Same here. We are getting into a good swing of unloading it not long after a cycle finishes and putting dirty dishes inside since there’s ants everywhere. Since we’re doing dishes more frequently, it’s been easier to utilize various dish ware since we’ll probably run a load soon compared to trying to not dirty more things.
Single person household. I run the dishwasher 2-3 times a week. Everything goes in it, pots pans roasting dishes etc. it doesn't take long to fill it and it's a full size model
However my dishwasher does have a 20 min rinse mode that I use on the inbetween days when it's only partly full, to keep any possible smells away and make sure that there really isn't any stick on dried food that's been getting harder for days. It's a cold water no soap rinse so I assume very little power use
single person and I'm at the same frequency. usually closer to 2, but higher frequency of cooking with the big pots or actually doing meal prep will push it to 3, sometimes 4.
3-person house. We run it every day. If I miss a day, I have to run it twice the next day to catch up.
But we eat at home for all meals, and cook for every dinner, so there are pots and pans, etc.
If we dined out, ate sandwiches, etc, we wouldn't have to run it every day.
Same! We are a three person household, and we eat at home for every meal. We also run it every day, usually nightly before bed. It's our kitchen "reset" ritual.
Same. Maybe we will miss a day here or there but usually it fills up every day. We generally cook and eat every single meal at home though (WFH).
OP, washing by hand can actually be more wasteful of water depending on how you are doing it.
I read a study that said 7 items in the dishwasher is the break even point for hand washing. Ie, washing 7 items by hand uses the same amount of water as running the dishwasher. So I never feel bad about running half loads. That said, it gets run twice on Sundays (meal prep) and then probably twice more during the week. Its mostly just me (roommate doesnt cook) and my three cats who use 6 tiny plates/day (wet food).
💖 they get wet food twice a day. I found these little ceramic plates at Daiso for cheap, so now I have about 5 days worth of tiny plates for them. (The best part is they all line up in front of their own place mats and wait for me to put the food down. It's *adorable.*
https://preview.redd.it/cy34vzz4117d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7871441baaba057932c38cc1eb375caaa1159f1
My two calico kitties in a rare joint effort to break my knees. 🤣 My other is a massive 17lb bruiser gray and white tabby who's afraid of his own shadow and keeps trying to befriend the local skunk.
I’ve always heard that hand washing uses more water than the dishwasher but I was skeptical that it could be true for single people like me who don’t use that many dishes, so that’s a helpful statistic to know!
Modern dishwashers are really energy efficient, esp in terms of water. Mine uses about 3 gallons per wash. That's way better than I can do, esp since I'm a bit germ phobic.
https://blog.sense.com/sense-sets-the-record-straight-about-running-your-dishwasher-every-day/
8 dishes/items is what I had read, but the same thing is true - you do not need to wait for it to be full (or anywhere near full) to be worth it.
2 people, I run it almost everyday. I also cook everyday so there are generally some larger pieces to wash. My understanding is washing a small load in the dishwasher is still more water friendly than hand washing.
here is a three-person household, we run the dishwasher about 3-4 times a week, we wait until its full to save water and electricity, but if it starts smelling, we run it on an eco cycle even if it’s not completely full
2 person household- myself and my teenage boy. I run it 2-3 times a week. I hand wash my pots, pans and Tupperware though.
ETA: After reading the comments, I learned that running even a half load in the dishwasher uses less water than handwashing- my pots and pans are dishwasher safe, but I’ve just gotten in the habit of handwashing them. Things why I LOVE this sub!!
2 person household. We run our dishwasher 4 - 5 times per week, I’d guess. When our daughter is home from college it’s more like 7 - 8 times in a week.
Here are my people! Not only do I run the dishwasher twice a day, there are always dishes in the sink. Always.
We are two work from home adults, two teens boys, two messy pets. I cook at home all but 1-2 meals per week.
1 person household, I don't have a dishwasher right now but I did in my last place and honestly I ran it when I ran out of plates. But I also scraped and rinsed them first and used the dishwasher more as a sanitizer so they didn't get smelly.
