Energy saving vs. germs??
Posted by yabbitgirl on Feb 07, 2007 · Member since Apr 2006 · 14266 posts
We have an electric dishwasher, and normally I never use the drying cycle because it uses a lot of energy and in our climate it's not necessary anyway. DH thinks that if we've got colds, allowing the dishes to sit in the heat of the drying cycle somehow disinfects them. Is there anything to this?
Dishwashers work by heating the water inside to a very hot temperature using heating elemants inside the tub itself. They draw cold water in, not hot, but it does heat the water very fast and gets it very hot. The water is probably much hotter than the drying cycle anyway. I really don't think the heated drying function will add any extra "germ protection". But don't take my word......I play drums for a living! :D
I don't think it's necessary. The recycle should wash them just fine and protect your family from catching a cold from the dishes.
Colds are not necessarily spread by washed dishes. It's possible I suppose.
Your best defense is frequent handwashing.
Well if a nurse says it, I have something to back up my opinion vis a vis DH. I guess I'll keep shutting it off before it dries unless he's around and has a hissy fit. I just can't justify the waste.
Yabbitgirl...my DH and I go round and round about this same thing!! :D I say the water gets hot enough to kill germs and the drying is a waste. I mean really, have you ever felt how hot it is in there? I've accidentally melted a few plastic things! So when he is not around, I take the dishes out of the dishwasher and towel dry. If I don't have time to towel dry, when it is done running, I crack the door a little bit and let them cool off and air dry.
Allow me to be ridiculous for a moment. If our hands, where most of our germs will be found, don't need to be boiled, then why should our dishes? If the dishes are washed, the washing takes the germs off of them. They don't need to be killed if they are going somewhere else. ???
I went most of my life without a dishwasher, manually doing them, and never had any more illnesses than people with dishwashers. I do the same thing with my dishwasher and shut it off before the drying cycle. And I agree with the others that say washing your hands is more effective, and having a strong immune system.
i've never used a dishwasher either... my personal feeling is that it would be pretty hard to catch a cold from dishes anyway... unless you're spitting on them, sneezing on them, or otherwise spreading your mucus all over them.
ewww... sorry, that was gross
Gross maybe, but a good point...it's not like we drink out of the same glass at the same time, is it. I did giggle because I was told by the verger at church that since the Communion chalice is gold-plated inside, it "reacts with the alchohol in the wine" to kill any germs. That sounds a bit like alchemy to me...at least, slightly mideval.