Water consumption in dishwashers

If there is no doubt about the need for a washing machine, then the dishwasher is a moot point. Some mistresses joyfully listen to the advertisement "I am a woman, not a dishwasher", others consider this unit an expensive toy of spoiled lazy people. As always in such cases, the truth is somewhere in the middle."Opponents" of dishwashing equipment put forth such "reinforced" arguments as high water consumption in dishwashers, high energy costs and special detergents. Envious perfectionists at the same time add that it is really good to wash dishes only by hand. Such an undoubted plus, like saving time, they do not take into account. Let's try to figure out whether this is the case, putting an uncomplicated experiment and comparing the costs associated with the usual and "machine" washing dishes. Let's start with the obvious.

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Saving time - doing the calculation of costs

The working cycle( washing and drying) in the dishwasher is two hours. During this time, the machine can wash( to choose):

• 9 sets of dishes.
• 4 sets of dishes plus kitchen utensils, which was used for cooking.

Important! If a person performs this work manually, he will cope with it for 30-60 minutes, depending on the speed of his movements. When using dishwashing machines, while the machine is working, you rest or perform some other job. Of course, you will have to spend time cleaning the plates of the leftovers and laying out items in their places. However, compared to hand washing, rinsing and grinding cups, these are nothing that is not meaningful.

So, the simplest calculation.

If you wash the dishes once a day( in fact, much more often), you spend at the sink: 60 minutes x 365 days = 21900 minutes.

This is 365 hours, or 15 days.

Two weeks of saved time during the year - not too little. Do I need to buy a dishwasher? Probably, the question is rhetorical. Even without knowing how much water a dishwasher uses, you can think about buying it.

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The quality of dishwashing - simple conclusions from practice:

1. As a rule, you wash a spoon-cup at a water temperature not exceeding 50 degrees. Is this temperature optimal? Of course not. Sometimes on the dishes there is fat, and microbes feel quite tolerable at this temperature. Can I wash the dishes by hand at a temperature of 70 degrees? It is impossible, because you risk getting burns. A "smart" technique copes with such a task on "excellent".
2. Add to this the effect of detergents on the hands. Acquisition of expensive natural remedies only partially solves the problem. And the use of mustard powder and other "grandmother" means significantly reduces the quality of washing. Using a dishwasher, you do not contact detergents.
3. Now about water treatment. Everyone knows that the dirt on the dishes and kitchen utensils hard water laundered is much worse than soft. When you manually wash dishes, you can not affect the situation. Quite a different matter - "dishwasher".Before it can be used to wash dishes, water passes through the softener.

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Energy consumption - how global is the problem of consumption?

Here, "dishwasher", sadly, more often than not, suffers a fiasco. When manually washing dishes, you constantly spend electricity only on the lighting of the workplace. Given the availability of energy-saving light bulbs on sale, the costs will be minimal.

Important! All other electricity costs will depend on the way the water is heated:

• The costs are significantly increased when using an electric boiler.
• If the heating of water is done with gas, it all depends on the price of it.

Now about energy consumption using dishwashing equipment.

In accordance with European standards, there are 7 energy classes, which are marked with Latin letters: from A to G.

Important! The most economical classes are from A to C.

The energy consumption per working cycle for the most economical classes is:

• A - 0,80-1,05 kW / h.
• B - 1,06-1,09 kW / h.
• С - 1,10-1,49 kW / h.

Important! As you can see, the energy consumption of dishwashers of class C is one third higher than for the most economical class A. Plus, we take into account the peculiarities of the operation of household appliances of different manufacturers. That is, for example, the consumption of energy in dishwashers Bosch, Indesite and little-known manufacturers from China, with the same marking "A", will be different. Therefore, it is impossible to give an unequivocal answer about energy costs.

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Water consumption - find the truth

Let's find out how much water the dishwasher consumes. If the apartment has a water consumption meter, then compare the two operating modes - "manual" and "machine", you can by the meter values ​​(before and after washing dishes).The results are, to put it mildly, stunning.

