Dish-washing vs Hand-washing: Which is better?
DISHWASHING OR HANDWASHING
Do you have a pile of dirty dishes lined up just as you’re reading this? Are you also a procrastinator when it comes to cleaning dishes? Do you wish to have a dishwasher but are afraid of its environmental implications? Well, you’re in the right place. You’re about to get the whole gist: Dishwashing or Handwash, which is more suitable for you?
Which is more Time-Consuming?
Everyone will agree that washing dishes seems like a job that doesn’t end. The whole process of washing, cleaning, and drying your dishes ends up taking so much time that one always seems to procrastinate until there is no dish left clean! Dishwashers take the point in this one. While all dishwashers are different and work differently; the average time taken by the newer technology dishwashers is about fifteen minutes only. During that time you can load your dishes, wait for them to clean, and unload the dishes to your cupboards. It’s that simple. Dishwashing can take up to 30 minutes depending on your load. Post washing them also takes them an additional 30 minutes to completely dry and be ready for unloading. So, if you are a person that has a lot of deadlines and no time to complete your chores, a dishwasher might be the way to go.
Impact on the Environment
When we talk about dishes and their impacts on the environment, water conservation is an important part to cover. Over consumption of water is bad, extremely bad for the climate. So, if you’re a mindful individual like me, a thought might have occurred in your mind regarding the implications of dishwashing. It’s a common belief that dishwashers consume a lot of water while washing your dishes and often a lot of it is wasted straight into the dumps. Contrary to what you might have been thinking, this is not the case. Dishwashers, on average, consume 7 liters of water per load. While that also seems like a huge number, hand washing dishes might use up to 40 liters of water per load. Half of it gets wasted as the tap is on the entire time while you’re cleaning the dirty stains off your load. With the competitive market thriving, new models of dishwashers are now putting an eco-friendly option, which saves water up to 50%.
However, dishwashers have a disadvantage as they consume a lot of energy whereas handwashing does not use any energy at all.
Which is more Cost-Effective?
Handwashing requires just a good dishwashing liquid and your hands while dishwashers require half your kitchen space. So, in short, Handwashing is more cost-effective. Dishwashers are expensive as well and are often an investment. They perhaps in the long run might save you some money but the eventual repairs and servicing can burn a hole in your pocket.
Which is safer for your skin?
Since you are not in contact with any surfactants or chemicals during dishwashing, it can be said that Dishwashing is better for your skin. However, if you use a chemical-free and all-natural product like Koparo’s Dishwashing liquid, your skin is safer as some people have observed soap over-lining after taking their load off from the dishwasher; which might be dangerous to consume or get in contact with if you have sensitive hands.
Finally, which one cleans better?
That depends. Some dishwashers of premium quality clean your dishes like glass while some leave a spot here and there. The same happens with hand washing as you might leave some soap on or maybe miss a corner.
In comparison, a dishwasher might win because it has a built-in mechanism that tries to cover the whole ground and ends up cleaning pretty much every surface of your dishes.
In conclusion, it can be assumed that the winner is the dishwasher. But is it? Some of these points are important to consider:
- You cannot use a lot of dishwashers if you do not have a full load of dishes: If you are someone who lives alone or just have one partner, it might take you a whole day to get clean dishes out of your dishwasher
- Certain utensils are not dishwasher friendly: A lot of products like wood cutting boards, sterling silver flatware, cast iron cookware, chef’s knives, and non-stick pans cannot be put into your dishwasher and have to be done by hand.
- If you have a small household that doesn’t produce enough dishes and find yourself only running your dishwasher every two or three days, it might be better to stick to hand washing dishes- instead. Food particles can dry out and become caked on if dishes sit for more than 24 hours before being cleaned. If this occurs, your dishwasher may not be able to remove the stuck-on grime.