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While I look forward to the day we live in an apartment or house that has a dishwasher, that day doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon. For years I've been handwashing dishes (full disclosure: I kind of like it!). As soon as our current soap runs out, I'm switching to an eco-friendly detergent to stop so many chemicals from going down the drain—but I have a bigger environmental problem: I am wasting a ridiculous amount of water.
I don't even know how to start measuring how much water goes down the drain, but I can tell it's a lot since Ready, Set, Green says I'd save 5,000 gallons if I had a dishwasher. But even worse, the water in our apartment building doesn't get hot unless it runs for at least a few minutes. Sometimes it runs long enough for me to empty the drainer, take out the trash, and vacuum the living room, and it's still not hot. I don't need it scalding, either—but it as to at least be warm. I've mentioned it to the landlord but no one seems to know why this happens, and I'm stumped. In addition to saving all the dishes to just do one load a day, and filling a washtub instead of letting the water continue to stream out while I'm washing and rinsing, what else can I do? It might actually be quicker to boil water, but that's a bit too Little House on the Prairie for my taste. Any suggestions?
More about water conservation:
Save More Water at Home
Peak Everything: Learn about Peak Water
More about going green in the kitchen:
Build a Green Kitchen
Kitchen Design: Cycle of Water
More about dishwashing:
Do Those Dirty Dishes Now
Green Your Dishwasher
Buy the Book! Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living
Blythe Copeland is a freelancer writer living on Long Island. Read more about her foray into the green life in her previous columns as she follows the plan set out in the book Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living.
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