just read an apartment therapy before/after article about a kitchen renovation and the person said they got rid of their dishwasher because they don't have many dishes to clean (fine) and that it seems like a water waster (completely wrong!!!) and I screamed internally. hand washing uses much more water!!!
@dthompson I remember being shocked to find out just how much more efficient modern day dishwashers are at water use than hand washing. Did not expect it.
@cwebber @dthompson I'm likewise surprised by this
is water used in pre-rinsing included?
@cwebber @dthompson I mean the latter, every time I've used someone's dishwasher they've remanded I pre-wash (I think it's nonsense, but it seems common)
@joeyh @cwebber @dthompson I believe it depends on the dishwasher if pre-rinsing by hand is needed.
@joeyh @dthompson I only pre-rinse things that have big or particularly sticky things on them but I know others vary in their habits (including in my household)
@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda on a mild tangent, look at this delightful ad for this hand-cranked (and apparently not very well working) mechanical dishwasher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher#/media/File:The_Faultless_Quaker_Dishwasher_(1896_advertisement).jpg
@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda Oh my god wikipedia has lead me down a terrifying rabbithole
Cooking food in dishwashers
@cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda this is the most interesting discussion about dishwashers I've ever had.
@cwebber also what does MRE stand for?
@dthompson Meal, Ready to Eat!
I have been figuring out how to make "just add hot water" vegetarian meals. I have quite a few recipes!
@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda Actually I bet this can be combined with the dehydrated MRE type food things I've been doing. If you pack individual meals into the tiny mason jars, then add water into them right before running the dishwasher and put them in the dishwasher, I bet it will cook them pretty well
This is a terrible idea and I have to try it now
@cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda please try this and report back.
@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda Unfortunately @mlemweb really does not like the idea of doing this
@cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb hmm but have you mentioned how cool it will be?
@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb I mentioned it many times!
@cwebber @dthompson @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb I mean you could just add a heat exchanger to your dishwasher drain pipe..
@cwebber @dthompson @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb or maybe a modern dishwasher has a heat exchanger?
@joeyh @mlemweb @wobblysaeeda @dthompson @cwebber Modern dishwashers don't need heat exchangers because they recirculate the water, and a heat exchanger would require regular cleaning to avoid clogging with food. They do have thermostatically controlled water heaters though, so cooking food in one would not save any energy because it would have to expend more energy to keep the water hot.
@cwebber @dthompson @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb @joeyh Get yourself a surplus fresnel lens and build a solar oven.
@cwebber @dthompson @joeyh This could actually be pretty ok? you can wash a full load of dishes (and the outsides of your maison jars) at the same time...
@wobblysaeeda @cwebber @joeyh gather round fam, it's dishwasher salmon night!
@dthompson @cwebber @joeyh Filed under W for "Why do all our dishes smell like fish?"
@cwebber @dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda My mother would never allow enough unused space in a dishwasher to cook meals like this in one.
@faoluin @cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda seasoned dishwasher cooks install a second dishwasher for just this reason
@cwebber @dthompson
also, the hand-washing numbers I found seem to assume one is running the faucet continually while washing
(I typically use 5 gallons to hand wash and rinse a full sink of dishes. Double sinks have two sinks precisely to allow this to be done efficiently.)
Spray bottle with detergent + water saves me a lot of detergent and water.
Showering uses far less water than taking a bath.
@joeyh @dthompson pre-rinsing by the machine or pre-rinsing by the person loading them into the dishwasher?
Yes to the former, dunno by the latter.