The “Tip of the Week,” excerpted from
Wake Up and Smell the Planet: The Non-Pompous, Non-Preachy Grist Guide to Greening Your Day

Published by Skipstone, an imprint of The Mountaineers Books
Edited by Brangien Davis, with Katharine Wroth

Dishwashers:

Perhaps by now you've heard the dish on dishwashers. If fully loaded but not overloaded, if no prerinsing is done, if low-energy cycles are used, then yes! A dishwasher is more water-efficient and hygienic than doing dishes the old-fashioned way.

The average dishwasher uses about 15 gallons of water per load, while the average dish-washer (that would be you) uses about 5 gallons of water per minute at the sink. If you have just a few dirty dishes, you can minimize waste by stopping up the drain or filling a basin instead of keeping the water running. On the other hand, if you space out at the sink with the tap going full blast and start thinking about how much you love the plates with the blue stripe on them, and how annoyed you still are that your brother ended up with more of them than you—well, your dreams of being green have gone down the drain.

It's worth it to spend the time and money to get a dishwasher that works. You won't need to waste faucet water on prerinsing, or money on repairs.