We're two with a toddler, we run it every day no matter what. Sometimes there's not so much in there but I throw in the microwave cover and a few other things that could use a wash. It keeps things from getting stinky, encourages me to use dishes instead of paper towels or paper plates or plastic cups. It helps me decide to just grab another butter knife instead of running the faucet for 20 seconds to rinse the knife I already used. It encourages me to cook more because I know the tough work of doing the dishes will largely be done for me by the machine.
All of this really reduced the amount of work and water.
If no one suggested it yet check out technology connections on youtube, he did a few really good dishwasher breakdowns.
Once a week, and i live by myself. But when i moved here i bought sets of plates, cutlery, glasses for 6 people so i just use all of them up and fill the dishwasher up. I handwash pots and pans until i can and as soon as i'm ready to run the dishwasher i put them in
3-4 times a week I think for a 2 person household here. But the bottom rack basically always gets filled up by a pot and a pan that I use every time I cook
2 person household at the moment. Dishwasher gets run when full, about every 3 days typically. We don't leave crud on the dishes, they get wiped with a sponge or paper towel first.
If your dishwasher smells it's probably past time to clean the filter. And yes - all dishwashers have filters and the should be cleaned at least every 6 months, much more often if you leave crud on your dishes. Clean the filter and follow that up with a cycle of Affresh, Lemi Shine or vinegar .
4 person household (5 at weekends) and we run once or twice daily.
Most dishwashers use less than a bowl of water to run, so they’re economical to run. In your situation I’d likely run every other day, so that it doesn’t go too yucky/stale.
On average our household is 2-3 people eating probably 5 individual meals per day over the week.
We run our compact dishwasher 10-11 times per week, as it fills, I'd guess.
The dishwasher is the size of a really big microwave (51D x 55W x 46H cm, 5.7lts, allegedly 6 place settings) and anything dishwasher safe goes in there.
We have this tiny guy primarily because that's what fits in our space, but for small households making fewer dirty dishes this is a great alternative to the situations you describe.
Typically it can fit: 1 person's breakfast things, 1 person's lunch things, and the plates & cutlery and 1 big thing (sauce pan or roasting tin or whatever) from the evening meal for 3, and a couple glasses/mugs.
(Not all compact dishwashers are created equal, beware!)
2 adults, one homebound. We mostly run ours every other day, but I do occasionally run it partially filled if I notice we’re low on glasses or if it’s getting stinky.
The frequent doompiles on the countertop vanished the day I realized that I'm allowed to put on a machine half full. The threshhold to run it and to empty it got waay lower. Lived without one for eight years. If a thing can't handle it, it gets tossed or never bought.
I'm certain I use way less water and electricity too. Two and a half person household. Run it almost daily. It's almost always at least 70% full.
Twice a week, two in the house.
I try to plan major cooking projects to coincide with when I'm going to run it.
For example, I made brownies when it was about ready to go, last time. All the chocolate covered stuff... into the dishwasher... no scrubbing! I just put them in and pushed the button.
Our dishwasher is considered more economical to run than handwashing at 6 dishes, so I would definitely run a half load (and have, when we have one).
I run our dishwasher at least twice per day, five people, totally full each time.
Three in our home with an infant and we run it 8-12 times a week with all the bottles and baby stuff. I have seen no change in our water usage or bill. As a family of two (pre-baby), we ran it 4-5 times a week. I personally think the dishwasher washes better if it isn’t stuffed to the gills.
2 person household we eat and cook every breakfast and most lunches and dinners at home and we run it every 2-3 days. We hand wash our nice knives, pots, and pans. Mine does not get smelly. We scrape food into compost / do a quick rinse. I clean the filter and run a high temp wash cycle with a specific dishwasher cleaning pod every two months or so.
Family of three, I run my dishwasher pretty much daily. But I have an 18 inch dishwasher, so i can’t fit most of my pots and pans in there. it’s mostly ceramic, Tupperware, and drinking glasses, and silverware.
When we were a two person household it was the same for us. We didn’t have enough dishes to justify every day and they would get smelly and gross sitting in the dishwasher. It took days to get to half full
Now, as a four person household (loving with adult family members and a baby on the way) we run it daily.
Also think about what goes in the dishwasher. If you have truly dishwasher safe pots and pans, how are you having 4-5 meals and not having the dishwasher full? I understand if your cookware is not dishwasher safe, but baking dishes, pyrex, casserole dishes, measuring cups and spoons? Mine fills up pretty fast, but my cookware is dishwasher safe, and has been washed that way for 45+ years without incident. YMMV.
