How many gallons of water does a dishwasher use?

Do you use a dishwasher that uses maybe 20 gallons of water to do your dishes, when you could do them by hand and save a lot of water?

• Answer:

  What the heck kind of dish washer do YOU use? Modern dishwashers manufactured since 1984 use 7 to 10 gallons of water, while older ones may use up to 15 gallons. And have you ever seriously considered the amount of water you use in a sink? Kitchen sink basins vary depending on type and style. One I researched is 16" X 22" X 8" single basin. Another I measured myself was 12" X 16" X 8" double basin. You can measure you own and do your own calculations. Assuming you only fill the sink up 6", that's 2112 or 2304 cubic inches, respectively. One cubic foot is 1728 cubic inches and is equal to about 7.5 gallons of water. For the double basin sink above, that would mean about 10 gallons of water. This means you may NOT be saving any water at all by hand washing, depending on your washing habits and how much water you use in the sinks. How much water a dishwasher uses varies from one make/model to the next, as does how well it performs. And water usage isn't the only thing to consider, either. In order to work best, the water in the dishwasher must be HEATED...the more water it uses, the more energy it takes to heat that water. You can use up to 35% LESS water in a full load of dishes in the dishwater (without pre-rinsing). If you want to use a dishwasher and make the most out of water and electricity savings, do the following: -Scrape your dishes instead of pre-rinsing. -Get an EnergyStar dishwasher. -Run only full loads. -Air dry the dishes instead of heat drying them. For your information, I would personally just as soon wash them by hand because I'm MUCH faster than the dishwasher. My wife, however, would rather use the dishwasher. http://yourfinishrichplan.com/blog/2008/06/03/which-saves-more-money-handwashing-or-dishwasher/ http://appliancegeek.blogspot.com/2008/07/calculating-dishwasher-operating-cost.html