Dishwasher

The average household does about 215 dishwasher loads per year. Most conventional dishwashers use about 10 gallons per load whileEnergy Star qualified models use about 5 gallons of water per load.

Let your dishwasher do the work …

• Wash only full loads. The average American household uses about 23% of its water running the clothes and dish washer.  Just one partially full load can waste 5-10 gallons of water.
• Consider replacing your older dishwasher with a new Energy Star-approved dishwasher and you could save about 5 gallons per load.
• If you hand wash your dishes, consider this: Running the average kitchen sink faucet for just four minutes can use the same amount of water as a conventional dishwasher.
• Be sure to scrape food residue from dishes instead of rinsing. Rinsing can waste 2.5 gallons of water per minute, and most new dishwashers don’t require it.

If you are washing dishes by hand, be sure to fill your sink or a tub with soapy water and only turn the faucet on when rinsing your dishes.