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Washing up by hand ...
 

Washing up by hand , really that difficult? 🤔

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where on earth do you propose the 2 washes a day end up drying?

In your drying cupboard?  I have a load of racking carefully arranged in the cupboard my boiler is in.  Airflow is controlled thru it using convection.  It takes 2 machine fulls and drys clothes in under 12 hours.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:22 am
 Drac
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We have one, have done since we became a family if 4. It’s far easier, they are much cleaner, especially glass. Totally pointless for one person though.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:26 am
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have a load of racking carefully arranged in the cupboard my boiler is in.

My boilers in the back garden.....

In terms of energy use our condenser drier uses less to dry a load than the dehumidifier..... But we still use the dehumidifier unless in a rush as it doesn't need such a high peak load - which costs us money.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:31 am
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Well there is your first mistake then trailrat. 🙂

I'm using waste heat to dry clothes

Obviously I'm being flippant but better designed houses means no need for tumble dryers


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:33 am
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I could wash up three times a day to avoid my kitchen looking like a tip. Or I could bung everything in the dishwasher and put it on in the evening. It's not a difficult choice.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:38 am
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It's not a mistake. It's by design. Barely ever on anyway - and soon to be used even less.

Tumble driers pretty much essential for down care anyway.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:41 am
 J-R
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I’m totally with @tjagain on this subject - except for

No need with beautiful edinburgh water

I find we don’t need Rinse Aid with the beautiful Surrey Hills Water either, but I suspect it isn’t so much the careful filtration through hundreds of feet of chalk so much as most tablets seem to have rinse aid included these days.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:50 am
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Apparently its true that dishwashers (the machine type) are more eco friendly than doing it by hand.... or would it be the same people trying to sell them that have done that bit of research ?


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:52 am
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Family of four here.

I am clearly doing something wrong. as I still end up with a full draining board of pots to do, even after filling the dishwasher. My wife is an excellent cook and like most excellent cooks, she is incapable of preparing a meal without using every pot pan and utensil at her disposal.

For some reason it is also imperative to cover every surface with ingredients, but that's a whole other hill to die on.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 10:58 am
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If I had space for a dishwasher in my kitchen plan I would put one in even if I rarely used it. If nothing else it could be used for storage and then just used when entertaining.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 11:06 am
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Apparently its true that dishwashers (the machine type) are more eco friendly than doing it by hand…. or would it be the same people trying to sell them that have done that bit of research ?

I haven't looked into this claim but I am very dubious especially if you take into account the carbon penalty in building and disposing of the machine.  I suspect careful picking of data


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 11:17 am
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Our kitchen is too small. We had a tabletop one for a while which was OK, but got rid as we wanted space. I'm chief chef and washer upper unfortunately. Fairy original is the only one, or Aldi Magnum Original. Any 'fragrance' ones are pants.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 11:22 am
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Not got one in my new place. I don't mind, I like washing up - and contrary to an early comment in this thread, Fairy is still bloody great.

Only downside is my mugs are getting a bit brown inside, the dishwasher in the old place used to keep them shiny white.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 11:23 am
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I haven’t looked into this claim but I am very dubious

I think it's reasonable. They use very little water, which consequently needs not much heating up. If I do a full load of plates, pans dishes etc (as I did when our dishwasher broke) it needed at least two sinks of water.

Our new(er) dishwasher has an eco mode that can tell how dirty the dishes are and vary the length and temperature of the programme which might negate the 'as long as it's full' caveat.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:11 pm
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my sink is a similar volume to the amount of water the dishwasher uses - but hand dish washing is at a much lower temperature and uses a far lower amount of detergents.

also handwashing is done using water heated by gas not electric so its certainly cheaper

You also said you still handwash pans so thats a dishwasherfull and a sinkful


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:15 pm
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Dishwashers are far more hygienic than hand washing, as longs as you use a decent temperature.

I've always had one, even in my first flat when I lived alone. It was a slimline one and it tended to be on every other day. If you cook from scratch, even for one, you still use a number of dishes.

