7. Dish Washing
Whether you use a dishwasher or wash dishes by hand you can save water. Wait until your dishwasher is full before running a load. Instead of rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, scrape the food off them. You can save 5 gallons per minute if you don’t let the water run in the sink. Wash up relatively clean things first, like glasses then dirtier things and rinse in a bowl of water if you wash by hand, rather than letting the tap run for a long time.
You may save energy by keeping your water heater at a relatively cool temperature and using the dishwasher to heat the water hotter, just when it is used. Use shorter dishwasher cycles for dishes that aren’t very dirty - for example, you may have a “china and glass” setting for relatively clean side plates.
Put a leaf on the tree if you save water washing up by waiting until the dishwasher is full, or washing up by hand without using lots of water.
It costs nothing to wait until the dishwasher is full. If you have an old dishwasher, you may want to replace it with a newer more energy efficient model. An energy efficient dishwasher can save 5 gallons per cycle. The average water use per dishwasher cycle decreased from a range of 11-15 gallons per normal cycle in 1978 (Garrett, 1978) to 6-10 gallons per normal cycle in 2000 (Soap and Detergent Association [SDA], 2000).