Activities in the kitchen can use a lot of water. The biggest debate these days is handwashing versus dishwasher for getting those dishes clean. I have seen statistics for either one being the more efficient means of water usage. Personally, I think this is a choice each person has to make for themselves and how well it works for them. I will discuss each one separately with specific water and energy conservation ideas for each. By the way, it does save water to use paper plates but it does not save the resources used to make and ship the plates (paper plates would be my husbands solution for water conservation :)).
Let's start with hand washing dishes. This works best if you put soapy water in one sink and rinse water in the second sink (versus running faucet each time to rinse). Gather the runoff water with a container as you are waiting for the water to heat up. Use this to later water plants. Use the least amount of water in each sink to get the job done. Make sure to use a dishwashing soap that is environmentally friendly.
The dishwasher can be a big water waster if you "clean" dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Use a scraper to get excess food off of plate and dishes before putting in washer,. Make sure you run only full loads Only use pots and pans setting for dirtiest dishes. This setting uses more water and energy to run. Turn off drying cycle. /During winter, open dishwasher when done washing and let humidity and heat help warm up kitchen. During summer months, let the dishwasher cool off before opening. Most dishwasher detergents still contain phosphates which are bad for the local water sources. Use a detergent without phosphates or make the one listed in a previous post. It will save you money and is easy to make and use.
Here, at our house, we use a combination of both methods. We wash most of our dishes in dishwasher, We do, however. wash bigger pieces by hand. These we just put a little water in the biggest piece and wash the few dishes that way. Take a moment to think about how you wash your dishes today, it may save you some money and the environment some energy usage.
Let's start with hand washing dishes. This works best if you put soapy water in one sink and rinse water in the second sink (versus running faucet each time to rinse). Gather the runoff water with a container as you are waiting for the water to heat up. Use this to later water plants. Use the least amount of water in each sink to get the job done. Make sure to use a dishwashing soap that is environmentally friendly.
The dishwasher can be a big water waster if you "clean" dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Use a scraper to get excess food off of plate and dishes before putting in washer,. Make sure you run only full loads Only use pots and pans setting for dirtiest dishes. This setting uses more water and energy to run. Turn off drying cycle. /During winter, open dishwasher when done washing and let humidity and heat help warm up kitchen. During summer months, let the dishwasher cool off before opening. Most dishwasher detergents still contain phosphates which are bad for the local water sources. Use a detergent without phosphates or make the one listed in a previous post. It will save you money and is easy to make and use.
Here, at our house, we use a combination of both methods. We wash most of our dishes in dishwasher, We do, however. wash bigger pieces by hand. These we just put a little water in the biggest piece and wash the few dishes that way. Take a moment to think about how you wash your dishes today, it may save you some money and the environment some energy usage.
.bmp)
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