Probably a fairly boring post for many, but if anyone was on the fence on whether to get a dishwasher, in our case it has made a huge difference to our household family water consumption. I think it’s extra important with the price of water these days!
by starwars011
35 comments
Might also see a difference on hot water usage if you have a hot water tank or hot water on demand compared to electricity usage. Still less water used is always good!
I was in camp ‘no dishwasher’ until I moved house and it had an integrated one. Now I’d recommend it to anyone, it’s brilliant.
I did have to put a sign on it that I can change to ‘running’ when it’s on so my husband doesn’t get a face full of water lol.
I read somewhere that a full dishwasher is both the most energy and water efficient method of cleaning. The least efficient being under a running tap (except for very small numbers of dishes), and full bowl of soapy water is in the middle.
When we were building our extension, I temporarily ran our dishwasher fed from a hosepipe and emptying into a bucket. It’s astonishing how little water they use.
Just so long as you don’t do what my dad used to do and give the dishes a pre-wash before putting them in the machine!
And then the secondary graph of your own personal happiness increasing by having a dishwasher. Critical bit of kit if you can find the space for one.
Is that your own water meter?
Yorkshire Water read mine once a year if i am lucky, I could dream of such statistics
I would be tempted but I have zero room, not even for a little surface dishwasher. Maybe when I’m rich and can afford a place with a kitchen bigger than a postage stamp, I will get one.
I’d always heard how a dishwasher is more efficient and saves water but it is interesting to see actual numbers. Did you happen to also track the difference in electricity usage?
worth it.
I asked for a dishwasher for my 40th birthday (that’s how you know you’re getting old!) as we’d just moved house to our first one that had plumbing installed for a dishwasher. Would never go back now. Although the chemical mix of salt and rinse aid seems to be some sort of dark art. I keep them both topped up but it seems to throw a bit of a wobbly for a few days after filling them, don’t know why
Are we all ignoring the fact you’re using 300 – 500 litres of water a day? What on earths going on. I use 50.
Oh wow this post really has opened up my eyes of the modern day dishwasher.
Before I possibly convert and get one I’d love to know if someone could tell me the cost in electricity to run one would be
Only two of use here and must only use 4-6 litres max to wash our dishes- we eat once a day and don’t use many pots etc
Haven’t used the dishwasher in 20 years
Not sure how much the tablets cost either
Edit oo downvoted! Pathetic lol
Whilst I recommend dishwashers, I highly recommend a ‘quiet’ dishwasher. We bought one when we moved into our house and you don’t even know it’s on when cleaning.
I had a countertop dishwasher which I had to put in 5L of water for each wash and I collect the water for other general cleaning. Which was perfect for me because I had a tiny kitchen and only dishes for one person (and my cats) every night.
Funnily enough, I am actually WFH today because I am waiting for the delivery of my new integrated dishwasher. Completed earlier this year, but was so broke, took me these months to save up enough to replace the broken one that came with the house.
All fun and games until you realise you don’t have space to put one in.
This tracks with what [Technology Connections](https://youtu.be/jHP942Livy0?si=BkEYrZIqWKcsE87K) found, specifically that washing by hand wastes so much water through the tap running freely
OP trust me, watch the video and you’ll be able to the get the absolute most out of your dish washer and not waste money
Thanks for this, it’s really interesting! I love my dishwasher, I saved up for ages to get it but I was always in two minds because it seemed like frivolity. I didn’t dare tell my parents I’d got one either (and I’m middle-aged, not a child lol) because I felt like they would have thought it was only for fancy people, not the likes of us, kind of thing. They never had one. Now I know it’s probably really efficient it feels really good, so I’m glad.
We love our dishwasher, I once worked with someone who said they are just for lazy people, and dishes are much better cleaned by hand 🤪
This is the kind of boring post that I find really interesting. Thanks very much!
There are so many common, outdated misconceptions about dishwashers still going around.
They are far, far better at cleaning your dishes than you could ever manage by hand (yes, sometimes you get little specks of food left afterwards, but they’re sterilised and you can just pick them off).
They’re also more water *and* energy efficient
We couldnt fit a full size dishwasher in without changing our cupboards about, bought a tabletop dishwasher that fits inside the smaller cupboard. Absolute life saver. It does the critical things like bowls/mugs/cutlery/glasses. Sure we have to run it maybe twice some days, but outside of that its been great.
My parents make me laugh. They have a dishwasher but rinse everything under a running tap before using said dishwasher… probably a bit counterproductive.
TIL you can get a smart meter for water usage!
It’s wild how many people (myself included) used to think washing by hand was the frugal choice. The data really doesn’t lie on the water savings. Beyond the efficiency, the sheer time and mental energy it gives you back is priceless. Honestly, it’s one of the best QoL upgrades you can make for a household.
Don’t say it, Don’t say it, Don’t say it……
What’s her name?
Yup!
My water bill dropped significantly after getting one!
We were paying (at the time) £45/pm and after the dishwasher we dropped to around £31/pm!!
This was also during 2020, so we went from never being at home (higher bill) to being at home 24/7 and STILL having the lower bill!!!!
Whoa! Smart water meter? Here a bloke comes in every six months to look at the meter with his eyes!
I have one in my fiat but as I live alone I just wash my dishes in a bowl in the sink. It would take too long to fill it and running it half full is just wasting water.
However if you’re a family which goes through a lot of dishes quickly it makes total sense! I’m glad to see it’s working well for you. 🙂
Just when I met my (now) wife, she was having a new kitchen installed. It didn’t have space for a dishwasher which puzzled me. Now I know the answer – I’m the dishwasher.
According to this, you’re using roughly 100litres less water daily? Did you run a bowl or just leave the dishes under a running tap for hours on end haha
My 20 year old Neff Dishwasher gave up suddenly. Replaced with a decent energy efficient model in 2024. My word, the savings on electric have been massive, it will have paid for itself within 3 years.
My dishwasher was the original when the house was built as they stopped making it in 2003. Eventually I replaced it, with a Bosch series 6. Going off the spec sheet, I should have gone from 30l to 9l. It was used 10 times a week (so sometimes more than once a day). The new one is better and I can get away with 6-7 times a week.
So original (eletrcolux esi 600) was 15,600 litres a year
New one (Bosch sms6zcw10g) is 2,808 litres a year.
The energy saving was significant too. The new model use 1khw less, so 0.64kwh per wash. It pays for itself within about 3 years.
The water bill is £3.11 per M3, so I save £0.003 per litre and £0.24 in electric per wash, whilst also doing less washes.
Yearly savings is
– Electric – £205.92 down to £48.67
– Water – £46.80 down to 8.42
– Total saved £195/year.
Also in doing 4 less runs a week, I save 4 dishwasher tablets. So that’s another £0.15 per wash saved, which is another £32/yearly savings too.
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