Cleaning dishes in a dishwasher is more efficient than washing by hand. Generally, it requires a larger quantity of water to wash and rinse dishes than to wash an equivalent number of dishes in a dishwasher. As a result, you conserve both water and electricity utilizing a dishwasher. And there’s another benefit to using a dishwasher — it’s easier.
Energy Star Efficiency
An average Energy Star-rated dishwasher utilizes 4 gallons of water per cycle, though a non-Energy Star model manufactured after 1994 uses a mean of 6 gallons per cycle. Therefore an Energy Star dishwasher can save an estimated 5,000 gallons of water per year and utilize less than half the energy of washing dishes by hand. Other ways to conserve energy and water with a microwave include scraping dishes instead of rinsing, after appropriate loading directions, running the dishwasher with a full load and permitting the dishes to air-dry to avoid using a heated dry cycle.