Want to save water and energy when cleaning dishes?
Start with your dishwasher.
1. Stop pre-rinsing your dishes
Modern dishwashers are built to chop and filter food pieces so they don’t get redeposited on your dishes, but instead get washed away. Enzymatic dish detergents help to break down those particles even further. Scrape your plates, but don’t rinse them. Pre-rinsing wastes water and energy and can also impact the soil sensors in your dishwasher – which may impact the cleaning process
2. Load your dishwasher correctly
Just like mom always said, the better you are at loading, the cleaner your dishes will be. Place plates, bowls and other items in the lower rack so they are each spread apart to get the most effective wash action. Porcelain, glass and china should go up in the top rack, with dirtier pots and pans in the lower rack to optimize cleaning. Then, after you have loaded your dishwasher, loading the dishwasher, spin the spray arm to make sure the arm has cleared tall objects.
3. Use rinse aid and select air dry.
Rinse aid is crucial in aiding the drying process, so be sure and check the rinse aid level, and select “Air Dry” to reduce energy use.
4. Clean your appliance
Products such as affresh brand dishwasher cleaning tablets will help to keep your appliances clean and in top operating order.
5. Shift your run times
The best time to run appliances to save electricity is after 7 p.m. and before noon the next day, when energy is cheaper and the power grid is less busy.