Are there any savings when using a dishwasher?

Are there any savings when using a dishwasher? What housewife doesn’t dream of shifting some of her household chores to smart household appliances? An automatic washing machine will do an excellent job of cleaning laundry, a robot vacuum cleaner will collect all the garbage in the apartment, and a dishwasher will easily wash dirty dishes.

The husbands of lucky women agree to purchase an additional unit for the kitchen without any problems, but some have to spend a long time persuading their spouses to buy expensive equipment, giving arguments and talking about the extra time spent, the negative impact of detergents on the skin of the hands, etc. Let's try to figure out whether a dishwasher is economical or whether it is better to wash hands, will such an acquisition be beneficial for all family members?

How many minutes per day will we save?

Very often housewives complain that due to household chores they do not have time to spend more time with their household members. The first and main argument for buying a dishwasher is the significant savings in free time. On average, in a day, 3 people can easily “stain” 10-20 plates, a frying pan, a saucepan, several cutlery, and three mugs. This list can be continued depending on the lifestyle and habits of the family. A good housewife can handle a couple of sinks in about 45 minutes, and if a child is involved in this task, the time cost can increase to one hour a day.

How do happy owners of dishwashers avoid wasting their personal time? To load dirty dishes into the machine, the user will need about 10 minutes, this is due to the need to first remove food residues from the surface of plates, baking sheets and other items. Thus, through simple calculations, you can understand that it’s easy to save up to 35-50 minutes of time every day and spend it on more pleasant and useful things.

The technician will do the dirtiest work himself. On average, a dishwasher completes its task in 2, in some cases – in 4 hours. But here it is worth considering that it is the machine that will work, not you.

Of course, saving 35-50 minutes a day seems unconvincing to some users, but per month you will be able to save 17.5-25 hours, and in one year, instead of 212-304 hours of standing at the sink, you will spend time doing your favorite things.

What about water?

machine saves cold water Today, housing and utility tariffs force consumers of services to install apartment meters that measure the consumption of cold and hot water. In general, Russian people do not have the need to save water resources. Traditionally, dishes are cleaned with a constantly open tap, under a strong stream of water. Now let’s imagine how many liters of liquid will “leak” during the 60-minute procedure.

Let us share with you the results of one interesting experiment. The same set of dishes was prepared. To begin with, the devices were cleaned manually. During the procedure, 75 liters of hot and 35 liters of cold water were consumed. The dishwasher used 10 liters of cold water for the same amount of dirt. Saving water resources reaches 90 liters per day! By referring to housing and communal services tariffs, you can calculate how much equipment will save. A cubic meter of hot water costs much more than the same volume of cold liquid.

A dishwasher will not only save the housewife’s personal time, but also reduce the consumption of water resources, and, consequently, reduce the payment on receipts.

We count electricity

the machine saves energy It is logical that when using a dishwasher, electrical energy will be consumed, since the device operates from the network. When washing by hand, we immediately open the hot water tap, and the dishwasher independently heats the cold water to the optimal temperature.

For the purpose of the experiment, water for manual cleaning was heated with an electric water heater. Energy consumption was equal to 2.3 kW. To remove dirt from dishes of the same volume, the equipment consumed 1.5 kV of electricity. From the measurements it becomes clear that using a dishwasher is more profitable if you look at it from this angle.

Electric current consumption is clearly influenced by the initial temperature of the collected water. In summer it is warmer, in winter it is cooler. This is why during the winter season the dishwasher may use a little more electricity. Assessing the cost of the volume of hot water spent during manual washing, and the payment for the electricity consumed by the machine, we can safely talk about the undeniable benefits of the equipment.

About powders, tablets and capsules

The main high cost of servicing a dishwasher lies in the selection of special dishwashing products. It is the purchase of tablets, capsules and powders for cleaning that constitute the main cost item associated with the operation of equipment.

In addition, to maintain the dishwasher’s performance, it is periodically necessary to use salt, which is responsible for restoring the ion exchanger.

The cost of household chemicals will depend on the brand of cleaning products you choose. For the sake of experiment, let’s calculate how much you will have to spend on washing dishes if you use Finish Powerball tablets. For the prepared volume of dishes, the organizers of the experiment used 2 tablets of the product and dissolved about 1 teaspoon of special salt.

A Finish package containing 65 tablets will cost the user approximately $5. Thus, the cost of two spent tablets will be 15.5 rubles. Adding the cost of salt powder we get $0.1. This is the amount you will have to spend daily on cleaning cutlery. In some cases, the cost of dishwashing detergents may exceed the savings in energy and water resources, but such costs are still acceptable in comparison with the other advantages of the machine.

