Waste Not: Testing dishwashing methods for biggest water waste

OMgosh dude you have got to be kidding me. That is absurd!~

RT
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Frigidaire teamed up with Bank of America to drastically reduce Americas water usage by drastically increasing Americas energy usage.

"There's a better way to waste energy and resources - we'll show you how (unless you're an average working American, in which case you don't own a dishwasher, and you can ignore the only viable earth saving option we've presented you with)!"

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Who washes dishes by just letting the faucet run? Just fill the sink up with soapy water and clean water for rinsing in the second. Actually I just partially fill the sink up with soapy water and rinse the dishes over the soapy water thus eventually filling the sink up without wasting any water.

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I'd like to point out that water is what we call a "closed-system". Meaning you can't have less water. Very simply put, there's a set amount of water on the earth--it evaporates from our ocean into the atmosphere, rains down on the earth, is consumed or used and then ends back up in the ocean.

Water doesn't disappear. If it's scarce in an area, it's because it doesn't rain there, or is in a draught. Many of the countries you mentioned have poor infrastructure, and thus water is scarce simply because there's no reliable system to pipe water to the people. In places like Israel, water is sparse because that part of the world doesn't receive a lot of rain--Israel has invested a lot of money in desalination technology so they can get a significant amount of water from the Dead Sea.

The point is, we consume based on availability. In America, we have one of the best infrastructures in the world, thus we have the luxury of being able to consume more--we also pay for this luxury. While this is certainly no reason to condone waste, the reality is, our consumption of water has no effect on the water availability in other countries.

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We American's (most of us) do care greatly about our environment and water usage. We don't change the water in our pools ever unless there is a real health concern. I have never known anyone to change the pool water for any reason.

We conserve water, electricity, gas and a lot of us try to grow our own food.

Just like everywhere in the world we are not all perfect but most of us don't make stupid blanket statements about others.

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@Daniel

What you forget to take into account is that only an extremely small percentage of the water on the planet is consumable. We cannot consume ocean salt water, and there are people who going around claiming that we are wasting the little fresh water we have already.

I would also like to point out that a lot of the water we 'waste' or that goes down the drains doesn't always forever disappear; it actually gets taken back into a water processing plant and then sent back through the same faucets. And yes, that includes your toilet water... So were all drinking filtered pee water. :)

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Ahem. The world is NOT facing a water crisis. As long as people fail to notice -- or report -- the REAL crisis, nothing can possibly be done.

Sure, save water. Cut your water usage in half, or more, over the course of the next year. And meanwhile, in that year, 95 million more human beings will arrive on Earth. The equivalent of the combined populations of the states of California, Texas, New York and Florida, or slightly less than the population of Mexico. And they will all need water and food and space and petroleum.

What benefit does some piddly water saving produce? None. Zero.

How guilty should one feel for using water freely? None. Zero.

On a worldwide scale, it doesn't MATTER how you wash your dishes, or how long you shower, or whether you water your lawn or not.

BECAUSE THAT'S NOT THE REAL PROBLEM.

Jane, I'm sure you're a very nice young person. But you're reporting on the fall of one grain of sand and ignoring the avalanche darkening the sky overhead.

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You people are idiots. Or Americans only. Take your pick.

Now that I have your attention...peep this, I'm going to rock your world.

Water...yes, its a closed system. What happens to it when it goes down your drain in Houston? Do you think it gets happily evaporated when it leaves your house, rains back into a fresh water supply and is ready to provide potable water again? No. It gets mixed in with human waste and a thousand other things that you flush down your drains.

Where do you think your water comes from? If you live in Vermont you can probably go for a walk to your city's water reservoir. Oh look, I bet its not as full as it used to be. What happens if you live in California or Las Vegas? Bet that lake isn't as easy to find, but the pipeline is available to tour. That pipeline is connected to Canada. Although it replenishes, its not as fast as you think.

As a global system, its all interconnected. Global warming, population increase and water shortages.

Some of you are going ot have to get it through your heads that the days of using whatever you want in whatever supply you want are over. Gas, water and even food. Prices are going to increase and conservation will move from choice to reality.

Get with the program.

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If you are on a public sewer it's basically impossible for you to waste water.

Any water you use goes down the sewer and is reused by someone down the line (down river).

You can waste energy (but using lots of hot water), but not water (unless you water your grass or something).

So this whole thing about dishwashing doesn't matter in the slightest unless you are on a septic system, in which case you are a water waster.

On top of that different parts of the world get differing amounts of water - the US could save every single gallon, and it would not help people in the ulraine or israel in the slightest.

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A few people have mentioned it, but perhaps a little snarkily. In any case, yeah, water doesn't disappear, but it does become less usable (less fresh). There are aquifers that we are emptying faster than they can refill, due in part to there being too many people in an area using water. Population is going to go up, so to serve that population, everyone needs to use less water.

Another wasteful use of water is livestock. It takes about 40 gallons of water to make a pound of carrots. It takes over 2000 gallons of water to make a pound of beef. Much of that water is contaminated run-off that is either no longer usable, or needs to be highly processed to be reclaimed. Eating less meat, or at least further down the food chain, would probably save more water than how you wash the dishes.

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OMgosh dude you have got to be kidding me. AOL VIDEO PLAYER?? That is absurd!~

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I work for a small non-profit water utility in CA and I've been observing the water crisis for some time. I know that 95% of the households that use too much water are homeowners with large properties. They have pools, large lawns, palm trees or other vegetation that needs irrigation. Here are some statistics:

1 unit of water ~ 700 gallons.

-Average water consumption for a single family home is 12-18 units/month.

-Average water consumption for a single family apartment is 6-10 units/month.

My point is that the American Dream of owning a home with a yard and a pool is the problem. Not enough people strive to live in water saving apartments without much landscaping...and who can blame them. Lets face facts...the American lifestyle is unsustainable on a number of fronts with water consumption being just one part of the reason.

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J'adorrrrre cette vidéo, je te trouvete drole, jolie et amusante !!!!
Si tu fais d'autre vidéo, je veux les voir !!!
VIVA JANE !!!

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I question method #2 as I utilize it as a method of dish washing, but with a very important twist : I don't let the water run.

I'm willing to bet with the amount of dishes mentioned, and with the same water pressure utilized in method # 2, but by only turning the water on to rinse the dishes, the amount of water will be comparable to method # 3, if not less.

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Cute video!!! I'm surprised the hand washing method uses more water than a dishwater.

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No doubt water shortage is a growing concern worldwide. Simple and inexpensive tips will help in saving water both indoor and outdoor, like turning off the water when brushing your teeth, taking shorter showers, installing a smart sprinkler controller, fixing leaky faucets, and washing only full loads of laundry. http://bit.ly/lYudQ will give you many more tips on water conservation!

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The video does not reflect the way dishwashers are really used. Most everyone pre-washes their dishes before putting them into the dishwasher. This pre-washing totally negates any savings from using and automatic dishwasher. It is not necessary to pre-wash dishes with the new dishwashers, and pre-washing wastes water and energy.

BTW Daniel: Isreal does not desalinate Dead Sea water, Isreal diverts water from the Jordan River that would naturally enter the Dead Sea. If you ever visit the Dead Sea you will see the devestating loss of this natural wonder. At the current rate, the Dead Sea will be completely dry within the next 50 years.

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