How many times do you run your dishwasher in a day?
I would love to know in the combox (ignore any reference to a sidebar poll, I deleted it) how many people live in your house and how many times a day you run your dishwasher. If you don't use a dishwasher, could you leave a comment telling me how many times you wash dishes by hand? I am assuming that most people with a dishwasher will still have at least one load of hand washing to do, but maybe that's a wrong assumption and you can tell me so below. It really is just curiosity. No data mining going on here, I promise!
Thanks!
We have 4 people and run it on average once a day. I only do handwashing if I have big pots to wash.
ReplyDeleteUsually once, but that always leaves stuff waiting in the sink (we have a big-ish sink) and things to hand wash. Two would be more appropriate for cleanliness sake, but then there is no rhyme or reason to *when* to do it (just, when it's full) and that doesn't work well here.
ReplyDelete8 people here...plus guests on a frequent basis. I avoid paper plates and cups (even if we host another family as big as mine), which makes a big difference...and I'm not very good at keeping my children to the one-cup-per-day rule (honestly, I fail at this sometimes, too).
ReplyDeleteMOST days, it gets run twice...or certainly 3 times every two days. If I host a large family for a meal, it may be 3 times, especially if I make a full meal, not just pizza or sandwiches. If we are running around all day long, or we have very simple meals all day long, it might only be once, but I would probably have a more handwashables than normal.
Handwashing, I try to empty the sink before I prep dinner and I try to have a clean kitchen when I go to bed. Sometimes there are a lot, and sometimes there are very few.
We have a family of 5 and run ours once a day.
ReplyDeleteFamily of 4. I have no dishwasher and wash dishes as soon as we finish a meal.
ReplyDeleteWhen all six kids were home, and now, it was only once a day. Maybe it has a good capacity, but I make more of an effort to wash by hand large things that take up space. Not so much anymore with most out of the house. Honestly, it never occurred to me that I could run it more than once a day!! That would mean I'd have to empty it twice! Aack!
ReplyDeleteWe have 7 in our household right now as the oldest is away in seminary. We run the dishwasher at the very least once but most of the time twice........right after lunch and before bed time. But there are also loads of washed pots done by hand depending on what exactly was cooked. Hope this helps...... Maggie
ReplyDeleteFamily of 6 - once every night. We have color coded cups so the kids only use 1 cup a day. That has helped A LOT. We used to have a table full of cups every evening because they couldn't remember their cup.
ReplyDeleteWe're still a family of four and right now it's usually every other day.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a dishwasher. I try to wash after every meal but since it's just the 3 of us, sometimes I do 2 meals at once. No sense filling the sink with water for 3 plates and glasses.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time there are 8 of us (6 children still at home). We run it after lunch and in the evening before bed. We hand wash the pans. If all of us are here then it's after each meal.
ReplyDeleteWe have a family of 8 and we run ours 2-3 times a day.
ReplyDelete7 in our family, we run it once a day.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big hand washer though and wash all the pans and anything that I use all the time. (the kiddos help with these jobs of course)
I usually only do dishes once a day, leaving breakfast and lunch in the sink...sometimes we will after lunch put them in the dishwasher but I've found it's just one of those things that can wait til supper time. I always have to clean out the sink while cooking and have dishwater so I do the earlier dishes then.
On average, 3x/day.
ReplyDeleteWe have four people and no dishwasher and a tiny kitchen. I can't cook a meal unless all dishes are washed, wiped and put away - so I wash dishes 3 times a day minimum. Often I will wash up once before our evening meal (or lunch on a Sunday) and once after. When we had a dishwasher on holiday - it was a slim one - we ran it once or twice a day depending what I was cooking.
ReplyDeleteWe have six in our family and run the dishwasher, on average, once a day. Exceptions are extra people in the house, or a meal that requires a lot of dishes to prepare.
ReplyDeleteWe usually have very little, if anything, to hand wash -- non-dishwasher safe items, extra large cutting boards or pots, electric skillets or griddles.
