Anne-Charlotte PasseraDishwashing in an eco-friendly way is not that big of a deal.
“Whose turn is it to do the dishes?” I turn around, no one is there.
Washing dishes is seen as a chore in my family. Nobody likes to do them, but why?
Personally, I see it as a rather relaxing activity, don’t you? I put my tablet next to the sink, turn on Netflix and do the dishes.
Washing dishes by hand or not will never be 100% eco-friendly. However, there are many ways to wash dishes while reducing our energy footprint and using less harmful products. As a bonus, it also saves money.
Moreover, doing the dishes together can become a great activity to do as a family. While one person washes, the other wipes and puts it away. Involve your children from a young age. Give them easy things to dry that they can’t break or hurt themselves with.
Today, I tell you all about how to make dishwashing more eco-friendly and a lot more fun.
Dishwasher vs. Hand Washing
When we bought our condo 4 years ago, a dishwasher was already on site. How annoying.
I didn’t grow up with a dishwasher and never wanted one. That damn thing takes a lot of space!
However, my family was quite happy to have one until the day a rat came and ate the dishwasher hose. So it was rendered out of order. We haven’t used it for 8 months now.
But, the rat died last night. Finally! Blondie Bear thinks he died of old age, but I was too lazy to do an autopsy to find the cause of death. He went straight into the garbage.
Still, it’s been 8 months without a dishwasher and we’ve been surviving, the 4 of us and 2 dogs. Especially with the Pandemic, spending more time at home meant more dishes.
It’s amazing how many glasses my family uses in one day!
Dishwashers: the statistics
The average dishwasher uses 12L of water and about 0.9 kWh per cycle. The water is heated to an average of 50 degrees Celsius.
In addition, you have to take into account the grey energy. That is to say the manufacturing and the transport of the dishwasher to the house. Difficult to calculate.
Already, the manufacturing of a dishwasher requires about 1000kWH which represents about 370 hand washings.
In other words, a dishwasher will only start to be ecologically profitable after 370 uses.
Sure, putting your dishes in the machine saves time, especially when you have a big party at home, but what about the quality of the wash?
It is not uncommon for dishes to be washed improperly, to have streaks and food residue stuck to them.
When the dishes are very dirty, you have to rinse them in the sink and then put them in the dishwasher. It doesn’t make sense!
Washing your own dishes: the statistics
Washing dishes by hand represents a water consumption of about 10L to 40L per session. If you are the thrifty type and don’t leave the water running while you scrub and wash, you can reduce your water consumption significantly
Also, warm water is recommended for washing dishes, so it’s not as hot as a dishwasher.
If you are just two people or with a young child, a dishwasher may not be necessary or more economical for you.
Dishwashers in eco-friendly mode
Even if you’re not a dishwasher enthusiast like me, there are several ways to use them in a more eco-friendly way.
You can make your own dishwasher tablets or buy them individually at bulk stores. At least they will be more environmentally friendly. Plus, you can store them in a glass jar like a Masson jar or an old tomato sauce jar.
For stubborn greasy stains or to avoid seeing those horrible water marks on your knives, use lemons.
- Just pour 2 tablespoons of lemon juice into the appropriate container with what you usually use to clean and that’s it.
- Run your dishwasher on the normal cycle.
- Another option is to place lemon wedges on the top rack.
Interested in learning about more ways to clean your home with lemons? I tell you all about it HERE.
To descale your dishwasher and get rid of bad odours, simply:
- Pour 250ml of white vinegar into the dishwasher tank and run the machine on empty.
Eco-friendly recipe for dishwasher tablets
Making your own dishwasher tablets will always be more economical than buying them in a supermarket. Plus, it doesn’t take much time to make.
Ingredients:
- Soda crystals (washing soda) – 2 scoops
- Citric acid – 2 scoops
- Baking soda – 2 doses
- Salt (coarse or fine)- 2 doses
- A little water spray
- 1 silicone ice cube tray
- Jar
The steps
Caution: Cover your nose and mouth with a mask or scarf just in case because the crystals can be irritants for the respiratory tract.
- Nothing could be simpler. Mix everything in a bowl.
- Moisten slightly.
- Pour the mixture into the ice cube tray and pack it down.
- Let dry and rest for 24 hours. Do not leave within children’s reach.
- Unmold and put the tablets in a jar.
Recipe for eco-friendly dishwashing liquid
If using tablets isn’t your thing, here’s an easy recipe to create your own degreasing dishwashing liquid.
Ingredients:
- 50 grams of Marseille soap. It must be composed of 72% vegetable oil and contain no coloring, perfume, glycerin or preservatives.
- 1 tablespoon of black soap
- 80 cl. of water
- 1 tbsp. baking soda
- 1 tablespoon of soda crystals
- 2 tbsp. white vinegar
Steps:
- Boil the water with the grated or shaved marseille soap and stir until it boils.
- Turn off the heat and continue stirring until the soap is dissolved.
- Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients one by one and mix well.
- Let cool and pour into a suitable container. Identify the container so you don’t mix it up with your other green products.
Oh no. The dishwasher doesn’t work !!!! What are we going to do? By hand of course!
Dishwashing the eco-friendly way
In Canada, we don’t pay for water. We have it in abundance.
