Dishwashers use far less water (and because of that, far less energy) than handwashing
out of curiosity how much water?my washing up takes about 6L of water,4 cold and 2l boiled in the kettle,time taken about the same time as it takes the kettle to boil for the after dinner coffee
Modern dishwashers use about 13L per load, including the rinse. A typical person uses around 100 liters to wash and rinse the same amount of dishes by hand, according to a study by the University of Bonn.
If you're actually washing and rinsing a dishwasher load's worth of dishes in 6L of water, then you are at the very fringes of the curve.
I place the first lot of things (usually cutlery), in the sink, partially fill with hot water, wash a batch, rinse them under the hot tap, & dry them with a teatowel.
The rinsing water from each lot goes straight back into the sink, not down the drain.
Each successive group of things, like glasses, cups, plates, & so on are done the same way.
A large wash does mean I will need to lose some water, so as to not overflow, but not a lot.
I don't like leaving detergent residue on dishes, so that is why I rinse them-----other people do not care, so leave that step out.
A small sink like mine will probably be filled with around 6.0 litres of water, so allowing for a bit of loss, I am probably looking at using around 10 litres max.
This also is used to wash down the sink area, the counter round it, & often the cooktop.
As we have a Solar HWS, the water heating cost is negligible.
There was a dishwasher installed in our kitchen when we bought this house, but we found it was an unending source of trouble, being out of service more than in service, & ditched it.
I can't work out how anyone uses 100 litres to do a handwash, unless they are slavishly imitating how a machine does the job.
Back in the day, when we lived in an area without mains power or water, Mum (or us kids) would wash up in a "washing up dish" about the same size as my sink.
The water was heated in a biggish kettle on a wood stove.