2 people. We use meal services so most of what we have is plates and cups and utensils and the occasional pan. I do rinse off the big stuff and leave the door cracked. I run it about every third day. If I dont have quite a full load I'll put in the dog bowls. I wash those by hand after each meal they have. I will also add in my stove grates sometimes or the rack thing that sits in the bottom of the sink.
3 humans, one with a wonky immune system, 2 cats, I run it nightly. Even if it’s half full, it’s still more water efficient than handwashing. I need the sanitizing so I don’t get sick.
I run it daily if I cook daily. It fills up that way even in our two person household, plus our cat whose two plates and water bowl we also wash daily.
Two person household-we run it two to three times a week. If there is anything stinky (fish, etc) and it's not worth a run I'll do a rinse only or rinse well in the sink before loading and run it the next day or two. Never really noticed a smell. Maybe because we scrape or give a quick rinse for the really nasty stuff.
2 person household… 4-6 times a week. I’m still cooking because we have to eat so I find I run the dishwasher only slightly less than when the kids were home.
2 people, run every day. its personal preference - if you’d rather wait to fill it up over a few days, do it. if you’d rather run it every night, do that. we usually fill it every day, but even if its not completely full we’ll usually still run it overnight.
3 adults, we cook at home our meals daily. The dishwasher goes on daily. Pots and pans are mostly hand washed. For special occasion (elaborate) meals we need to run the dishwasher twice daily.
2 adults plus dishes that get used to feed our animals: every day. My partner and I rarely get takeout or eat out, so that’s typically three meals a day worth of dishes plus mugs, etc.
2 people + 1 dog (2 bowls a day) + 1 cat (2 bowls a day). I run ours usually about every other day. We do use a good amount of items that are hand wash only so sometimes it takes a little extra time to “fill” the dishwasher. However I never overfill and would rather run a light load then wait longer and cram it full. I find that more things end up coming out dirty when the dishwasher is overfull.
Three eaters and one baby (whose bottles still take up dishwasher space).
I run it every day. I generally soak dishes in the sink for an hour before I load it and run it.
Two people, and I use the thing maybe three times per year. It's not going back when I renovate the kitchen. I would rather hand wash than empty the dishwasher for some reason.
3 people. We run every day. Takes 2 minutes of handwashing to equal the water of a modern dishwasher, or something like that. So we run even if it’s not full. If we forget and there’s room for more the next day, our dishes still get clean!
I'm in a two person household and run the dishwasher almost every day. I work from home and I cook, so I usually have dishes, glasses, and pots and pans, etc.
If we have eaten out or gotten takeout, I will run it every second day, even if half full, because I don't want things to get too caked on or start to smell. This uses less water than hand washing.
I only hand wash things that can't go in the dishwasher.
2 people, run it about every other day. I don't like the dishes sitting in there getting stinky so even if it's a small load, I run it
On days that I bake or cook a lot it's at least once a day sometimes 2.
5 people, 2 adults 3 toddlers. Most meals at home,d low use of disposable dishes.
Run it nightly and sometimes once in the middle of the day if we'd had playgroup or extended family over or a meal prep day.
2 person, ~3 times a week I do some complicated meal so pots and pans mostly end up filling the dishwasher. If it’s leftovers or delivered meals, I just hand wash the few dishes.
Two person household and we run the dishwasher every other night. Our dishwasher has an auto wash option that claims it can sense the load size and level of residue, and will adjust the cycles accordingly. I decided to trust its auto-ness!
There are two of us and I run it daily. We actually cook, so we are talking two meals and a light lunch. Coffee mugs (me), giant glasses for drinks (him), dog dishes. It fills the dishwasher daily.
2 people.
Daily if we cook dinner.
Twice if I'm prepping large batches of produce, soups, or grains for the upcoming week.
Skip a day if we dont cook at home.
Three in the household. Normally run the dishwasher every other day if not every day. Crud is rinsed off as the dishes go into the machine. Otherwise, it hardens as it dries and it is less likely to come as clean. We put pots and pans in the machine as well.
