Something To Be Thankful For: No Need To Pre-Wash Dishes

If you're hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, here's a little tip to save you some time & effort. While you need to scrub caked-on chunks from pots & pans, the New York Times reports modern dishwashers don't require you to pre-wash or pre-rinse:

[R]emove baked on food and large chunks, but for the most part, everyone I spoke to said prerinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher was not only unnecessary, it wasted thousands of gallons of water and could actually result in dirtier dishes.

“The soap needs something to work against to get the dishes clean,” said Lou Manganiello, who owns Household Appliance Service in Hawthorne, N.Y., and has been doing repairs for 23 years.

And you can save some money on both dishwashing & laundry detergent by using only the small amount modern machines require:

Washing machines and dishwashers are made to use far less water now than older models and, therefore, need less soap. And detergents have also become increasingly concentrated. So a little goes a long way.

“Most people use 10 to 15 times the amount of soap they need, and they’re pouring money down the drain,” Mr. Schmidt said.

This Thanksgiving, be thankful that the greener cleanup options are ones that are faster, easier & save you money.