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Setting Your Dishwasher For The Best Wash Ever
by Verna Arnott
http://www.fixdishwasher.com
Dishwashers sometimes come in for some bad press,
particularly because it is assumed they waste energy and
water. However this is rarely the case - usually
dishwashers use less water and less energy than washing
your plates by hand. So it is quite possible to be
environmentally friendly and enjoy the convenience of a
dishwasher. If you want to get better and cheaper
performance from your dishwasher, here are some hints.
Some people mistakenly think that a dishwasher uses more
water because it's big and a sink is little. Although,
if you think about how people tend to wait to do their
dishes once a day and then continually fill and refill
the sink with fresh hot water, these tiny sinks end up
using lots of water by the time all is said and done.
It's the dish-washing technique that weighs heavily into
this energy saving equation. Since the dishwasher
typically uses roughly 20 liters (about 5 gallons) of
water per run, the dishwasher makes good use of its
water consumption in comparison to how many people hand
washes their dishes.
What's more, you would be wise to do all you can to be
careful on the quantity of water used to operate your
dishwasher. For example, try to scrape off dirty plates
into the trash rather than running hot water to do this
duty. If you must use water before using the dishwasher,
put the dishes into a sink full only halfway. In
addition, you can usually skip the pre-rinse cycle. By
experimenting with these ideas, you may find where you're
overusing your water.
Dishwashers only need to be run when full. Avoid running
half full washers. Granted, you may need more dishes for
this tip. If investing in more dishes is needed, the
cost of the additional purchases may outweigh the
benefits of saving water!
The other big use of energy in a dishwasher is heating
the water. Of course you need to heat up water to do the
washing-up by hand, so this part probably costs no more
(could even cost less). You should keep your dishwasher
treated for scale build up if you live in a hard water
area (most of the US) because this really effects the
efficiency of the water heater. The key here is to use a
lower heat setting - not forcing the water to be heated
to the top temperature is a real energy and cash saver.
Most people like to think that they are killing germs by
sticking their dishwasher on the highest setting, but
this isn't really true. The temperatures we are talking
about for home (or commercial) dishwashers are nothing
like high enough. What your home dishwasher does is
wash away germs with the help of the detergent, so
forget about the higher temperature. It is also
possible to save some energy by knocking off the drying
cycle, opening the door and letting them dry naturally.
If you do upgrade your dishwasher, look for washers that
carry the best energy saving rating. These newer models
heat water in safer and more efficient manners in
comparison to older units. Also, these newer
dishwashers are often far more environmentally friendly
and cost effective than many of your neighbor's hand
washing habits.
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