The best green way to wash dishes: eco friendly dishwashing

What is the best way to wash dishes, to conserve water and energy?  Dishwasher machines require quite a bit of energy, but are they more water-efficient?  What about hand washing?  Isn't the DIY way always better for the environment?  What exactly is eco-friendly dishwashing? 

Hand washing vs. automatic washing

Both can be eco-friendly ways to clean the dishes, or detrimental to the environment.  It depends on how each method is approached.  The best way to wash dishes and conserve water is to do everything possible to use the least amount of water.  The energy saver cycle on an efficient automatic washer may use less water and energy than hand washing.  An efficient hand washer, minimizing hot water use, can be just as eco-friendly. 
As a general average however, the machine method is greener, using 15 gallons of water for every load on a normal cycle, and 20 to 30 for hand washing the same amount of dirty dishes.

Eco-friendly dishwashing tips for machine washing

There are ways to make dishwashing as green as possible, whichever method is used.  For automatic dishwashers:

• Use the most energy efficient cycle button, which may be a 'smart' energy saver button for newer models, or a water miser cycle. 
• Don't use the heat dry option.  This is an unnecessary use of a lot of energy.  To help dishes dry naturally, open the door a bit once the cycle is done. 
• Only wash with a full load; don't run the machine without enough dishes.
• Don't put plastics in the machine as the hot water could cause plastics to leach out into the water and onto other dishes, potentially making their way into food. 
• Use a natural dishwashing detergent, such as Seventh Generation Dishwashing Powder or a homemade eco-friendly dish soap.  Also, white distilled vinegar works well as a rinse.  

Eco-friendly dishwashing tips for hand washing

The focus of eco-friendly hand washing is to use as little water as possible.

• Clean dishes before washing by scraping off food beforehand.  Pre-soak really grimy pans.
• Fill up sink with sudsy water and wash all dishes in that tub of water, cleaning less dirty dishes first.
• Instead of running water to rinse dishes, put some lukewarm water in the other side of a double sink, or a large bowl, and dip dishes in to rinse.  Fill only as much as needed initially, then when too sudsy, dump and replace, again being conservative with water use.  
• Use a natural dishwashing soap, or a homemade green liquid detergent. 

photo by Aaron 13251