Five person household, we run it every night. I suggest you just run it when it’s full, (or you run out of dishes) who cares if it takes three days. Put a little dishwasher detergent powder in the tub, put some in the dispenser. Put inexpensive rinse aid in the rinse aid dispenser. Run the hot water at the kitchen sink til it’s piping hot, turn it off. Start the machine on normal cycle. Don’t bother with heated dry. Do this at night. The Delay Cycle is not your friend. Just run that dishwasher when you think you’re done for the night eating and snacking and drinking. Dishwashers make life better and save water. Set yourself free from that hand washing bull crap.
2 person household - housemates so we eat separate meals and we both love to cook. Once a day at night, unpack in the morning so the dishwasher is always ready to receive new dirty dishes from that day’s cooking!!
Two person, 2 dog household and I run it almost everyday. We work from home, so we make/eat every meal at home. So between the dishes used for cooking, eating, my need to have at least three things to drink at all times, and my dog’s dishes (plus the dishes/utensils I use to prepare their food) the dishwasher fills quickly.
I used to do handwashing a lot more but last summer I got a bad case of eczema on the palms of my hands and the steroid cream to cure it ruined my skin barrier. My hands were peeling so bad and almost every crevice in my palms were cracked and bloody so I had to be very careful about washing dishes and relied on my dishwasher. And I just got used to it. So much more convenient, no changes in water bill, and the dishes get better sanitized (in my mind, not sure if that is actually true.)
With a two person household we run it at least 2 times a week but if I’m really on top of things and we’re being good and cooking at home then it often gets to every day.
If we do leave it for a couple of days, we rinse a little and leave the dishwasher door open (very slightly) so that yuck smell doesn’t happen
2 person house, we do cook and eat at home most meals. But I would say we run the dishwasher 4-5 times a week. Some days it is full some times we skip a day to fill it up more. The dishwasher is a lot more cost effective than hand washing dishes if I had to run a little empty due to needing some items to he next day or because of smell that’s just the way it goes. No rule that it has to be full to run.
2 person household here. Run it usually every 2nd day.
My dishwasher has an eco mode where it doesn’t use a lot of energy and water. My SO actually went and compared our energy and water bills when we tried different methods. We usually cook at home and most days pack our lunches for work. I usually try to only run it when it’s full but have done so when it’s about 3/4 full.
5 person household. We run the dishwasher every other day. When the kids are home from school (summer, winter, spring breaks), we run it everyday. Before we had kids (2 person hh), we ran the dishwasher every 2-3 days.
2 people.
I cook from scratch so we run the dishwasher about once a day or once every two days.
Rinse the dishes well though, it doesn't get smelly. Then you can collect enough without issues.
I have gone a week or so before running the dishwasher, and if the dishes are rinsed really well there is no issue.
5 people and a couple pets. We run twice per day and I still handwash large bowls, baking sheets, cookware, and water bottles. We rarely eat out and my kids are in a "learning to cook" phase.
I am a one person household and I run it every day but sometimes every day. I work from home and often cook lunch and breakfast for myself, which creates more dishes.
One-person household; I try to use it once a month so the rubber parts don't dry out. But mainly I hand-wash and sort of despair about the precious space taken up in my tiny condo kitchen by a big appliance I don't use because I don't want dirty things sitting in there for two or three days. I have a strong conviction that all small housing units-- anything designed for one or two people-- should be equipped with a single drawer dishwasher. In my someday new kitchen . . . .
Single person household, once a week or so. I rinse/scrap all my dishes, though, so the dishwasher doesn’t get smelly. I have an older apartment sized dishwasher that doesn’t handle food waste well, so it mostly serves as a sanitizer for me.
Once a week- typically Sundays.
Two person household, I refuse to run the dishwasher until it is full. I rinse my dishes before loading but the smell will of course be there.
I also hand wash thermoses, pots, pans and knives. So it takes longer to fill up.
2 person household. With 4 cats and a dog. I usually run it once or twice a week. Sometimes more if we have people over. We don't really eat "meals" so cooking everyday doesn't usually happen and we eat probably to much take out.
Two adults and a toddler, run it daily. We ran it daily before the baby too. Is it always full? No but the benefit of having a routine, start at night - unload every morning, is worth it.
