Dinner is over and the dishes are piled in the sink. It was only two o Learn more here f you at dinner tonight, so washing the dishes by hand is not an unreasonable task, but the dishwasher is sitting right there, awaiting your dirty remains. Herein lies the debate, to handwash or to dishwash? For me the choice is made, I don’t have a dishwasher, but if I did, I’d use it (for the environmental benefit of course).

Energy Star Drawer Dishwasher. Manufactured by Fisher Paykel.

Treehugger had a great article on this debate that basically tells us that while it is possible for hand washing to be more efficient, it is very difficult to use the amount of water a dishwasher uses to wash the same quantity of dishes by hand. I recommend reading the article, its very interesting for you appliance geeks out there. A key to dishwasher efficiency is using it when its full, which suggests a smaller dishwasher for a small household like my own would be an appropriate choice.

Fisher Paykel makes a great Energy Star DishDrawer for the small apartment family. The Single DishDrawer DD24SI6V2 is small, only 16″ high by 24″ wide by 23″ deep. For reference, a typical dishwasher is 36″ high by 24″ wide by 24″ deep. The Fisher Paykel DishDrawer holds up to 6 place settings and has intelligent load sensing for optimum performance. There is a choice of 9 wash settings including an eco-option for minimum water and energy usage. The DishDrawer can use as little as 1.95 gallons of water per drawer, a dramatic drop from the typical 4 gallons of a regular dishwasher.

About the Company: Fisher & Paykel Appliances has a heritage dating back to the 1930’s. The company has manufacturing sites located in Auckland, New Zealand; Borso del Grappa (TV), Italy; Rayong, Thailand and Reynosa, Mexico. A prime innovation for the company was the DishDrawer dishwasher. An evolution of the washer technology, the DishDrawer uses smart electronics to control brushless DC motors that could be constructed to fit in a minimum of space. All Fisher & Paykel products are designed to reduce energy and water consumption for the end user. They strive to meet international standards such as Energy Star and WELS rating ratings.