British Gas, Octopus, Eon, EDF and OVO customers told secret about using dishwasher
Experts have told households the best ways they should be using their dishwasher to save money and keep costs down. Dishwashers are generally cheaper to use than doing washing up by hand as they use less water and energy.
But there is a mistake some people make before loading the dishwasher. Some may prefer to give their plates and other items a rinse before going into the dishwasher, believing this will help them come out cleaner.
But experts say there is generally no need to do this, as they will come out of the dishwasher clean. Food should be scraped away as usual, while burnt-on stains on pans may be worth soaking or scrubbing first. The warning comes as both energy and water bills will be rising over the coming months, piling extra pressure onto household finances.
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Ian Palmer-Smith, appliance repair expert at Domestic & General: "Dishwashers generally use less hot water than hand washing. On average, a dishwasher uses water four times more efficiently than washing by hand, so if you are running a load when the appliance is full, this can actually ease your energy bills more than you might expect.”
He went on: "One of the biggest dishwasher myths is that you need to rinse items before loading them. In reality, this uses extra unnecessary hot water and typically won’t improve the results. Modern dishwashers use high temperatures designed to break down stubborn stains with little trouble so pre-rinsing plates is a bit like hand washing your car before taking it to the car wash.
“You can save water and skip the pre-rinse; pre-rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher can waste around 1,115 litres of water each year. Modern soaps and detergents work better on dirty dishes.
"The enzymes in soaps are designed to attach themselves to dirt particles and be rinsed away. However, if dishes are thoroughly rinsed, they have nothing to attach to.
“However, if you have a pan with some burnt-on food residue it can be a good idea to give it a soak beforehand. Not scraping away any food before putting items in the dishwasher can cause clogs and eventually need a dishwasher repair.”