Perhaps your dishwasher is broken, or you don’t own a dishwasher. You might be too lazy to unload the clean dishes and replace them with dirty ones, so you decide to hand wash your dishes.
Here are three reasons why you should stop hand washing dishes:
It seems obvious but sponges soak up everything. Bacteria included.
Did you know your average kitchen sponge is dirtier than a toilet seat? Even though excess food particles are being washed off, you’re actually adding bacteria to the dishes and utensils you eat with.
Dishwashers will clean off most of the bacteria and food particles, leaving you with the cleanest dishes possible.
A study from Germany reports that kitchen sponges may host even more bacteria than we thought. Researchers genetically analyzed 14 used sponges from different households and found they contained an astounding 362 different types of bacteria. Although most of the bacteria are not harmful to humans, some are.
While the study has limitations, like that it analyzed only 14 sponges collected in one region of Germany, the study’s findings offer a reminder to practice careful hygiene when cleaning kitchen surfaces. The study also found that attempts to clean sponges (advice given across the internet to sanitise sponges) by microwaving or washing them led to only a short-term decrease in the number of germs. In fact, the study’s authors say such attempts at sanitizing sponges might cause potentially harmful bacteria to grow back in even greater numbers.
Instead of attempting to clean kitchen sponges, they suggest replacing the items weekly. Although this generates a lot of waste and means that all of these kitchen sponges are just ending up in landfill. Replacing kitchen sponges often is a temporary and poor solution to a larger problem.
It’s more water-efficient to use a dishwasher than to wash dishes by hand. You’ll save money!
For the most part, you’ll save water (and money) by washing dishes in the dishwasher rather than washing them by hand. This is especially true if you’re using a new energy efficient dishwasher, which can save gallons of water, in addition to saving money on your utility bills.
These newer models are more efficient than the models from 10+ years ago, and can save you more than double the amount of water that it would take to hand wash (for a full load of dishes).
Upgrading your dishwasher might cost you a few hundred now, but you’ll make it all back in no time between your water and electric bill savings. It’s worth it in the long run to invest in a good, energy efficient dishwasher.
You’ll save time
Something we love to hear. Saving time, having a little extra in our day to do whatever else it is we need to get done. In this day and age, lifestyles are busy and you often don’t get much time to relax on busy weekdays. You could spend up to an hour per day washing dishes, time that could be spent being more productive elsewhere- or relaxing. All of those hours add up, so buy yourself some extra time and make the switch do an energy efficient dishwasher.
If you want more time, lower costing utility bills and less bacteria, then invest in a dishwasher!
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