In fact, according to a 2000 survey, Canada was the second highest per capita consumer of water among the 29 OECD countries.
However, that’s no reason to waste it. It still takes energy to heat it! So every drop counts!
To begin with, when you wash your dishes by hand, don’t leave the tap running. It will be more ecological. We are told often enough not to do this when brushing our teeth, the same goes for washing dishes.
Limit the consumption of finite resources such as water and electricity to “heat” the water.
It is clear that having a double sink is much more convenient for washing dishes. But if you only have one, no worries.
If possible, use a small tub that you can put next to your sink.
Fill your sink with warm water and your tub with cold water with a cup of white vinegar if your water contains a bit of limestone.
Good practices
Before you start, pour all the table scraps into your compost bin. This will reduce the amount of waste that runs through your pipes.
Avoid letting food dry on your dishes, as it will be harder to clean and will require more water to remove.
Warm water is more than enough to dissolve grease quickly.
Soak dirty dishes in 1 tub with soap or in the sink, starting with the least dirty, such as glasses and cutlery. This will help you avoid dirtying your water from the start.
Think of washing dishes as a bath, not a shower.
You can reuse the cooking water to soak the dishes, degrease them and pre-wash them.
Rinse quickly under a mini stream of water or in another tub of cold water.
For stubborn stains or to remove overcooked food such as pasta or rice, pour water halfway up the pan. Add white vinegar and a tablespoon of baking soda. Put on low heat for about 15 minutes. Remove and scrub.
Disinfect your sponge regularly with white vinegar and lemon juice.
Drying
Let the dishes dry in the open air. This will save you time. Otherwise, use a clean microfiber or cotton and linen cloth.
It’s important to use a cloth for one purpose only. Example: one for wiping dishes and one for hands.
Wash your dish towels at least once a week or twice. This limits the contamination of bacteria in your dishes.
Save both on water and money in an ecological way.
You wash, I wipe. Washing dishes as a family can be a fun activity. You can use this activity to teach your children new words, work on numbers: can you give me two forks? Let your imagination run wild.
Eco-friendly dishwashing products
You’ll have much less polluted water by reducing your use of plastic and harmful products.
Sponges and scrubbers made from plastics end up contributing to microplastic pollution in our water supply.
Marile Nelson, environmental consultant and co-founder of Branch Basics.
So forget about the cheap dishwashing sponges at the Dollar store and go for compostable or more eco-friendly ones.
For stubborn foods you can use a Tawashi or Luffa sponge. Here is a video on how to make your own Tawashi sponge by reusing old fabrics.
You can also simply cut up your old towels to make reusable rags or “paper towels”.
Replace your plastic brush (once it’s at the end of its journey) with a wooden brush. It’s more durable and environmentally friendly. Usually, the wooden head is interchangeable. Once it has become too worn, simply remove it and throw it in the recycling or compost bin. The fibers are usually made of vegetable fibers or horse hair.
The Dish Cake
I discovered the dish cake when we were staying at a youth hostel on the edge of the Colombian jungle. Although its components looked quite chemical, the concept intrigued me.
Back in Montreal, I looked into how to make it or if it was available in the area. The answer was YES.
You can get them at Les Savons Diligences. However, if you want to save money, just buy the refill and use one of your jars from home.
On the other hand, if you feel like making it yourself, it’s easy to do so with the recipe I found by Les Trappeuses (in french), right HERE. Plus, they have a book of eco-friendly recipes for a super simple zero waste home.
Dish cake recipe by Les Trappeuses:
Ingredients
- 100 g SCS (sodium coco sulfate)
- 60 g of SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate)
- 20 g water
- 8 g citric acid
- 12 g soda crystals (sodium carbonate)
The steps
- Measure the SCS and SCI, and pour them into a small saucepan.
- Add the water and place the saucepan over very low heat (minimum).
- Gently stir with a spoon, crushing the crystals, until a soft, pliable paste is formed. As it warms up, the ingredients will be easier to mix. Note: surfactants soften, but do not dissolve completely in water.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add citric acid and soda crystals. Mix well until smooth.
- Using a spoon, fill a 250 ml wide-mouth Mason jar or any shallow jar (old cups, 2 Riviera butter jars, etc.).
- Crush well with a spoon to pack the cake into a compact block.
- Let dry and harden for a few hours.
Since making your own eco-friendly products for the first time can cost a small fortune, buy them in bulk from One Soak, which I write about in a post right HERE. I bought mine from COCOÉCO as I knew I was going to use the same ingredients for other recipes.
A dish cake can last you months. Just wet your sponge, scrub the cake and do your dishes. To make your cake last, empty the water from the jar after each use.
In addition, the dish cake that comes in a jar with a lid is convenient to take with you on camping trips. There’s nothing to stop you from putting it in a smaller jar if you want to save some space.
Eco-friendly dishwashing liquid recipe
If you are afraid of cake, you can make your own dishwashing liquid with the recipe mentioned above for the dishwasher. It’s the same concept, except that you can add a few drops of essential oils such as lavender or lemon. However, it is not recommended to use them if you have children under the age of 6 or if you are pregnant.
So. Who’s turn is it now to do the dishes?