One thing that really cut down on our dishes was I bought each child a different colored cup. After each use, they rinse it out and set it on the counter until after dinner, when it goes in the dishwasher. That means only four cups a day, instead of sixteen or twenty!
We have eight people, though one of them is less than a year old, so he doesn't dirty a lot of dishes. We run the dish washer twice most days, but some days I can get away with only once. It depends on what kinds of meals we eat.
ReplyDelete6 people and we are up to 2x a day. I used to be able to get away with once, but not anymore. I usually have at least one load of dishes to wash by hand left (larger pots etc.)
ReplyDeleteFamily of 8 (one is a baby yet) -- usually 3x over 2 days plus a load of handwashing every evening. When we have guests, it's usually 3x in one day: once after lunch, once after I prepare dinner & before guests arrive, and once after guests leave. Whew!
ReplyDeleteWe're a family of 7 and we don't have a dishwasher. We hand wash once a day. We really need to wash more than that, but we have school to do! ;)
ReplyDeleteWe are a family of 8 and we run it twice per day. Once after lunch and again after dinner :) We hand wash pots and large dishes.
ReplyDeleteFamily of 3 and we run it once every 2 or 3 days...rarely every day.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have enough info., but here's my two cents worth anyway....on average 2x/day...after lunch and before bed. We use a very small amount of dish detergent to prevent etching because we primarily use glasses. I hate plastic cups! I would never do a color-coded cup/glass thing. With Paul having a Masters in Public Health, he or I would never go for that. Each glass is washed after using. Sometimes the kids will keep a water cup with them, but rarely. There is one or two new children assigned each week to unload the dishwasher. Bigger pots and pans usually get washed before going to bed. We like to have a clean sink and kitchen ready for the morning. We used to wash all of our glassware by hand, but with flu season we stopped that. BTW...9 rational animals here, but I think you already knew that!;)
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the great response!
ReplyDeletePNG,
You can still do the assigned cup thing with glasses, we have color coded coasters. Each child sets their glass on their coaster and they know which one is which. Doesn't work for toddlers and little, obviously, but works for big kids.
4 people, 2 loads a day. I'm pretty ambitious about putting a lot in there though.
ReplyDeleteWe have a family of 3 and run the dishwasher every 2-3 days.
ReplyDeleteFamily of 8. Each kid has a color cup, plate, and bowl from IKEA. Older kids (5+) are responsible for washing out their dishes and one younger child's dishes after breakfast and lunch. They each have a color so there is no confusion. I only have two sets so they have to be washed frequently, but this minimizes what is available to get dirty. I also threw out ALL my other plasticware. We don't use the plastic for dinner, except those under 3. Dishwasher is run a little less than once a day. Sometimes I can go 2 days. I wash pans, mixing bowls, and knives by hand.
ReplyDeleteI am very picky about how the dishwasher is loaded. I like to pack every square inch.
Family of three, no dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteWe try to wash 3x per day - after each meal. The kitchen is small and dirty dishes sitting around are depressing. As of right now, DD does breakfast, I do lunch and DH does dinner.
9 people: 7 kids and 2 adults. Dishwasher is run 2-3 times a day. Handwashing happens at least 3 times a day (big pans, delicate glasses, high chair tray, big items that didn't fit in dishwasher, etc.) I don't like to see anything in my sink so I sometimes wash if I just pass by and see something. So actually, handwashing number is much higher. ;-) Dishwasher only runs when it is completely full. HTH.
ReplyDeleteOnce. We are a family of 4 (although I am eating for 2 :)
ReplyDeleteWe run it once when we leave the house because we have a really small place and it is sooo loud. But, to be honest, we always still have dishes on our counter as well. The kitchen is rarely all clean :(
Six people, twice a day. I only do handwashing if I have big pots to wash or sippy cups.
ReplyDeleteWe have 3 kids and I run it at least 2 times a day. In addition to sink dishes that I do not put in the dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteFour people in the home; dishes are washed by hand after each meal, and sometimes a fourth time last thing so the sink is clear and shiny in the morning.
