What uses more water: a dishwasher OR washing dishes by hand?

I understand this is not a simple questions to answer. It all depends on what type of dishwasher, model, how fast the water flows when you wash by hand, etc., etc.





But on average, are there any stats on how many gallons/minute or something each method uses on average?








ANAGah.What uses more water: a dishwasher OR washing dishes by hand?
Older dishwashers use 8-10 gallons, most newer dishwashers use 6 gallons,unless they are Energy Star rated and those use 4 gallons. An Asko dishwasher is generally regarded as the most efficient and uses 3.4 for a normal load and only 2.4 for a quick wash.


How you wash dishes by hand determines your water usage. If you fill one side of the sink with water and the other with rinse water, that uses less water than rinsing dishes with running water. The green couple (from the third link below) found they used 2 gallons of water to wash by hand and their dishwasher used 6.


If you rinse dishes before putting them in dishwasher that would increase your usage too.What uses more water: a dishwasher OR washing dishes by hand?
Like you say, there's lots of variables. BUT:





For the AVERAGE dishwasher with a full load, it's roughly equivalent to washing a full load in a sink full of water. I was surprised to learn this. If you're someone who washes the dishes with running water, STOP. Washing with running water uses about 10 times as much than a dishwasher or full sink.
If your dishwasher is about 8 years old or newer or Energy Star rated.,chance's are it uses less water than washing by hand.
That depends on if you wait until the dishwasher is completely full or not. It will use the same amount of water to wash one teaspoon as it will with full load.
I would say it depends on the load of dishes u have to wash
I wash up in 4 litres of water, (approx, 3/4 gallon). Work out the maths.