Dishwasher or wash by hand?

[birthjunkie27]

In my new quest to be as frugal as I can, I'm wondering, what's the best (cheapest) way to wash dishes? Will I really notice my energy bill go down if I don't run my dishwasher every 2 days, like I do now? Also, does anyone have any good ideas for homemade dishwashing liquid (does such a thing exist?)

[Leta]

It really depends. Do you pay for water? If yes, then your water bill will probably go up if you start handwashing if your dishwasher is fairly new.

If you do not pay for water, then it is more dependant upon how much for the energy used to heat your water. Do you have a gas water heater? If yes, then you are probably better off using your dishwasher. If you have an electric water heater, and you do not pay for water, and you do not wash dishes under a running stream of water, then it may benefit your bill a little to handwash.

I prefer to use the time I would spend handwashing dishes on hanging laundry. I know that hanging laundry definately lowers our energy cost.

I have not been able to make homemade dishliquid, and let me tell you, I've tried. If you want like a decade's worth, you can order 5 gallons from Bio-Pac for about $50.

I can, however, give you a good recipe for dishwasher powder.

[birthjunkie27]

Sure, I'll take the recipe for dishwasher powder.

[Leta]

Laundry and Everything Powder

1 four lb. box Baking Soda ($1.87 @ Wal*Mart)
2 four lb., twelve oz. Boxes of Borax ($2.67 ea @Wal*Mart)
2 three lb., seven oz. Boxes of Washing Soda ($3.67 ea @ Wal*Mart)
4 twenty oz. Containers of generic OxyClean ($1 ea @ Dollar General)
4 bars shredded, ground Fels Naptha Soap ($1.50 ea @ SuperOne)

This makes about 2.5 gallons- a lot, because you only use one ounce (an OxyClean scoop) for laundry, and about half that in the dishwasher. I usually double this recipe and make it once a year.

This stuff can be used for: laundry, in the dishwasher, to clean a toilet, to keep the smell down in the diaper pail, as a base for all purpose cleaner (add a dash of Dr. Bronner's, a glug of white vinegar, some TTO, and hot water in a spray bottle).

I cut the Fels Naptha into chunks then grind it powder fine in a food processor. You could use a cheese grater, but that would not do as good a job and it would take forever.

ETA: We have really good water. I cannot guarantee how this would work in hard water. We also use white vinegar as a rinse agent (a la Jet Dry) in our dishwasher.

[EmsMom]

I think that if the dishes are washed very carefully in one dishpan full of water and rinsed in another pan of water (therefore no running water) and only once or twice a day, then hand washing is probably more frugal and definitely more frugal than if you have to buy a dishwasher. You could actually use the existing dishwasher as a "dish drainer" and save space on your counter. However, I actually found that using the dishwasher ended up saving me money because I was so much more inclined to cook when not staring at a counter full of dirty dishes! Pizza nights really did a decline and my electric bill only went up a bit (it did go up, though). If I was really, really in a live or die tight financial spot, I would definitely move to once a day handwashing. However, I love my dishwasher!!!!

[cappuccinosmom]

I wish dh would fix our dishwasher. Our bill has gone up since it broke. I think part of the reason is, neither of us can't stand to have dirty dishes piled in the sink for long, so we're washing things 3-4 times a day, more, if I'm baking.

Since we are a small family, we only ran the dishwasher once a day, if that, when we had it.

[2Sweeties1Angel]

Depends. If you pay for water, handwashing will probably cost more. We don't pay for water but I still use the dishwasher every day just because I hate washing dishes.

If you're like me and would rather spend the little bit more to run the dishwasher, don't use the heat drying. When I started letting everything air dry my bill went down a little.

[birthjunkie27]

Originally Posted by 2Sweeties1Angel

If you're like me and would rather spend the little bit more to run the dishwasher, don't use the heat drying. When I started letting everything air dry my bill went down a little.

That sounds like what I'll do.

Oh, and Leta, thanks for that recipe!