LCEC – Lee County Electric Cooperative

Just say no to hand washing dishes

September 8, 2022 – The days of hand washing dishes are long gone and for good reason. Not only is hand washing dishes time consuming, it wastes water and contributes to your energy consumption. According to ENERGY STAR, using a dishwasher can save you more than $40 a year verses washing dishes by hand. Below is the dish on the benefits of using your dishwasher:

Saves times:
If you’ve ever washed and dried a load of dishes you know it takes time and patience. In fact, ENERGY STAR estimates that you could be spending nearly 230 hours (almost 10 days) of personal time handwashing dishes in just one year!

Cleans better:
Dishwashers these days have all sorts of bells and whistles to sanitize even the dirtiest dishes while using minimal water and energy.

Saves water:
Using a dishwasher can save nearly 5,000 gallons of water per year in comparison to hand washing!

Below are some tips from the LCEC energy experts on how to use your dishwasher in the most energy efficient way:

• Use the energy-saving cycles whenever possible.
• If your dishwasher has a booster heater, turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 degrees. Most dishwashers have built-in heaters to boost the water temp up to 140-145 degrees.
• Resist the temptation to pre-rinse dishes. Dishwashers today do a thorough job of cleaning. Just scrape off the excess food and let the dishwasher do the rest. Dishwashers use between 8 to 14 gallons of water per load so save water and electricity by not pre-rinsing.
• Wash only full loads and refrain from hand washing dishes throughout the day. It’s cheaper to put the dishes in the dishwasher and wash them all at once.
• Load the dishwasher according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remember to fill the racks to maximize energy and water use, but make sure you leave enough room for the water to circulate.

Visit lcec.net for more ways to save.