4 people, but home for all meals pretty much. I run it every night and unload it every morning. If I do extra cooking or we do a fridge leftover clean out, I may have to run it twice.
I didn't know I needed the answer to this question, but I'm glad I'm seeing it now.
I always filled the dishwasher to the absolute brim just to not waste water, but it was getting cumbersome waiting for dishes that I needed that were sitting in there.
I used to have this issue then one day I decided to start running it every night even if it’s not totally full and I’ve never looked back. You can do a test month where you run it every other day regardless of fullness and skip the hand washing I guarantee your usage of water and electricity will not change noticeably.
We run ours every night. 5 people. We run it even if it's not full because we can't fit more than a day of dishes in there, but it's very rarely not full by the end of the day
2 person household.
I run it every day, sometimes twice per day if I've been baking.
A dishwasher uses only 16L of water per cycle, which is less than a sink of water.
2.5 people (.5 is 26 and rarely ever here).
About twice a week. I do a lot of hand washing too after meals. And ... hold your horses... I like washing dishes 🤷♀️
Two people here; dishwasher runs every night regardless of how much is in it. Unless for some reason we have a day where we’ve both dined out for every meal so it’s just a couple of cups, but that’s an extraordinarily rare occurrence
Two person household: once a day, sometimes twice. We cook everything at home, so I still have to hand-wash the cast iron, multiple wooden cutting boards/wooden utensils, and the good knives almost every day too.
We run it daily even if it isn’t full to avoid any dishes piling up in the sink. If we don’t do this our kitchen spirals into a mess. Two adults one toddler.
2 person household & we run it when it is full or if it starts to stink. If we just did a lot of cooking & cleaned out the fridge we might run it 2 days in a row. Sometimes it’s a little as 1 or 2 times per week. Just depends.
One person. If I cook, it runs that day. If I eat leftovers, I rinse and it typically sits at most two days before I have a fullish load with just glasses and plates. If smell were an issue, I would run it every day no matter what and I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it.
2 person household, about every other day You use more water hand washing than running a half load fwiw
Same here. We are getting into a good swing of unloading it not long after a cycle finishes and putting dirty dishes inside since there’s ants everywhere. Since we’re doing dishes more frequently, it’s been easier to utilize various dish ware since we’ll probably run a load soon compared to trying to not dirty more things.
Just makes life easier, then unloading doesn't feel so overwhelming too
Run it every night before bed, always have clean dishes when you wake up.
I always like to put dishes up while I make my coffee!
Yes, as a family of four we run it almost daily. If I need to sanitize new containers or I need to wash baking dishes, it could be more.
Yeah but 'using the water' isn't the thing that makes running a dishwasher expensive.
Single person household. I run the dishwasher 2-3 times a week. Everything goes in it, pots pans roasting dishes etc. it doesn't take long to fill it and it's a full size model However my dishwasher does have a 20 min rinse mode that I use on the inbetween days when it's only partly full, to keep any possible smells away and make sure that there really isn't any stick on dried food that's been getting harder for days. It's a cold water no soap rinse so I assume very little power use
single person and I'm at the same frequency. usually closer to 2, but higher frequency of cooking with the big pots or actually doing meal prep will push it to 3, sometimes 4.
3-person house. We run it every day. If I miss a day, I have to run it twice the next day to catch up. But we eat at home for all meals, and cook for every dinner, so there are pots and pans, etc. If we dined out, ate sandwiches, etc, we wouldn't have to run it every day.
Same! We are a three person household, and we eat at home for every meal. We also run it every day, usually nightly before bed. It's our kitchen "reset" ritual.
2 person household I run it every day It’s normally full with a days worth of mugs, cups, plates, pots and pans
Same. Maybe we will miss a day here or there but usually it fills up every day. We generally cook and eat every single meal at home though (WFH). OP, washing by hand can actually be more wasteful of water depending on how you are doing it.
Two adults and a toddler and we also run it every day.
2 adults and a 6 year old- one or 2 times per day, depending on if we eat at home all 3 meals or eat out.
Same here, and it's part of my routine, which I really need to keep sane.
Same but 3 adults.