ReplyDeleteHave never had a dish-washer: the thought of unwashed dishes waiting would bother me.
Once about every 3 days. We have 6 people. I wash plastics by hand (dislike the film left on plastics) as well as pots and pans.
ReplyDeleteI also have a pretty large capacity dishwasher.
Five at home, once a day -- after dinner. Everything else gets washed by hand. I always have a sink full of sudsy water and change it three times a day. I don't like letting dirty dishes sit to wait for the dishwasher to run and be emptied.
ReplyDelete3 adults, 3 children (I'm not counting the breastfeeding baby) we run our dishwasher once a day and usually have to hand wash some pots and serving bowls etc. Sometimes I do handwash a few plates or bowls for the kids. They seem to go through them pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteCurrently 7 people in the house (9 when the college kids come home). No dishwasher. My girls take turns washing dishes twice a day - after breakfast (or before lunch) and after dinner. My counter never seems to be clear of dirty dishes; but I try to stack things neatly near the sink until we are ready to wash.
ReplyDeleteWith six people...dishes, glasses, and silverware only...once a day. I still handwash 2-3 sink loads a day. (I don't like to put my pots and pans, etc in to the dw.)
ReplyDeleteFamily of 9 (7kids 2 adults) 3 times over 2 days but we really need to run it twice a day. That's with handwashing the 'big' stuff (pots,pans and bowls).
ReplyDeleteWe have 5 at home. My dishwasher is a small 18 inch (most are 24 inch). It was supposed to be a portable dishwasher, but DH used a converter kit to make it a built in. I run it each time it is full, generally once a day on weekdays (kids are in school) and twice a day on weekends when everyone is home. I too end up with some things to wash by hand, but it is a lot quicker to wash a few than the whole big mess.
ReplyDelete8 people in our house. I homeschool, so 7 of us are home all day. We run the dishwasher twice a day on the weekdays and 3X a day on the weekends due to bulk cooking and cleaning leftovers out of the fridge.
ReplyDelete7 people in our family and 6 of us are home all day, every day. We don't use paper products, so we dirty a lot of dishes! We run it once/day and sometimes twice. I typically wash the bigger items (stock pot, crock pot, etc.) by hand in order to save "real estate" in the dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteWe have 5 people. We hand wash after every meal.
ReplyDelete9 people here, homeschool, and us the dishwasher 2 x/day!!!
ReplyDeleteWE have 9 in our family and we homeschool, and we put in on 1x/in the Am and 1 x in the PM=2 x/day!
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
mary @ Cheerios
Family of 4. Run the dishwasher maybe 2x's a week and wash by hand 3x's a day.
ReplyDeletethis is the most comments I've seen on a blog in a long time! We have 10 in the family and 2 boarders, and almost always run it 2 times a day. We also wash most of the pots, pans, lids, knives by hand. I think it makes a difference that we homeschool, so we are here for all of our meals.
ReplyDeleteSoon to be 8 people over here. We run the dishwasher once daily and wash larger items by hand (we just moved and this dishwasher doesn't have the capacity of the old one. No complaint, though). When we have dinner guests we easily run two loads.
ReplyDeleteThere are four of us (5 in a few weeks!) and we almost never eat out. On average the dishwasher is ran twice a day.
ReplyDeleteI have 5 people and run it once a day. I handwash my tea cups/pots, my husband's European beer glasses, and a few other sensitive items. :)
ReplyDeleteI do have a one cup a day rule for the kids, and we use paper plates for lunch.
Family of 6, and to stay on top we need to run 2-3 loads a day. My husband says 3. I could probably do 2 if I kept on top of things with more hand washing. The only hand washed around here are mainly nonstick items. Other stuff goes in the top rack.
ReplyDeleteWe have 7 people and just started do dishes 3 times a day--after breakfast, lunch, and supper.
ReplyDeleteWe have 4 people, run it on average once daily, and I like to wash the big pots. But, if my husband is loading the dishwasher, it will likely run twice in one day. I'm not complaining, mind you, it's nice he does it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteMartha
We have a sort of mini dishwasher. It's about half the size of a normal one. My kitchen is not very big and I assume the people who put it in were trying to preserve cupboard space. Little did they know a family of 8 would be using it! We average twice a day, with a lot of hand washing in between. Especially the big stuff, which would take up the whole dishwasher!
