Prewashing Dishes

One of the most common conversations I have with clients and friends is how their dishwasher doesn’t work well and what to do about it. Luckily there are some helpful tips and tricks to getting your dishwasher to work at optimal performance.  The biggest debate is always “Do I need to prewash my dishes?”

You should always scrape off food scraps before you wash plates, bowls, and utensils, but that's the only step your dishwasher can't handle. Here's why you need to back slowly away from the sink:

1. Your dishes need to be dirty for the dishwasher detergent to do its job.

The makers of dish detergents discourage customers from pre-washing or rinsing dishes because it actually inhibits the cleaner from working. Enzymes in the detergent are designed to attach themselves to food particles. Without food, the enzymes have nothing to latch onto. The detergent just might rinse away before it has time to do anything if your dishes are gunk-free.

2. You won't get your dishes any cleaner if you rinse or hand-wash them before you put them in the dishwasher.

Today's high-tech dishwashers are more savvy than what your grandmother might have owned. They have advanced sprayer technology and sensors that detect how dirty your dishes are. And research proves that your extra rinsing efforts don't help your dishes get any cleaner than your hard-working dishwasher alone.

3. Pre-rinsing at the sink wastes water and energy.

You could waste 6,000 gallons per year if you insist on pre-rinsing. The average dishwasher today uses just 3 to 5 gallons of water per load, but the most efficient hand-washer will use 8 gallons or more!

The only time you might pre-rinse dishes is when you're not going to run the dishwasher right away. Leaving dirty dinnerware in the dishwasher for a while could attract pests, and the mess might be more difficult to clean the longer you let it sit. But even then, you should let your dishwasher do the heavy-lifting, so you don't waste water and energy. If it’s going to be a while before you run a full load in the dishwasher, just run a quick rinse only cycle.

4. It's a needless time-suck — especially when have so many other things to do.

We know, your mom taught you to rinse, and old habits die hard. But pre-rinsing is a task you can feel good about letting go of. Using a dishwasher instead of scrubbing by hand can save you 230 hours — almost 10 days! — over the course of year. Do you have any helpful tips and tricks to get optimal performance out of your dishwasher? Email me at jessica@webbercoleman.com