The Dishwasher

The dishwasher uses most of it’s  energy to heat up water. The most environmentally friendly dishwasher’s, use up to half as much water as the other ones. In spite of the energy use of the typical dishwasher, it is in most cases better  than  doing  dishes by hand.

You use much more water if you do the dishes yourself. Of course washing dishes by hand can be a savings, because the energy used is the energy applied by the person doing the dishes but only if water is used very sparingly.  
Regarding all electrical appliances, it pays to buy those  that  use energy on the scale A, A+ or A+++ according to  European standards or which are marked with the Energy Star.

• Best is to use a large dishwasher and to put in as much as possible during each wash.
• Pots and large objects can be washed by hand in order to save space in the dishwasher.
  You should use the shortest washing programme and not heat the water more than absolutely necessary.
• Best is to buy dishwashers which save water. Then there is less water that has to be warmed up.
• What has to be washed by hand should not be washed with the water running. It is better to fill the sink with water and use that water for washing.
• Remember to use environmentally friendly liquid or tablet detergents.