If you hand wash then most of your stuff is washed in dirty water. Minging.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:25 pm
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Grew up with a dishwasher but when I moved out I've never missed it. Helps that I live alone and it takes me no longer than it does to make a mug of tea (boil while filling the bowl, let it brew while washing up, remove tea bag and add milk while they drip dry) so it's no waste of my time. The hot water is even essentially free as I'm on Economy 7 and having the immersion heater on for the minimum amount each night gives me more than enough for a decent shower and two loads of washing up. Which all surprised me as I thought I'd really miss the convenience but when there's no inconvenience anyway it's fine, quite therapeutic really.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:25 pm
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What's this about tumble dryers ruining your clothes? I've been thinking of getting one but not so sure now.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:28 pm
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Two adults.

Dishwasher goes on every couple of days, unless we've had guests round.

Pots and pans are washed in a basin though - as are a few glasses that have logos as the dishwasher causes these to fade.

On general the crockery comes out much cleaner than handwashed and doesn't need rinsing. It's horrendous seeing how much soapy residue some folk leave on.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:30 pm
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Only downside is my mugs are getting a bit brown inside, the dishwasher in the old place used to keep them shiny white.

Bicarbonate of soda (or cream cleanser and a bit of scrubbing!)


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:37 pm
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my sink is a similar volume to the amount of water the dishwasher uses – but hand dish washing is at a much lower temperature and uses a far lower amount of detergents.

OTOH, I can get three meals worth of dishes into the dishwasher, so that's three sinks of water and three lots of detergent. Plus the carbon intensity of electrically heated water is slightly lower than gas (accounting for boiler and pipework losses).


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:40 pm
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We have a fairly small kitchen so having a dishwasher means dirty plates etc aren't littering the place. And to not have dirty plates everywhere means constant washing up (both of us wfh). the washing up also trashes my skin and i end up with dry skin, cracks etc. The sink is also slightly too low for me and I'm not even 6ft.

No idea why anyone would purposely not have a dishwasher if they have the space.

Our old one died last week. Bought a new one after trying to fix it but it was 15 years old and I was pretty grumpy we didnt have a working one.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:46 pm
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I hate tumble dryers they are for lazy disorganized people, wreck your clothes and are noisy and wasteful. A washing line, hoist or clothes airer with dehumidifier works fine and keeps things in better condition.

Tumble-dryers are for lazy people…? Ha ha ha. How about a family, all doing different sports every day, plus school clothes, in winter… where on earth do you propose the 2 washes a day end up drying? We dry as much as we can in the house or on the line but living in the wintry pennies, outside drying is not practical (weeks of 100% RH) and there’s only so much space to dry stuff inside. Sadly, we do have to use the tumble-dryer a few times during the week.

See also west coast of Scotland. East coast maybe but over here it's too wet. I also live in a 2 bed ex-council house, there's enough room for a horse and hanging airer but that's it. At that rate I'd never be able to keep up.

Underwear and towels go in the dryer, everything else gets hung, works fine for us and never wrecked anything. On whatever day we have summer I give the dryer a rest.

What’s this about tumble dryers ruining your clothes? I’ve been thinking of getting one but not so sure now.

Any T-shirts with transfers or vinyl will get wrecked, as will wool unless you have a special cold cycle.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:46 pm
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(slimline) dishwasher, combined washer and tumble dryer - wouldn't be without either, in my single person household.

Life's too short for doing the dishes and hanging out the washing (which, you still have to put away after hanging dry anyway, contrary to some previous comment).

I offset the apparent environmental criminality of both by not having kids - the most environmentally damaging life choice one can make 😇

(also, my heating is set to 20 degrees all day 😘 )


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:47 pm
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dishwasher, combined washer and tumble dryer

Now thats really good.  One unit to do 3 functions.  Eco to the max


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:51 pm
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If you hand wash then most of your stuff is washed in dirty water. Minging.

No you're not, that's not how mycella work! And FWIW a dishwasher does exactly the same, it doesn't just run straight out.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 12:53 pm
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Totally pointless for one person though.

