[SustainableTompkins] Dishwashers

[Tony Del Plato]

Thanks for the tips n' tales Jim & Valorie. Amusing to see our little ways
of doing things,. where those behaviors & attidutes came from. I have to
laugh Jim about your "spousal issues" of running water. I lived in a similar
situation. We never did get a dishwasher and we had to let it go as one of
"those" issues, better left alone.
Tony

On 9/18/06, James Hogg <jhogg at mac.com> wrote:
>
> Tony,
>
> A dishwasher does not use endless amounts of water. It circulates the
> same water through filters, pump, and sprayers during each cycle. New
> ones really do use about 3 gallons of water for a complete wash. I
> agree that washing dishes as described is better than using a
> dishwasher. I am happy knowing that the many people who use
> dishwashers are probably being more responsible, without knowing it,
> as they might otherwise be by letting the hot run during an entire
> hand dishwashing event.
>
> This summer I installed an 18" Danby dishwasher in our kitchen. My
> wife and I have three kids so there are plenty of dishes. We use it
> after dinner to wash the day's dishes. When my wife hand washes
> dishes, she lets the water run. No amount of spousal suggestions can
> completely change behaviors. I hand wash dishes like the below
> descriptions.
>
> The dishwasher has eliminated one thorn from our domestic bliss.
>
> I really wish I could have learned more from my grandparents about
> living with less.
>
> Jim
>
>
>
> On Sep 18, 2006, at 11:32 AM, Tony Del Plato wrote:
>
> > Corvia (aka Fern),
> > I agree with you. I do dishes with 1/3 to 1/2 sink of hot soapy
> > water and
> > spray rinse kitchenware. Intuitively, without having checked the
> > stats on my
> > dishwasher which is now used as a storing unit, I believe that
> > handwashing
> > dishes, etc, uses far less water with a lot less noise for much
> > less time.
> > The first few times I used my dishwasher I was amazed and annoyed
> > how much
> > noise it made seeming to spray endless amounts of water for about 45
> > minutes. Nuff of that stuff. My double sink does the trick. and
> > besides, my
> > dish rack becomes a daily sculpture.
> > Tony
> >
> > On 9/18/06, Corvia Ballefuocco <paleocorvus at myrealbox.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Found this one hard to believe ~> depending on how one washes
> >> dishes by
> >> hand.  IF the soapy sponge with constantly running water method is
> >> used,
> >> then I would believe the premise is likely TRUE.  Terribly
> >> wasteful of
> >> dishsoap, too, to wash like that.
> >>
> >> Put 3/4 of a gallon of hot water in a dishpan and a water
> >> restrictor and
> >> spray hose on your sink and DON'T rinse those dishes one at a
> >> time .... and
> >> you'll use considerably less water.  Grandmother (who had to cart
> >> water
> >> uphill when she was first married) could wash the dishes and pots
> >> & pans
> >> from a dinner for five with 3 gallons of water ~> one pan of soapy
> >> water,
> >> one pan to  "rinse", and then a large kettle of boiling water for
> >> a final
> >> rinse and sterilization.  Glasses first, then the flatware, then
> >> plates and
> >> so on in increasing order of greasiness finishing up with the
> >> filthiest
> >> pots.
> >>
> >> Being lazier than Grandmother, but still needing to be water
> >> concious due
> >> to a low flow well in B'dale which was prone to going dry ~ I'd
> >> guestimate
> >> that it took me about 4 gallons of water to wash 3 days dishes
> >> from two
> >> people.  Hmmm.... need I mention that dishes should always be
> >> "scraped"
> >> BEFORE washing?
> >>
> >> I note and agree with Robin Harper's (the Green MSP) comments
> >> noting the
> >> electricity used by dishwashers - and my mind turns to the energy
> >> used in
> >> the manufacture and transport of the appliances.
> >>
> >> And the Welsh newspaper's article states:
> >>    "Ken Humphrey, brand manager at Bosch, who commissioned the study,
> >> said, 'Many people think that dishwashers actually use more water
> >> than
> >> washing up by hand but this is simply not the case.'"
> >>
> >> My prejudices cause me to question a study by a dishwasher
> >> manufacturer
> >> that shows they are more water efficient than washing by hand.
> >> Seems to me
> >> "setting the fox to watch the henhouse..."
> >>
> >> Ciao~
> >> fern
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:42:50 -0400
> >>
> >> LAZY PEOPLE CAN SAVE THE PLANET
> >> Use the dishwasher if you want to save water, U.K. study concludes
> >>
> >> We know your type: Your dirty dishes are piling up as you sit
> >> immobilized
> >> by the question of whether it's more enviro-friendly to use the
> >> dishwasher
> >> or wash them by hand. But live in squalor no more -- a study by U.K.
> >> nonprofit Waterwise found that the average dishwasher uses between
> >> 3 and
> >> 4.5 gallons of water per load, while hand dishwashing can use over 16
> >> gallons.  . . . .
> >> "Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can make a
> >> difference.  Indeed, it's the only thing that ever really has." --
> >> Margaret
> >> Mead
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a
> > revolutionary act."
> > George Orwell
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-- 
"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a
revolutionary act."
George Orwell