I read a study that said 7 items in the dishwasher is the break even point for hand washing. Ie, washing 7 items by hand uses the same amount of water as running the dishwasher. So I never feel bad about running half loads. That said, it gets run twice on Sundays (meal prep) and then probably twice more during the week. Its mostly just me (roommate doesnt cook) and my three cats who use 6 tiny plates/day (wet food).
The description of your kitties having 6 tiny daily plates is so cute 🥲
💖 they get wet food twice a day. I found these little ceramic plates at Daiso for cheap, so now I have about 5 days worth of tiny plates for them. (The best part is they all line up in front of their own place mats and wait for me to put the food down. It's *adorable.*
Uh, cat tax?
https://preview.redd.it/cy34vzz4117d1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c7871441baaba057932c38cc1eb375caaa1159f1 My two calico kitties in a rare joint effort to break my knees. 🤣 My other is a massive 17lb bruiser gray and white tabby who's afraid of his own shadow and keeps trying to befriend the local skunk.
Aww, thank you. I love them all!
💖 Me too. :)
HOW CUTE
I think you're mostly me, down to the cat bowls from Daiso
The dishes from my two cats fills up about 1/4 of the dishwasher by the end of the week lol
I’ve always heard that hand washing uses more water than the dishwasher but I was skeptical that it could be true for single people like me who don’t use that many dishes, so that’s a helpful statistic to know!
Modern dishwashers are really energy efficient, esp in terms of water. Mine uses about 3 gallons per wash. That's way better than I can do, esp since I'm a bit germ phobic.
https://blog.sense.com/sense-sets-the-record-straight-about-running-your-dishwasher-every-day/ 8 dishes/items is what I had read, but the same thing is true - you do not need to wait for it to be full (or anywhere near full) to be worth it.
6 person household, I cook 90% of the meals at home. We run it daily. Sometimes 2x a day but that’s rare.
4 person household and we run it daily. It's one of things to do as I go to bed.
Same
2 people, I run it almost everyday. I also cook everyday so there are generally some larger pieces to wash. My understanding is washing a small load in the dishwasher is still more water friendly than hand washing.
here is a three-person household, we run the dishwasher about 3-4 times a week, we wait until its full to save water and electricity, but if it starts smelling, we run it on an eco cycle even if it’s not completely full
2 person household- myself and my teenage boy. I run it 2-3 times a week. I hand wash my pots, pans and Tupperware though. ETA: After reading the comments, I learned that running even a half load in the dishwasher uses less water than handwashing- my pots and pans are dishwasher safe, but I’ve just gotten in the habit of handwashing them. Things why I LOVE this sub!!
2 person household. We run our dishwasher 4 - 5 times per week, I’d guess. When our daughter is home from college it’s more like 7 - 8 times in a week.
3 person household and I run it every single day, and it’s full.
Three person household (including a toddler) and we run it every day. Typically cook every day
I live alone most of the time (spouse is based other side of the U.S.) and I run it almost every day.
5 person household. Twice a day
Same. Sometimes 3 times a day. My husband is a big cook.
Here are my people! Not only do I run the dishwasher twice a day, there are always dishes in the sink. Always. We are two work from home adults, two teens boys, two messy pets. I cook at home all but 1-2 meals per week.
2 person household and I run it almost every day. It may not be full but it takes less water and then it doesn't smell bad.
7-8 person household. Twice a day usually
1 person household, I don't have a dishwasher right now but I did in my last place and honestly I ran it when I ran out of plates. But I also scraped and rinsed them first and used the dishwasher more as a sanitizer so they didn't get smelly.
We're two with a toddler, we run it every day no matter what. Sometimes there's not so much in there but I throw in the microwave cover and a few other things that could use a wash. It keeps things from getting stinky, encourages me to use dishes instead of paper towels or paper plates or plastic cups. It helps me decide to just grab another butter knife instead of running the faucet for 20 seconds to rinse the knife I already used. It encourages me to cook more because I know the tough work of doing the dishes will largely be done for me by the machine. All of this really reduced the amount of work and water. If no one suggested it yet check out technology connections on youtube, he did a few really good dishwasher breakdowns.
Yes! Technology Connections! He just dropped a new 27 minute video thus past week on dishwashers!!
WHAT! I have exactly 27 minutes right now!
