55 to 70 degrees) that are significantly higher than comfortable hand-washing temperatures. Higher wash temperatures are more effective at killing bacteria and removing grease. On this measure, a dishwasher has a clear hygiene advantage over hand washing, which is typically done at 40 to 45 degrees at most.
Time: Which Is Faster?
The time comparison is often presented misleadingly in manufacturer claims. A dishwasher cycle takes 1 to 3 hours. Hand washing a typical load takes 15 to 30 minutes. Hand washing is therefore significantly faster.
The relevant distinction is between elapsed time and active time. Loading and unloading a dishwasher typically takes 5 to 10 minutes of active effort. The machine does the rest unattended. Hand washing requires continuous active attention for the full duration. The dishwasher saves the person’s time during the cycle, even though the total elapsed time is longer.
The full environmental picture of dishwasher ownership is broader than the per-cycle comparison. Manufacturing, shipping, and eventual disposal of an appliance all have environmental costs. These factors are not reflected in running cost or per-cycle water-use comparisons, which only measure operational efficiency.
Dishwasher Guides
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a dishwasher use less water than washing by hand?
Usually yes, compared to hand washing under a continuously running hot tap. An efficient dishwasher uses approximately 9 to 12 litres per cycle; hand washing under a running tap can use 40 to 60 litres. However, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld a complaint against a manufacturer’s water-saving claim because it was not valid when hand washing is done efficiently in a basin rather than under a running tap. Efficient hand washing in a bowl may use less water than a dishwasher cycle.
Is a dishwasher cheaper to run than washing by hand?
For a full load in a household of three or more, research consistently shows a dishwasher on an eco programme is cheaper to run than hand washing under a running tap. The savings are most significant when the machine is full and an efficient programme is used. For smaller households that rarely fill the machine, the comparison is less clear-cut.
Is hand washing or using a dishwasher quicker?
Hand washing is faster in elapsed time – a typical load takes 15 to 30 minutes of continuous effort versus 1 to 3 hours for a dishwasher cycle. However, loading and unloading a dishwasher only requires 5 to 10 minutes of active time. The dishwasher takes longer but runs unattended, freeing up the person’s time during the cycle.
8 Comments
Grouped into 8 comment threads.
0 replies Much Depends on whether the hand washer lets the water run the whole time or turns it on just to rinse? Appliance salesmen usually wil figure the hand washer will let it run the whole time while leaving to answer the phone and well you get the picture. Actually results like any statistic can vary highly and can be biasedly skewed to make anyone's point. I can wash up my wife's and mines dishes in less than five minutes even letting the water run is less than running a dishwasher for a whole cycle after all its not just water your using but electricity as well.
0 replies I'd NEVER do without my dishwasher. As for dishwasher detergents being harmful, they should be kept out of reach of children just like all household cleaning products. I use Fairy Platinum tablets and I've not noticed any damage on anything. Delicate glassware should always be washed on the coolest programme and lead crystal glass is not dishwasher-proof. Anything that is valuable or irreplaceable should never be cleaned in the dishwasher. As for baskets and tricky loading, I was lucky to discover my dishwasher has fold-down spikes and fold-down wavy glass supports before buying it, so I fold down the spikes or move up the glass supports when I don't need them. It's always worth checking your plate sizes will fit BEFORE buying and if the upper basket height is adjustable. If buying a dishwasher online, check to see if maximum plate diameter sizes are listed. As for saving water, I use my dishwasher when it's as full as possible and before owning one, I'd go through bowlfuls of water and replace the bowl of water when it discolours and the bubbles from the washing up liquid had gone. I sure used a lot more water when I washed up by hand! Hope that helps.
I’d NEVER do without my dishwasher. As for dishwasher detergents being harmful, they should be kept out of reach of children just like all household cleaning products. I use Fairy Platinum tablets and I’ve not noticed any damage on anything. Delicate glassware should always be washed on the coolest programme and lead crystal glass is not dishwasher-proof. Anything that is valuable or irreplaceable should never be cleaned in the dishwasher.