What else is the use of the machine?

allergy to dishwasher We have figured out whether it is economical to wash dishes in a machine, now let’s talk about other advantages of technology that are not expressed in saving money. We will not talk about unusual ways of using a dishwasher, for example, as an oven for cooking fish or a tank for washing vegetables, but we will give more obvious advantages.

The machine allows you to clean dishes when the water is heated to 90°C. This will eliminate all bacteria from the surface of the devices and sterilize them. This function is very relevant for families with small children.
The equipment has the function of softening too hard water, which makes it possible to perfectly wash off stains from glassware without leaving limescale stains on it.

For families of 5 or more people, it is better to purchase large-capacity dishwashers. This technique will allow you to achieve an optimal ratio between the cost of a one-time cycle of work and the volume of dishes loaded into the tray.

Why do they scold the dishwasher?

Not all dishes can be washed in the dishwasher Housewives, puzzled by the question of whether to buy a dishwasher or not, want to know not only the advantages of the device, but also the inconveniences that can be experienced when using the equipment. Even such a useful device has some disadvantages. Let's figure out what disadvantages can be found.

Fine abrasive, which is an essential component of dishwasher products, can wash off designs, coatings, and gilding from dishes.
By purchasing an overly large dishwasher, you risk turning it into a storage area for unwashed dishes. Such a “warehouse” will lead to the appearance of an unpleasant odor in the kitchen.

It is very important to purchase a unit with a loading capacity that meets the needs of the family.

To maintain the functionality of the heating element of the device, it is necessary to soften the water drawn into the system. Polyphosphate filters or special salt softeners will help to cope with this task.
Not all kitchen utensils are dishwasher safe. For example, a Teflon-coated frying pan that does not have a sign that allows it to be washed in a machine may deteriorate after several washes and become unusable due to damage to the coating.
The machine requires special care.Periodically it is necessary to clean all filters, the drain pump, and start the self-cleaning mode of the equipment. It may be necessary to use special dishwasher cleaning capsules that contain strong chemicals.
The unit does not remove all types of contaminants. Not every device can cope with porridge that has burned to the bottom of the pan or pasta that has been fried in the pan.

There is also a certain list of household items that are not compatible with the dishwasher. These include:

earthenware products;
devices with glaze painting;
aluminum pans, plates, mugs, spoons and forks;
glassware not marked with a machine washable sign. Some types of glass, when cleaned in hot water, may become cloudy or crack and become unusable;
antique dishes;
products with wooden or porcelain handles;
tin and copper appliances;
wooden kitchen utensils (boards, spatulas, etc.);
products made using the Gzhel or Khokhloma technique.

Use special dishwashing agents with extreme caution. Products that prevent streaks from appearing on products are not washed away completely, but remain on the surface even after double rinsing. Therefore, people who are highly sensitive to chemical additives, as well as families with small children, should completely avoid using dish conditioners.

Tips for those who want to save money

We found out how much a dishwasher will save water and electrical resources. All that remains is to figure out how to act in order to get the maximum benefit from an expensive “home assistant”.

When choosing equipment, pay special attention to its volume.It is worth realistically assessing the needs of your family. If the dishwasher is too small, you will have to run it several times, which will lead to excessive consumption of water and electrical resources. In the opposite situation, you may simply not fill the optimal volume of dishes, but the machine will still use the volume of water stored in memory.
Do not neglect the instructions for the device. Before you start using it, it is better to carefully read the user manual, look at the pictures showing the correct layout of dishes in the trays. If you arrange cutlery correctly, you can “shove” the maximum number of items into the unit, while at the same time preventing the accumulation of water in plates and mugs and the formation of stains on the surface of the dishes.
It is better not to use dishwasher capsules. The fact is that their content is standard for both small and most capacious washing machines. The housewife can measure how much powder is needed depending on how full the machine is, how dirty the dishes are, and capsules cannot be dosed. That is why the use of encapsulated products may not be economical.
If you or your loved ones are allergic to chemicals, then it is better to replace dishwashing compounds with regular soda, and dish rinse aid with a six percent vinegar solution. Of course, baking soda and vinegar will not be as effective as special products, but together with the high temperature of the water, they will be able to clean kitchen appliances.

The dosage must be calculated independently, taking into account the degree of hardness of the tap water.

Pay special attention to ensure that polyphosphate salt containers are full.This substance is necessary for the proper functioning of the dishwasher, extending its “life”, as well as high-quality cleaning of dishes.

If your apartment has a two-tariff electric meter, then it is better to turn on the dishwasher at night. At night, kilowatts are several times cheaper, and this will allow for additional savings in the family budget.