According to WaterSense, the average household does about 215 dishwasher loads per year. Most conventional dishwashers use about 10 gallons per load while Energy Star qualified models use about 5 gallons of water per load.
Let your dishwasher do the work. Switching to an Energy Star labeled dishwasher could save you over 1,000 gallons of water each year!
- Wash only full loads. Just one partially full load can waste 5-10 gallons of water.
- Consider replacing your older dishwasher with a new Energy Star-labeled dishwasher and you could save about 5 gallons per load.
- 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.
Waterwise Fact
Running the faucet for 4 minutes can use the same amount of water a dishwasher uses for its whole cycle! When hand-washing dishes, remember to turn on the tap only to rinse.