Dishwashers or Hand Washers? Our Newest Appliance
Like most people, Martin and I have done our fair share of dish washing. I’m pretty sure we’ve hated just about every minute of it, too. So while I’ve introduced you to our tiny oven/microwave combo, the 2-burner stove, and our dorm fridge, I haven’t shown you the Most Important Addition to our apartment: our dishwasher.
For as long as I’ve known, Germans have preferred to cover their appliances with cabinet fronts, which is a wonderful breath of fresh air from the stainless steel mania in the US. Lucky for you, this part of our kitchen is varnished, so maybe that makes looking at a wood-covered dishwasher a little more exciting as we remodel. You can probably guess that with a small kitchen, we can’t handle a dishwasher bigger than this half-sized fella. We don’t have room for something bigger OR enough dishes to fill it. We worship it just as it is.
The Age-Old Question: Should you use a dishwasher or hand wash to save energy (and money)?
Every so often, I read about women who claim they are saving money and water by washing dishes by hand. While this theory sounded very probable (especially when you have a water meter running beside you like we’ve got), I set out to find out what the most energy efficient method really was. The truth, of course, is that I want to be sure that my laziness is actually helping the planet. Let’s see:
Hand washing is more efficient when:
Dishwashers are more efficient when:
So I’ll give you a hint as to what wins over at our house every time:
The Old-Age Question: What do you do when a dishwasher goes Kaput?
Finally, where would we be on Making This Home if we didn’t talk about what to do with the old clunker? As previous used appliance hunters, take our word that dishwashers are the most sought after used appliance. When your dishwasher breaks or is ready to retire from your house, make sure you:
So there you have it. No more prune hands or doing dishes in the bathroom for us. Now we just need some inspiring meals to whip up. We’d love to know about the many ways you and your family test your dishwasher with yummy treats. There’s nothing like a little eye candy to get us drooling in the morning.
(Images by Katie for Making This Home. Data from Green up Your Cleanup and Living Like Ed.)
Keep it green and simple with 2 more ideas:
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:49 am
I love your dishwasher, but I love your pretty green dishes even more. So cute! Just so happens that I have a delicious vegetarian chili recipe in my inbox. I’ll forward to you and hope you enjoy it. My aunt (who is not a vegetarian, by the way) loves this recipe – and she is one fabulous cook!
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:03 am
Love the kitchen, Katie. I wish we would upgrade ours but who knows how much longer we stay in our house.
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:54 am
We were given our dishwasher, a Kitchen Aid, by my in-laws when they sold their house and moved to a retirement home. All they asked was I bring a replacement to fill the hole. Our neighbor is an appliance maintenance man and had an old one that he had fixed. We purchased it from him and traded. I love mine and try to turn it off before it dries. I have a plant on the counter above it, and it just loves the steam. I really love it.
~a
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:27 am
Oh, I thought your dishwasher was only the stainless steel part! I really wondered how you used it! I only use mine as a drain rack. It’s tough for me to want to use it with only two of us in the house. We really don’t use that many dishes.
And LOL at the “not this Frau”!! :)
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:27 am
I heart my dishwasher. Dishes are by far my least favourite chore. I’m glad to know that using it can be energy efficient, too.
And the wood grain front makes me think of MTV Cribs. All the celebs seem to go with appliances that match the cabinetry. All you’ve got to do now is show us where ‘the magic happens’. :-)
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:30 am
I agree that a dishwasher is the most efficient use of time and water, especially if you only run it when it’s full. The idea of running one when it’s not full is completely foreign to me.
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I love your apartment and your dishwasher, the whole shabang. Small is beautiful! Living in Europe holds so much appeal for me. My husband was an international school kid and we lived in a tiny apartment in Prauge for a while back in the day. I fear I may be wanting out of the insanity here in the US when the Limbaugh/Palin republican ticket comes around in 2012. We might end up being neighbors : )
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
I’m with you, Katie – I’m a dishwasher girl almost all the time! I like that the appliances are covered with cabinet fronts, too – it looks so nice. Oh, and I really like those apple green dishes!
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:59 pm
what a cute little dishwasher….My husband would love that wood trim. He loves anything trimmed in wood! I’m still reeling over here about the $9.00 gallon of gas price…I was telling my daughter about it and the first thing she said was ….”I bet they ride bikes”…..
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Great points!! I agree totally. Our first house didn’t have a dishwasher, so we hand-washed for 5 yrs. But now that I’ve had one for the past 4 1/2 yrs. I couldn’t live without it!
And I must say, yours is the cutest little dishwasher I’ve ever seen! I’m a big fan of the matching wood panel!
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Hi Katie!
Congrats on you dishwasher! I wash my dishes with hand but since we live in the desert I try to wash them under a very weak stream of water – because I already feel so guilty!! That’s also the reason why I don’t take showers…just kidding!!!
February 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 pm
How neat how they do the wood part in the front. I just love how you make room in 480 sq. feet. I always hand wash and not use the dishwasher but this post has me thinking now.
February 4th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I like handwashing and air-drying dishes. We use greywater safe detergents and save all the rinse water in a tub for use on the garden. I would bet you’re right about dishwashers being more efficient if used properly but whenever I’m at friends’ houses they all seem to rinse the dishes by hand and handwash pots, knives, cutting boards and wine glasses. I’ve had my dishes forever and they still look new. My brother and family have some beautiful Polish dishes that look worn from being washed in a dishwasher.
When we look up from handwashing our dishes, depending on the time of year we see: City Park with the foothills in the backround, lots of birds and the neighborhood foxes, lilacs, roses, honeysuckle with heavenly blue morning glories weaving through them, my herb garden etc.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I have a dishwasher,very little dishes get done by hand at my house.Very informative post,thank you.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I’ve never seen a narrow dishwasher like that–so neat! I am PRO-dishwashers!! Raising 6 kids it was a necessity at our house:) But I do try to do it wisely. Never a half load, etc.
Love the wood front! I’m with you on all the stainless steel. Too industrial looking for me:)
Great post!
Linda C
February 6th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
How nice, all your dishes match. I have a dishwasher but with just 2 of us it takes awhile to fill it, so I usually just wash by hand.