Your kitchen has many opportunities to swap regular habits for eco-friendly choices.
From what goes in your fridge to how you clean the countertops, the chances to improve your environmental footprint are endless.
One of the main ways to have a green mindset in the kitchen is an eco-friendly dishwasher. Between the amount of water consumption and energy used, simple dishwashing habits can have a significant effect.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself about how you do the dishes.
1. Do You Rinse and Then Wash?
If you’re rinsing dishes in the sink only to run them through a wash cycle, you’re wasting time and energy.
It’s not worth the extra effort from you, and especially not the double-duty of water consumption.
Try scraping particularly dirty plates if there’s a lot of food on them. Dump what’s left in cups and bowls and put them in the washer right away as well.
2. What Kind of Cycle Do You Use?
Once the dishwasher is loaded, try not to overwork it. Instead, use the auto setting for everyday use.
This gets everything clean without the extra hot water and energy of cycles made for pots and pans or sterilizing. If you have a legitimate need for such settings, try to limit how often you use them.
Particularly messy dishes can be pre-soaked rather than rinsed to save water.
3. How Do You Dry the Dishes?
Think of your dishwashing in two steps – washing and drying. Your eco-friendly dishwasher should only focus on washing. Then, you do the drying.
Otherwise, you’re wasting energy on the hot vapor needed to dry everything. Even if you need your clean dishes right away, it only takes two seconds to wipe something down.
Better to spend a little bit of extra time than to have your energy bill (and environmental impact) add up.
4. How Do You Fill Your Dishwasher?
Another trick to lower your footprint is to wait to run your dishwasher until it’s full. Half-loads end up using double the energy, which means a little bit of patience can go a long way.
Speaking of filling the dishwasher, consider what kind of cleaner you’re using. There are many cleaning options that will get the job done without having a harsh impact. These range from basic dish soap to hard water stain remover.
Check the labeling on each product to see how eco-friendly it is.
If you aren’t sure what to look for, or how much you can trust a certain brand, try making your own.
Going Green: Eco-Friendly Dishwasher Habits and Other Cleaning Tips
Changing your lifestyle to be more conscious of the environment doesn’t have to be anything drastic.
When it comes to maintaining an eco-friendly dishwasher, little tricks go a long way. Commit to these changes and see how your energy bill drops and how much better you feel about your impact.
These practices might even inspire you to change how you clean the rest of the house.
For more green cleaning tips and products, click here.
