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Originally Posted by pressld2  That's just plain bad advice. When used properly, i.e. only run when full which is what I do, a dishwasher uses less clean water, less energy and less detergent than washing up by hand. |
This is a bit of an urban myth, the research that came to this conclusion and is widely quoted was done by Bonn university sponsored by..... dishwasher manufacturers!
One key assumption it is based on includes doing three hand washes a day (I do one every day or two), and running a full machine (which many peple don't).
It fails to take into account the embedded energy in extracting the materials to make a dishwasher, its fabrication, transport and disposal. It doesn't take into account the more damaging environmental problems caused by the majority of dishwasher detergents. It doesn't take into account that the water in a dishwasher is heated to much higher temperatures that I would use in a hand wash, so energy use is more comprable than assumed.
The other thing that has a big impact is the way people use things - not jsut running a load half full, but stuff like rinsing stuff before it goes in, and bad stacking leading to stuff coming out dirty and needing rewashing. All these issues need to be factored in for a real world like for like comparison. They weren't so the validity of the findings is highly doubtful to say the least. I am not saying the result was wrong, as there are other issues about the way people do hand washing that need factoring in, but there is no way of knowing on the basis of the research that has been done which is best.
However, this is all a bit of a distraction from the issues that Earth Hart raised at the start of this thread, looking at a holistic vision of the world and the way we live in it. What dishwashers are about, notwithstanding the argument over whether they are better or worse than handwashing, is the drive towards a consumer based society, increasing growth, increasing demands on our environment that eventually it won't be able to support. Hand washing (as a symbol of ones approach to life) is more about slowing down, making less demands of the world around us, dealing with our own messes rather than wanting someone else to sort out the problems we create. Its about taking responsibility, which, with the way things are now, is what we all need to prioritise.