How to Wash Dishes Efficiently to Save Water

How Much Water Does Dish Washing Use?

Leaving the tap running while hand washing dishes can use up to 27 gallons of water. With the right technique, you can cut that to 8 gallons or less — without sacrificing cleanliness.

What You'll Need

• Dawn Platinum Dish Soap
• Dish brush set
• Dish drying rack
• Two basins or a divided sink

The Two-Basin Method

This is the most water-efficient way to hand wash dishes:

1. Fill one basin with hot soapy water for washing
2. Fill a second basin with clean water for rinsing
3. Wash all dishes in the soapy basin, then rinse in the clean basin
4. Only change the water when it becomes too dirty to use

This method uses a fixed amount of water rather than letting the tap run continuously.

Tips to Save Even More Water

• Scrape, don't rinse — Scrape food scraps into the trash before washing. Pre-rinsing under running water wastes gallons.
• Wash in batches — Accumulate dishes and wash them all at once rather than one at a time throughout the day.
• Wash lightest to heaviest — Glasses and cups first, then plates, then pots and pans. This keeps your wash water usable longer.
• Use concentrated soap — A small amount of concentrated dish soap creates plenty of suds without needing to refill frequently.
• Air dry — Use a dish drying rack instead of rinsing again to dry.

Is Hand Washing or Dishwasher More Water Efficient?

A modern Energy Star dishwasher uses about 3–4 gallons per cycle. Efficient hand washing uses 8–10 gallons. Running the tap continuously uses 20–27 gallons. The dishwasher wins on water efficiency — but if you hand wash using the two-basin method, you come close.

Final Thoughts

The biggest water-saving change you can make is switching from running tap to the two-basin method. Scrape instead of pre-rinsing, wash in batches, and use a good dish brush to clean efficiently without excess water.