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My dishwasher is modern, bought 1 year ago.

Because dirty dishes stink, I have to run a half empty dishwasher. Unfortunately I have no other choice, even fungus develops when the dirty dishes are too long in the dishwasher.

How harmful to the environment is this with modern appliances? Is there a better solution?

I know that, for example, the washing machine for clothes uses less resources when it is half full. That was an important purchase criterion for me as a single person.

Sybil
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    Have you considered washing dishes by hand in the kitchen sink either as you are making a meal or after having eaten the meal? Much less water & electricity would be used. Alternatively, prior to placing dishes in the dishwasher rinse them under the tap in the kitchen sink. – Fred Aug 08 '23 at 07:18
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    @Fred You have that backwards - even running the dishwasher half-full will almost certainly use less water, and possibly less electricity than handwashing the same amount of dishes. Handwashing dishes is notoriously water-inefficient, you'd use less water running a mostly empty dishwasher. – Nuclear Hoagie Aug 08 '23 at 16:24

2 Answers2

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It sounds like you don't need a dishwasher.

I live alone. I don't use a dishwasher, I wash everything by hand.

It isn't hard. For example, I wash my plate when cooking food, which provides plenty of waiting time for allowing washing it. I don't have any other better uses for that waiting time, so the time usage from my point of view is zero.

Of the large items like pots and frying pans, they usually aren't intended to be washed in the dishwasher and if you do so, you need quite many of these so that you have enough of them for every day. So most people wash them by hand anyway.

Some items like drinking glasses and coffee mugs can be washed as needed, no need to wash every single day. If you drink only water, the drinking glass washing interval can actually be quite long, but coffee mugs require washing more often or else it affects the taste of coffee.

It's true that modern dishwashers are quite water-efficient so washing by hand definitely won't save water or the energy used to heat that water. So for the environment, it may actually be best if you just use the dishwasher and fill it only partially. The reason I don't have a dishwasher is not because it would be harmful to the environment to run it at quarter full. The reason is that it takes quite a lot of space for which I have far better uses. There's simply no reason to waste space for something big that I fill only partially. I use the space that the dishwasher would otherwise use for storing items (kitchen tools, food, etc).

If you really want to fully use your dishwasher, maybe you should consider putting your frying pans, pots etc. there -- buy many of these so you have a free one for every day. They take quite a lot of space so I can't imagine if you cook food that you would be unable to fill your dishwasher.

About a specific cleaning mode for half-full or quarter-full dishwasher: I believe they don't have that, since it's hard to automatically detect how full the dishwasher is. Washing machines can do that, since they have a rotating drum and they can measure the rate of acceleration of the drum with a constant power level to determine how much spinning mass the drum has.

juhist
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    I totally agree with answer. – Fred Aug 09 '23 at 05:58
  • Dishwashers don't have partial-load cleaning modes because they don't need them. A top-load washing machine works by immersing the clothes in the water, where a dishwasher works by spraying the dishes with water jets. – Mark Aug 09 '23 at 20:23
  • -1. Most pots and pans are marked suitable for dishwasher use, and nearly all the rest can tolerate it long term. Even sharp knives are fine if they can't rub against other things. I also live mostly alone, and wash up by hand so rarely that I turn my hot water off in summer (I have an electric shower if I want a warm shower, and my dishwasher and washing machine are cold-fill only). That keeps my house cooler too. Washing during cooking is likely to use more water than washing after the meal, because the food will have dried on by the time you're next cooking. – Chris H Oct 19 '23 at 12:41
  • ...and dishwashers sort of have a part-load option. The quick wash often uses the least water and electricity, but doesn't work as well as the longer programs if the machine is crammed full, or if food has dried on – Chris H Oct 19 '23 at 12:44
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Using a "smart" dishwasher with a water-turbidity sensor, running a half-full dishwasher is slightly less than twice as harmful as running a fully-loaded one.

The amount of water used doesn't change. A dishwasher works by cycling the same water repeatedly through a filter to the cleaning jets; a smart washer monitors the progress of cleaning by measuring the opacity of the water just before it enters the filter. If the water entering the filter is reasonably clean, that's a sign that the dishes are clean and it's time to start the rinse cycle.

The amount of electricity used will probably decrease slightly. A half-empty dishwasher, properly loaded, will provide better access to the soiled surfaces of the dishes and faster cleaning.

Even a basic fixed-cycle dishwasher is going to be more efficient than hand-washing for more than a few dishes. The "closed cycle with filter" setup means that a dishwasher uses far less water than you'd expect; a high-efficiency one can use as little as 12 liters/3 gallons for a load of dishes. Don't use the dishwasher's drying feature, though: air-drying is far more environmentally friendly.

Mark
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  • It's usually hard to avoid the drying feature unless you're standing in front of it. Most don't allow you to turn it off on the normal slow programs. So if you run it overnight (when the grid power mix is better), or as you leave the house in the morning (if you have solar panels) you're committed to the drying cycle. A typical quick wash cycle without a drying cycle needs you to be there to open the door anyway. A few models now open their own doors, but generally at the end of a drying cycle – Chris H Oct 19 '23 at 12:46