Important! Let's consider in more detail the water consumption in the dishwasher and manually, based on the fixed data:

• . On average, the landlady per day manually removes 12 sets of dishes and spends about 60 liters on it.
• The dishwasher spends 15 liters, all other things being equal.

Conclusion: The annual water savings will be:( 60-15) x 365 days = 16.4 thousand liters.

The savings turned out to be quite impressive. Multiply the figure by the cost of a liter of water and be impressed with the result. The water consumption of the dishwasher is several times less than with manual washing.

Important! The consumption of detergents is not taken into account, as it is simply impossible to formalize this factor:

• On the one hand, when washing dishes, various means can be used: from expensive preparations to mustard powder.
• The dishwasher can perfectly handle small dirt in general without detergents.

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Additional advantages of dishwashers:

• In modern models of machines it is possible to wash dishes at a temperature of 90 degrees, which actually means its sterilization. This is especially true for families where there are young children.
• Like washing machines, "dishwashers" have an advantageous ratio of the cost of the working cycle in relation to the amount of dirty dishes. For a larger family, it is more profitable to purchase a larger capacity unit. It's much more profitable.
• If you use dishwashing machines in areas with hard water, this is the only chance to wash glassware without divorce and lime stains.

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Secrets of real economy

These tips will help you achieve real savings from using this far device:

• Choose a device that matches the size of your family. Ware the dirty dishes in the "dishwasher" - not the best option. The same applies to the consumption of electricity.
• Do not be lazy to study the instructions to the device. There are many drawings with the correct installation of dishes, information on how much water a dishwasher uses for one sink. If you follow all the recommendations, you will get clean dishes, without water and divorce.
• Powder is much more economical than capsules. Of course, marketing is a great power, but judge for yourself. The detergent in the capsules can not be separated and dosed according to the capacity of the unit or the degree of contamination of the dishes. The powder can be dosed, which is much more reasonable and economical.
• If you suffer from allergies to detergents, you can use baking soda instead of powder, and six percent vinegar instead of air conditioning. Of course, these drugs can not fully compare with detergents, but if you wash dishes at high temperature, you will get a pretty good result.
• Is your dishwasher equipped with a capacity for polyphosphate salts? Do not forget to make sure that it is full. These salts are useful in that they prolong the working life of the machine and improve the quality of washing dishes.
• Do you have a multimode power meter? In this case, not using the "delayed start" function is simply a sin.

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Dishwasher: Myths and Reality

Like everything new, the "dishwasher" managed to draw a lot of conjectures and myths. Let's try to debunk the most stubborn and tenacious of them.

The dishwasher is not a daily necessity.

This is not the case at all. In the West, thinking for a long time is completely different. In addition, the machine allows you to save not only time, but money. The consumption of water in dishwashers is small, detergents are used sparingly.

Man washes dishes better than any machine

This is a myth, devoid of any reason. The machine washes the dishes to a characteristic squeak. It is important only to choose the correct mode and detergents. Manual washing of dishes is done at relatively low temperatures, therefore, it is not necessary to speak about better results than machines.

The operation of the machine is associated with high energy consumption.

It all depends on the selected mode and class of power consumption of the device. With a 50-degree program, the energy consumption of the dishwasher is comparable to an electric kettle.

It is necessary to accumulate dirty dishes in the car

It's not necessary. Especially if you choose a car that fits the capacity for the family size. Modern models are equipped with sensors that monitor the load and control the flow rate of the dishwasher.

Important! You can do the same in another way: with the help of a rinse program, wash the main dirt from the dishes. Now it can wait until the unit is fully loaded. No unpleasant smells are not threatening you.

The machine is noisy and rattling when operating

It can not be said that this is a completely noiseless device. However, the noise level can not be called high - it is about 42-52 dB.

Hard water will quickly disable the machine

The operating life of the dishwasher depends on the manufacturer and is 3-20 years. In order for the kitchen assistant to last longer, a special filter is installed on the water supply system. To soften the water, many models are equipped with ion exchangers.

The purchase of a dishwasher helps save not only time and nerves, but also money. Of course, subject to proper operation. It should not be doubted - such kitchen appliances are really worth attention and involvement in their life.