11.22.22
As dishes are cleared from tables in millions of homes this Thanksgiving, those celebrating can save a significant amount of water by scraping their dishes instead of rinsing them before they are put into the dishwasher.
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) and American Cleaning Institute (ACI) are asking consumers to take this simple step to conserve water and create a more sustainable Thanksgiving.
“Nearly 90 million households across the US have dishwashers, and many will be hard at work on the busiest cooking day of the year,” said Kelly Mariotti, AHAM president and CEO. “It is a common misconception that dishes need to be rinsed before they are put into the dishwasher. Dishwashers have been rigorously tested by manufacturers and are up to the task, on Thanksgiving and every day. If everyone hosting Thanksgiving dinner skips pre-rinsing their dishes and saves just one gallon of water, millions of gallons of water can potentially be saved. You will have more time to relax with family and friends by letting your dishwasher do the work, and we will all share the benefits of conserving water.”
“Let’s be thankful that we have the dishwasher detergents and appliances on-hand to effectively clean our dishes while saving energy and water,” added Melissa Hockstad, ACI president & CEO.
The US Geological Survey estimates that hand-washing a full load of dishes can use anywhere from 9 to 27 gallons of water. Newer regular-sized Energy Star dishwashers use 3.5 gallons per cycle or less, and newer standard dishwasher models use a maximum of five gallons per cycle. Kitchen faucets run at a maximum of 2.2 gallons per minute. Running the kitchen faucet for even two minutes could use as much or more water than an entire dishwasher cycle, even before the dishes are washed.
A recent NielsenIQ survey found that 91% of US consumers plan on celebrating Thanksgiving, with 59% staying at home.
Beyond not pre-rinsing, the ACI advises not overloading the dishwasher. The institute says attempting to put in more dishes than the dishwasher can hold can block spray arms and prevent other dishes from being cleaned. Some dishwashers include “half-rack” or “half-load” settings for smaller loads. Water can be saved even if consumers aren’t doing a full load of dishes.
For more dishwashing best practices for Thanksgiving, visit the Cleaning Is Caring blog here.