Dishwashers are becoming increasingly economical, yet people believe that washing dishes by hand is more economical. But is that really the case?
Cost
Before we come to the conclusion which method is the most economical, we need to find out how much an average dishwashing job costs. If you run the main program once, you will spend an average of €0.22. That may not seem like much, but if you want to save even more costs, it is useful to wash your dishes by hand. Washing dishes by hand remains more economical than the most economical dishwasher. However, you must take several points into account when washing dishes by hand in order to work most economically.
Wash by hand
When washing dishes by hand, it is better to adhere to three important conditions if you want to wash dishes more economically than using the dishwasher. According to the Consumers’ Association, it appears that washing dishes by hand is only more economical than using the dishwasher if you apply all three points.
- Use a basin: this prevents the water from flushing and you do not waste water unnecessarily. The same applies to closing the sink.
- No water that is too hot: It takes more energy to heat the water, so wash with lukewarm or cold water.
- Do not use too much detergent.
Save with the dishwasher
We understand if you don’t feel like doing the dishes, and the dishwasher looks very attractive. After all, it will also cost you ‘only’ € 0.22 on average. However, this amount can be very high on an annual basis: we give you tips so that you can still use the dishwasher in an economical way:
- Use the eco program: this can save you about twenty euros annually. That is if you choose the eco program instead of the normal main program.
- Do not pre-rinse the dishes: throwing food scraps in the trash is often sufficient, and if you pre-rinse the dishes you can affect the automatic dirt detection, meaning that your dishes do not always come out cleaner.
- Run at night: run the dishwasher at night if your energy supplier charges a night rate. This can save you a lot of money, and you can simply unload the dishes the next morning.
- Completely full: only switch the dishwasher on when it is completely full. It is a shame to run a dishwasher if the dishwasher is not full: that requires a lot of water and energy consumption. Play a game of Tetris and arrange the machine so that everything fits in it.