Stated so boldly for something that is simply wrong.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:23 pm
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Yup - I only got a dishwasher when I became a single person household


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:30 pm
 J-R
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In the report done by Which last month they said “Our tests show even the least water-efficient dishwasher still only uses half the amount of water compared to washing by hand”. And they found the most efficient dishwasher was 19 times less water than hand washing.

mycella

???
I find dishes hand washed in my household generally need to go in the dishwasher because they are visibly not clean.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:32 pm
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I find dishes hand washed in my household generally need to go in the dishwasher because they are visibly not clean.

So, obviously washed by either an inept oaf or a child on crap/no pocket money then.
In cold water, with no detergent.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:48 pm
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@oldfart - look what you've started! I hope you're happy with yourself! 🤣


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:52 pm
 J-R
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obviously washed by either an inept oaf or a child on crap/no pocket money then.
In cold water, with no detergent.

In reality, no. But I won’t pass your comments on to the current Mrs R, or our house guests.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:54 pm
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In your drying cupboard?

Even if I built an oversized cupboard around the combi boiler, a) it doesn't really get that warm in there because it's well insulated, b) there's no way there would be enough room to dry for a busy / active family of four during the winter. No chance. We've got two spare bedrooms and still struggle to find the space to dry stuff. Hence the dreaded tumble-dryer. I accept it works for you which is great, but I'd be on a hiding to nothing trying implement that here. FWIW the tumble-dryer is rarely used between March and Nov because we can get stuff dry outside.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 1:56 pm
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@J-R sorry, I meant micella.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 2:17 pm
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the muffinman
Well that escalated didn’t it 😉 for perspective Mrs OF and I are both retired, only the 2 of us , kids long gone so washing up by hand isn’t a big deal . Families getting kids off to bed , getting stuff ready for the next day etc etc that’s different ,I remember that work shizz 😉 then the dishwasher is a boon but they aren’t without their own unique problems , dare I mention the eternal you aren’t stacking it properly , it’s not my turn to put it all away yadda yadda yadda 😬 that’s a whole other can of worms !


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 2:35 pm
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Our dishwasher broke and we didn't bother fixing it so we could torture teenagers with washing up after every meal. Works a treat and doesn't take any longer than loading / unloading the machine.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 3:12 pm
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Works a treat and doesn’t take any longer than loading / unloading the machine.

see, I don't get this argument - even if you 'load' everything straight into the sink, it's the same process as loading a dishwasher. Then, do you not 'unload' your drying rack (or, towel dry your dishes)?

If so, dishwasher users are still winning in the time stakes, as they're not actually doing the washing up..!


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 4:42 pm
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Our kids unpack the dishwasher. I dread to think how long it'd take them to actually wash up...


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 4:58 pm
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Definitely quicker for me to have kitchen slaves do the washing up rather than me load / unload the dishwasher.

Also, the rule is whoever cooks doesn't have to wash up, so it encourages them to cook instead - which is a useful life skill, unlike washing up.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 5:10 pm
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For me it’s the old my kitchen is tiny!


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 5:58 pm
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Definitely quicker for me to have kitchen slaves do the washing up rather than me load / unload the dishwasher.

Ah, quicker for you but not quicker overall 😉

one still has to take the plates from the table to the sink/dishwasher, and then from the sink/dishwasher to the cupboard.

Unless there's some magic going on, pressing a dishwasher button simply has to be faster than doing the washing up by hand!


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 7:05 pm
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Dishwasher isn't faster. It takes 4 hours on eco. However, I can sit and watch telly during that time 🙂


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 7:19 pm
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Unless something is really dried on then my 30 minute setting is generally good enough


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 7:51 pm
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Allegedly Confucius said a wise man spends more time eating than cooking and washing up.

I assume his wife did the cooking and washing up - unless he lived on pot noodle.


 
Posted : 02/12/2022 9:59 pm
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tjagain
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Obviously I’m being flippant but better designed houses means no need for tumble dryers

I want something that's like a tumble dryer but not. A clothes mixer, maybe. I don't need the drying but I'd quite like the softness and floofyness. Just batter the clothes in a circle like a medieval armour de-ruster and give it a little hot air

Maybe I need a dryer drum powered by a bike, or something.


 
Posted : 04/12/2022 9:54 pm
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