How to Save Water Washing Dishes By Hand

Do dishwashers save water over hand washing dishes? It depends on how you hand wash, but yes, you can save money washing dishes by hand.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Dish pan or large bowl or pot
• Liquid dish soap
• Sponge or dishcloth
• Smaller dish pan or bowl (for rinsing)

1. Squirt or pour about a teaspoon of dish soap into the dishpan, bowl or pot.
2. Run hot water into this, allowing suds to rise.
3. Put glasses, cups and other small items in the pan, wash and transfer to the rinse container.
4. Refill the dishpan with dirty dishes and allow them to soak while you do the next step.
5. Rinse the dishes in the rinse container quickly with a small stream of water and set them to drain.
6. Wash the next load of dishes, and put them in the rinse container, continuing until you're done.

Tips & Warnings

• Wash cups, glasses and other small glass items in the first pan full because the water is hotter and makes fingerprints and so on, disappear.
• Wash plates and silverware in the next load.
• Wash pots and pans last to avoid getting the wash water too dirty for other things.
• If you use this water to clean counters, stove top, etc., do that first, before washing dishes, as the water will become progressively dirty.