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Which will take less water to get the dishes clean?

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I don't have a citation handy, but I've heard that a modern dishwasher uses 1/3 or less water than doing it by hand. The competition is not even close.

But beware -- if you rinse in the sink extensively first, then dishwasher, that's the worst of all. You want a dishwasher that really cleans everything so well that you don't need to pre-wash.

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In general a dishwasher is more efficient, but it depends on how modern and/or well designed it is, and how you use it.

There are a number of factors to consider in understanding the efficiency. They are well described at waterwise.

To summarise:

  • Make sure to use a full load every time. Buy a dishwasher with a capacity that is suitable to your household size.
  • Experiment with the different settings on your dishwasher. Many modern machines offer ‘Eco’ or ‘Economy’ settings that use less water and energy while providing the same quality wash as the normal setting.
  • Avoid pre-rinsing. With many modern dishwashers and detergents tablets, you no longer have to pre-rinse your dishes before loading them into the machine

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The best models will have a water efficiency of less than 1.08 litres per place setting, while the very worst can exceed 3 litres per place setting.

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Makes sense from a water point of view but what about electricity useage ?? I'm guessing that since the water in the sink has to be heated and there's more of it then the dishwasher draws less power per load than the equivalent number of dishes being done by hand.

Would this generally be the case ?

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