If you have a dishwasher, use it. Running a full load typically uses a fraction of the water and generates less than half the greenhouse gases compared to most hand-washing methods.
In the United States, the most efficient ones carry the Energy Star label. Some machines use just 2.3 gallons of water for a full wash cycle—about the same amount you’d use in one minute of running the kitchen tap.
It can be a hard habit to break, but you don’t need to run your dishes under the faucet before putting them on the dishwashing rack. If there’s dried-on debris, use the dishwasher’s rinse feature instead of doing it yourself.
