An erroneous belief still exists that a dishwasher is an appliance that consumes a lot of water and electricity; however, anyone who uses this appliance daily will recognise that it allows time, water and electricity to be saved in the preparation of hot water, as well as the hands to be protected from household chemicals and hot water.

Myth No. 1

A dishwasher increases household water consumption. Research shows that cleaning a dish set for 12 people by hand requires 50 litres of water and 60 minutes of time, while a dishwasher can clean the same number of dishes using 6-8 litres of cold water on average and time is only spent putting the dishes in the dishwasher and taking them out. Older dishwasher models consume more water, while the newer models, corresponding to the A+++ energy efficiency class, can clean dishes in as little as 5 litres of cold water.   

Myth No. 2

A dishwasher consumes a lot of electricity.
In fact, a dishwasher consumes about 1-2 kWh of electricity for one washing cycle, depending on the model of the appliance and the washing programme used. A dishwasher corresponding to an A+++ energy efficiency class in an ecological washing programme consumes only 0.83 kWh of energy. By contrast, if the hot water in the household is provided by an electric heater, the power consumption necessary to wash the same amount of dishes may reach 2.5 kWh. To reduce dishwasher power consumption, completely fill the baskets with dishes and clean the filter regularly.

Myth No. 3

With a dishwasher, dishes are not as clean as when washing by hand. On the contrary, it is not possible to achieve the level of cleanliness and shine by washing dishes by hand, as when washing and drying them in a dishwasher, especially in regard to glass. If the dishes are not clean after washing, there can be several causes:

• incorrect dish placement;
• unsuitable washing programme selected;
• dirty filters or dirty inside of the dishwasher;
• too much or too little detergent used.

Energy efficiency is the targeted use of energy resources. With our actions and daily habits, we can have an impact on the financial resources of our family and the reasonable use and protection of the environmental resources we all share.