ReplyDeleteSeven in our family and we usually run it twice a day and handwash after dinner. We just upped the running to twice a day -- I was very aware of the change and felt like we had hit some milestone of "big family" status. So silly, I know!
ReplyDeleteHappy and blessed to have a dishwasher, but I usually end up running the dishwasher at least once per day, and handwashing pots, pans, bowls, etc. I also handwash what doesn't fit!
ReplyDeleteNow if you ask about the washing machine and how many loads per day - - - - (LOL)!!!
God Bless!
Jennifer
Wow, what a nice bunch of comments! I love seeing how other families do it!
ReplyDeleteWe're just starting out, so we're a family of three (mom, dad, and baby). I run the dishwasher once a day, but I probably hand wash at least twice. I don't mind doing dishes too much; when I was in the convent, I did dishes for at least 16 at a time, so three people (really two; baby doesn't use many dishes, if at all) is almost nothing comparatively!
I will say, though, when we moved here we almost chose an apartment with no dishwasher, since I thought it wouldn't be a big deal. I'm always surprised at how many dishes we end up using in a given day, and I'm thoroughly grateful we chose a house WITH a dishwasher!
We have 6 people in our family and we usually run once or twice ( three times if I bake or have friends over) leaving nothing to be handwashed.
ReplyDelete8 in our family. I run it at least once a day, hand washing dishes throughout the day as well.
ReplyDelete9 people - once a day
ReplyDeleteWe have six of us. Most days it runs twice, some days I can get away with once. We just got a new one with larger capacity. It used to be 2-3 times a day.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have 10 children we run it 4 times a day and only wash pot and pans by hand. Maybe I should fess up and tell you my kids run the dish washer and wash the pots and pans by hand. Thank God for teenagers.
ReplyDeleteWe are a family of 6. I run the dishwasher once per day plus do pots, pans, and knives by hand. Occasionally, I do run it twice per day...
ReplyDeleteTen of us in our home and the dishwasher runs on average 3 times a day. It has to be done after every meal here or we will quickly get backed up. On especially heavy days it will sometimes be 4 times. With occasional handwashing as well when it won't all fit or for the more delicate items. *sigh* I'm tired just thinking about it, lol.
ReplyDeleteWe have 7 people and do dishes by hand after each meal.
ReplyDeleteWhen we had a dishwasher, we had to run it twice a day and did pots and pans by hand.
ReplyDeleteThen it died.
Now "how many times a day do you do dishes" is an unanswerable question.... The dishes never cease! We live in a constant state of 'dish' broken only by glorious forays into styrofoam!
So... yeah. Dishes. Always. Yet we never 'win...' Much like laundry.....
Family of 6, once a day minimum. We use paper plates for lunch and do the 1 cup/child thing. Now that I am trying to go to the grocery store less it creeps up to 2x a day because of the extra dishes to make (from scratch)more of the meals. And I don't even put the food in different bowls to take to the table! I dish plates out at the stove.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and so happy about the baby news!!!!
There are 9 of us, when our dishwasher is working we run it 2 times per day and wash dishes by hand once per day. I hide all of the dishes that need to be washed by hand in a plastic dishpan under the sink.
ReplyDeleteOur dishwasher has been down for a week so far, and we are washing the dishes 3 times a day. After each big meal, if there's extra dishes they go under the sink until the next washing.
We have seven at home full time right now, Charlotte - and run the dishwasher once a day -- with at least one handwashing (pots and pans, collanders, etc.) When the whole family is home, we have upwards of 12 people (usually more like 15, because friends and girlfriends and wives come) and then we run the dishwasher at least twice a day, with countless handwashings because my oldest sons are the cookingest-eatingest-sloppiest bunch of young men you've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping you'll have time to digest all this and figre out trends... Or at least some conclusion?