As for baskets and tricky loading, I was lucky to discover my dishwasher has fold-down spikes and fold-down wavy glass supports before buying it, so I fold down the spikes or move up the glass supports when I don’t need them. It’s always worth checking your plate sizes will fit BEFORE buying and if the upper basket height is adjustable. If buying a dishwasher online, check to see if maximum plate diameter sizes are listed.
As for saving water, I use my dishwasher when it’s as full as possible and before owning one, I’d go through bowlfuls of water and replace the bowl of water when it discolours and the bubbles from the washing up liquid had gone. I sure used a lot more water when I washed up by hand!
Hope that helps.
0 replies I agree with Paul about older dishwashers being superior; our Smeg PL310 (I think) circa 1990 would run rings around our new Bosch SMI50M05GB. The only thing the Bosch does slightly better is the drying part and that is all. Also the basket was better designed on the Smeg and we had no problems arranging the dishes etc; the Bosch on the other hand is a pain to load and requires constant moving around, right up until the day of the wash (we wash every alternate day, Mon, Weds etc for two people). I'm think that maybe people who eat fresh food and do not drink alcohol, are not whom Bosch had in mind. I suspect that the basket was designed for customers that have lots of wine glasses and child sized dishes and plates. Having said all that, it is good to have a dishwasher again after a six or seven year gap!
I agree with Paul about older dishwashers being superior; our Smeg PL310 (I think) circa 1990 would run rings around our new Bosch SMI50M05GB. The only thing the Bosch does slightly better is the drying part and that is all. Also the basket was better designed on the Smeg and we had no problems arranging the dishes etc; the Bosch on the other hand is a pain to load and requires constant moving around, right up until the day of the wash (we wash every alternate day, Mon, Weds etc for two people). I’m think that maybe people who eat fresh food and do not drink alcohol, are not whom Bosch had in mind. I suspect that the basket was designed for customers that have lots of wine glasses and child sized dishes and plates.
Having said all that, it is good to have a dishwasher again after a six or seven year gap!
0 replies The chemicals used to achieve the same result in a dishwasher are awful. The water jets are a pale substitute for the abrasive action of your hand a scrubber. They chemicals are so corrosive they will eventually corrode your glassware and the glazes on your crockery. I used to work as a lab technician for P&G and i really would not recommend them. - That said washing dishes is the worst house hold chore. Though i would use citric acid to clean the machine (they had their's for nearly over 10 years running several cycles a day; and the fancy fuzzy logic ones don't clean half as reliably as the older standard ones). Washing by hand is far safer and washing up liquid is not cancerous as has been suggested. You would need to take a child to casualty if it had a dishwasher tablet but unlikely if it got a bit soap foam in its mouth.
The chemicals used to achieve the same result in a dishwasher are awful. The water jets are a pale substitute for the abrasive action of your hand a scrubber. They chemicals are so corrosive they will eventually corrode your glassware and the glazes on your crockery. I used to work as a lab technician for P&G and i really would not recommend them. – That said washing dishes is the worst house hold chore. Though i would use citric acid to clean the machine (they had their’s for nearly over 10 years running several cycles a day; and the fancy fuzzy logic ones don’t clean half as reliably as the older standard ones). Washing by hand is far safer and washing up liquid is not cancerous as has been suggested. You would need to take a child to casualty if it had a dishwasher tablet but unlikely if it got a bit soap foam in its mouth.
0 replies Dishwashers are marvellous machines. They do a job that I dislike far more efficiently than I can and give me time to do more interesting things. One fact that no one seems to have mentioned is that breakages seem far less frequent. In my experience crockery and glass wear get broken during hand drying, by being dropped or simply coming apart. We hardly ever break anything now that it is all done by machine. True one has to load and empty them but one has to take washing up to the sink and put it away when it is done so what is the difference? Anyone who has room and can afford one should get one.
