Save Money Running Your Dishwasher

You can save money running your dishwasher. There are tricks we can all do to not only save water, but also lower our expenses too!

Anything I can to make my life simpler works for me! I find ways to spend less time doing cleaning, laundry — and dishes!

Just like most of you, I just love my dishwasher. Can’t imagine life without it. There are some who believe that running a dishwasher is more expensive than hand washing. Here are some tips that I follow (and you can too) to ensure you are saving money running your dishwasher.

Other money saving tricks:

EASY TRICKS TO SAVE MONEY RUNNING YOUR DISHWASHER

Give these tricks a try – and see your savings increase!

Use Vinegar for The Rinse Aid

Rather than spending your heard earned money on special rinse aids, you can use vinegar. It helps rinse away residue and also take care of those pesky odors which can build up in your machine.

Make Sure Your Load is Full

Since your machine uses the same amount of soap and water no matter how many dishes are loaded, it can be a waste to wash only partial loads. Make sure your machine is fully loaded so you are getting the full value of the water and detergent used.

Energy Savings Works

If your machine has this cycle, try to use it as often as possible. It can help to reduce your energy consumption.

Run the Disposal

Take around 30 seconds and run your disposal with cold water before you start your dishwasher. This can help to flush out any food particles, which might actually back up into your machine (which means a second run on those dishes with food residue stuck on them).

Let the Dishes Air Dry

All machines have a setting for heated drying. Turn this off and allow your dishes to dry on their own.

Run your Dishwasher During Off-Peak Times

It is tempting to run your machine as soon as you finish dinner for the evening. Instead, run it when energy consumption is lower. If you have a timer, set it to run in the middle of the night. If no timer, just start your machine as you head off to bed.

Scrape Excess Food Into the Trash

Sure, you an can use your disposal, but rinsing your dishes and running your garbage disposal requires more energy and water. Toss the excess scraps into the trash can so that larger chunks won’t clog your dishwasher drain, which makes your machine run more efficiently.

Don’t pre-rinse

This goes along with the step above. You’ve removed the large food items from your dishes, but don’t be tempted to pre-rinse them. Most dishwashers are powerful enough to remove those particles. By pre-rinsing you are simply wasting water (and your time).

Lower Your Water Temp

Dishwashers usually will heat the water to the temp that is needed to wash your dishes (usually around 140-145). Lower the setting on your hot water heater to 120. Your dishwasher will heat it to the temp that is needed, thereby saving you energy costs to keep your water hot enough.

Make Your Own Detergent

Who says you have to opt for the expensive brands to get clean dishes? Why not make your own detergent. Here is a simple recipe you can make yourself:

1 Cup of Borax
1/2 cup of Citric Acid
1 Cup of Washing Soda
1/2 Cup of Kosher Salt

Just mix together and use around 1 tsp per load. The good thing is you can multiply this recipe to make a larger amount if you so desire. You might want to add a tsp of rice to your detergent to help it absorb moisture.

Make sure that you only add the citric acid when putting the detergent into the machine (this can help keep down on clumping). While you may have to spend a little more up front for your items, in the end you will pay less per load than if you use the store brand products.

You can find even more simple dishwasher detergent recipes on Pinterest!