Yes, you SHOULD use your dishwasher. It uses less water than hand-washing (save 20 gallons a day). But–and here’s where most people make a big mistake–DO NOT pre-rinse those dishes. Tests show that pre-rinsing is not necessary with modern machines and wastes 2.5 gallons of water per minute. Just scrape off the chunks and place the dishes in the washer. Of course, you’ll also do only full loads, use the lightest setting to do the job, and open the door to let the dishes air-dry rather than wasting electricity on the drying cycle.
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