to use or not to use???

[Zabibaby]

So I am deliberating ...I am the old fashion kind of girl, who always wash the dishes by hand, lived in a rented apartment for years with dishwashing machine and never never used it, except for storing pots and pans
Now moved to a house and got myself a dishwashing macihne just to cover the hole between the cabinets LOL
Now I am finding myself too busy (with cleaning a bigger house, homeschooling, wahm orders etc) and feel the temptation to use it but wonder.....
does this spend more water than handwashing?
is it worth it???
is it something that you use every day???

I really would like to know!!!

[Picklesmom1]

I just recently got a dishwasher, I've only noticed my electric bill go up about $3.00 and I use it once a day. It also uses less water then doing them by hand.

[Zabibaby]

come on!!! please!!!
anybody??!!
I would like to know if others use it or not, frequency, etc.
...how about the bills??

[Zabibaby]

Originally Posted by Picklesmom1 I just recently got a dishwasher, I've only noticed my electric bill go up about $3.00 and I use it once a day. It also uses less water then doing them by hand.

this is exactly what I wanted to know...so ...you place you dishes from the day there and run a cycle at the end of the day??.. I was thinking about doing this...
$3.00 is not much...
Thanks mama!!

[ElToAnCy]

I'm crazy about mine. I used to wash all my dishes by hand to, even though I had a dishwasher... I didn't want to succumb to the temptation of using it. But I started one day and I never looked back. It saves so much time. My electrical bill is $170 this month... but our rates just went up. Also we don't have a gas bill, so that bill is for every appliance in our house. Although I don't use my dryer at all.

Just try it a couple times and see what you think... and then watch your bill. At least you'll know.

ETA... And I just place the dishes inside the washer all throughout the day and when it gets full, I run it. So easy!

[NatureMama4]

does this spend more water than handwashing? is it worth it??? is it something that you use every day???

yes, a little--less likely if you run water to rinse vs pour one sink full
yes!!
yes!!!

[Zabibaby]

$170 electrical bill????
gosh isnt that too much??
I just pay 50something...I dont use heater...I dont need it with CA weather.
I have a gas dryer gas cooker.

[ElToAnCy]

Originally Posted by Zabibaby $170 electrical bill???? gosh isnt that too much?? I just pay 50something...I dont use heater...I dont need it with CA weather. I have a gas dryer gas cooker.

Yeh, I almost cried when I opened it. It's been pretty cold here... I only keep the thermostat at 60 degrees in the house... but the electricity rates jumped about 10% this last month. That's the killer. I don't get a gas bill though. Last spring my bill was about $75 a month... but I'm thinking this spring it will be worse because of the rate hikes. You're lucky with your low bill... and CA weather.

[NatureMama4]

we haven't even turned our heaters on this year as our baseline is already $90-ish and we can't afford more. Thank God the wood stove does an adequate job of heating!

[HLCreations]

I love my dishwasher! We live in an apartment right now...but a few years ago we were in a rental house (2 in total) and there was no dishwasher (in either!) so DH bought me a portable one. I loved it too!

I think it all balances out if you wash by hand now....Currently you are using more water with hand washing, but if you use your machine you will use less water, but more electric.

I don't know what your rates are like or how much energy your washer takes (if it is new, chances are it is already labeled an energy saver? Most are)
But I would try it to see if you like it.

We use ours every day...sometimes twice if company comes over or it's a holiday or something.


For us, it's less time to spend at the sink and more time to spend with the kids! Although, our kids LOVE to load and unload the dishwasher too!