Dishwashers are marvellous machines. They do a job that I dislike far more efficiently than I can and give me time to do more interesting things. One fact that no one seems to have mentioned is that breakages seem far less frequent. In my experience crockery and glass wear get broken during hand drying, by being dropped or simply coming apart. We hardly ever break anything now that it is all done by machine. True one has to load and empty them but one has to take washing up to the sink and put it away when it is done so what is the difference?
Anyone who has room and can afford one should get one.
0 replies It's just a shame so many people in the UK don't have enough room for one.
It’s just a shame so many people in the UK don’t have enough room for one.
0 replies Today's dishwashers do save water, if people always load them to full capacity and select a suitable programme every time. In most cases, the economy programmes are fine. Very dirty loads need the longer and hotter programmes, but if the dishwasher is full to capacity and dishes are not rinsed under the tap first, then the dishwasher wins, including when you take into account the detergent being rinsed off properly, as Ian mentions in comment #2. The only time I'd ever rinse things before loading is to rinse off sauces which are likely to stain plastic items in the dishwasher, especially curry and ketchup, but any dark coloured sauce liable to stain plastic items. Rinsing these under the hot tap uses less water, as hot water breaks up the sauce remains quicker compared rinsing under the cold tap. The dishwasher keeps the kitchen tidy of dirty washing up - you just shut the door on it and the dirty items are out of sight instead of cluttering the kitchen sink and its surroundings. :)
Today’s dishwashers do save water, if people always load them to full capacity and select a suitable programme every time. In most cases, the economy programmes are fine. Very dirty loads need the longer and hotter programmes, but if the dishwasher is full to capacity and dishes are not rinsed under the tap first, then the dishwasher wins, including when you take into account the detergent being rinsed off properly, as Ian mentions in comment #2.
The only time I’d ever rinse things before loading is to rinse off sauces which are likely to stain plastic items in the dishwasher, especially curry and ketchup, but any dark coloured sauce liable to stain plastic items. Rinsing these under the hot tap uses less water, as hot water breaks up the sauce remains quicker compared rinsing under the cold tap.
The dishwasher keeps the kitchen tidy of dirty washing up – you just shut the door on it and the dirty items are out of sight instead of cluttering the kitchen sink and its surroundings. :)
0 replies Washing by hand takes FAR longer! We do two wash-ups per day and on average the total time spent is nearly two hours. The washing part does not take that long, probably fifteen to twenty minutes but the rinsing takes a LONG time. This also uses one heck of a lot of water to make sure there is no trace of washing-up liquid left on the dishes etc. Any liquid left on dishes and pans will end up in your food later, and constant digestion of such cancerous chemicals will cause you ill health in later years. Finally the drying part by tea towel is the quickest at around ten to fifteen minutes. We are not slow at washing up, just thorough; we are not 'dab washers' like many people we have witnessed on both TV and in real life.
Washing by hand takes FAR longer! We do two wash-ups per day and on average the total time spent is nearly two hours. The washing part does not take that long, probably fifteen to twenty minutes but the rinsing takes a LONG time. This also uses one heck of a lot of water to make sure there is no trace of washing-up liquid left on the dishes etc. Any liquid left on dishes and pans will end up in your food later, and constant digestion of such cancerous chemicals will cause you ill health in later years. Finally the drying part by tea towel is the quickest at around ten to fifteen minutes. We are not slow at washing up, just thorough; we are not ‘dab washers’ like many people we have witnessed on both TV and in real life.
Much Depends on whether the hand washer lets the water run the whole time or turns it on just to rinse?
Appliance salesmen usually wil figure the hand washer will let it run the whole time while leaving to answer the phone and well you get the picture.
Actually results like any statistic can vary highly and can be biasedly skewed to make anyone’s point.
I can wash up my wife’s and mines dishes in less than five minutes even letting the water run is less than running a dishwasher for a whole cycle after all its not just water your using but electricity as well.