How does a dishwasher help you anyways? - Page 4

[SquishyKitty]

I pre-rinse/scrape at the same time I'm handwashing the big pots/pans/knives. It takes almost no extra time, just a quick rinse to get the chunks off, and the water is already running anyways.

I love my dishwasher.

[proudmomof4]

Originally Posted by gagin37

I have a dishwasher, I LOVE it! I have a tiny kitchen, with almost no counter space, so dirty dished piled up really quickly. (...)

That's the really important part for me. I don't even mind washing dishes so much (even though it can be time-consuming when you do it for 6 people) but with a dishwasher you have a safe place to put away the dirty dishes.

NB: My last post might've sounded a bit funny to American readers. We aren't / weren't "biased" against American dishwashers - but the model we had back then downright sucked. And as we were of course more familiar with German brands we picked one on our first trip home. (That dishwasher "moved back to Germany" with us when we repatriated 4 years later.)

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by ParisApril

Okay so a dishwasher might use less water (I use a small amount myself.) but they use way more energy/electricity than me hand washing them. When I stopped using my dishwasher my electricity bill went down $50 a month!

Is electricity really expensive where you are or did you turn up your AC to compensate for the heat from the DW or was it really THAT inefficient. Using my dishwasher daily my electric bills during the summer are all under $50.

[Smidge]

My MIL bought me my first DWer in Nov 09. I love that thing and I hate doing the dishes. I had a bunch of cast iron before then and donated it all b/c I couldn't put it in the DWer. I have all stainless steel now and love it.

As for our tiny galley kitchen, I have about 5' of counter space, so it's priceless and I don't want to clutter it up with dirty dishes

[MJB]

We're moving in a week to a house with a dishwasher, and man, am I excited! I'm also having a baby in July and do not want to be spending half an hour or more doing dishes every day. I don't mind doing them now, but I don't currently have an infant or toddler which obviously makes a huge difference to how much free time I have! Although the more pregnant I get the more irritating it is to stand on my feet with my belly squashed into the counter, getting sweaty and gross from the hot water.

[ParisApril]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Is electricity really expensive where you are or did you turn up your AC to compensate for the heat from the DW or was it really THAT inefficient. Using my dishwasher daily my electric bills during the summer are all under $50.

I've never really thought our electricity was that expensive. And no it wasn't AC. Because although I have an air conditioner but haven't turned it on in over 5 years.

[marrymeflyfree]

We skip the sink and put our dirty dishes right into the dishwasher throughout the day, and start the cycle as we're locking up the house to go to bed...and empty it again first thing in the morning while making breakfast. I scrap the big chunks off and give the plates a quick rinse if there is a lot of gunk, but that's probably not necessary since we have a very new/heavy duty DW. Hand-washed things are usually washed right after use; wooden cutting boards, the good knives, wine glasses, cast iron, that sort of thing. Everything else goes in the DW, and on the top rack if I'm nervous about that. To save energy, I always turn off the 'heat dry' feature since the things have several hours to dry overnight.

[proudmomof4]

I just came across this on Yuhoo - thought it might be helpful for "dishwasher newbies":

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/a...r-loading.html

[proudmomof4]

Here's another helpful article:
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/green/s...asher-1677291/