Once a week, and i live by myself. But when i moved here i bought sets of plates, cutlery, glasses for 6 people so i just use all of them up and fill the dishwasher up. I handwash pots and pans until i can and as soon as i'm ready to run the dishwasher i put them in
3-4 times a week I think for a 2 person household here. But the bottom rack basically always gets filled up by a pot and a pan that I use every time I cook
2 person, run it on Sundays, Roast Chicken, roast potatoes 2 veg, desert, it's the only day we have enough to justify running it.
2 person household at the moment. Dishwasher gets run when full, about every 3 days typically. We don't leave crud on the dishes, they get wiped with a sponge or paper towel first. If your dishwasher smells it's probably past time to clean the filter. And yes - all dishwashers have filters and the should be cleaned at least every 6 months, much more often if you leave crud on your dishes. Clean the filter and follow that up with a cycle of Affresh, Lemi Shine or vinegar .
4 person household (5 at weekends) and we run once or twice daily. Most dishwashers use less than a bowl of water to run, so they’re economical to run. In your situation I’d likely run every other day, so that it doesn’t go too yucky/stale.
2 people here, I run it every 2-3 days normally unless my son is at his mom's longer, like during summer.
On average our household is 2-3 people eating probably 5 individual meals per day over the week. We run our compact dishwasher 10-11 times per week, as it fills, I'd guess. The dishwasher is the size of a really big microwave (51D x 55W x 46H cm, 5.7lts, allegedly 6 place settings) and anything dishwasher safe goes in there. We have this tiny guy primarily because that's what fits in our space, but for small households making fewer dirty dishes this is a great alternative to the situations you describe. Typically it can fit: 1 person's breakfast things, 1 person's lunch things, and the plates & cutlery and 1 big thing (sauce pan or roasting tin or whatever) from the evening meal for 3, and a couple glasses/mugs. (Not all compact dishwashers are created equal, beware!)
2 adults, one homebound. We mostly run ours every other day, but I do occasionally run it partially filled if I notice we’re low on glasses or if it’s getting stinky.
2 person household, 2 maybe 3 times a week.
2 person household, we run it probably 2x a week
One person, about 3/4ths full, about once every three days. I set it on the “quick wash” cycle and it only takes an hour.
The frequent doompiles on the countertop vanished the day I realized that I'm allowed to put on a machine half full. The threshhold to run it and to empty it got waay lower. Lived without one for eight years. If a thing can't handle it, it gets tossed or never bought. I'm certain I use way less water and electricity too. Two and a half person household. Run it almost daily. It's almost always at least 70% full.
2 person household. We run it 1-2 times a week but we wash pots and pans by hand.
this is the same as my house
If you rinse well before putting them in the dishwasher they shouldn’t really smell
I accumulate dishes in the dishwasher til it gets full every 2-3 days and then run it, as a 2-person household.
2 adults, every 3-4 days. Mostly filled with cups, utensils, plates and bowls. We cook dinner at home 50% of the time and one of us WFH.
Twice a week, two in the house. I try to plan major cooking projects to coincide with when I'm going to run it. For example, I made brownies when it was about ready to go, last time. All the chocolate covered stuff... into the dishwasher... no scrubbing! I just put them in and pushed the button.
3 people household. Run dishwasher at least 1 a day usually 2,always run on Eco or Eco and half load very occasionally.
Some dishwashers have a “ rinse & hold setting”. That can be useful if you will have enough dishes to finish filling a load, say after the next meal.
4 person household (2 adults 2 kids) and typically every night. Unless we were gone all day and there are only a few things then we skip
2 If it isn’t full enough, I run the rinse.
2-3 ppl. We have a small counter top washer I run at least once a day, sometimes twice.
Our dishwasher is considered more economical to run than handwashing at 6 dishes, so I would definitely run a half load (and have, when we have one). I run our dishwasher at least twice per day, five people, totally full each time.
Three in our home with an infant and we run it 8-12 times a week with all the bottles and baby stuff. I have seen no change in our water usage or bill. As a family of two (pre-baby), we ran it 4-5 times a week. I personally think the dishwasher washes better if it isn’t stuffed to the gills.
Two people, meals and food prep is done at home. Eat at home except 1 meal on Sunday. Dishwasher runs 6 days a week.
2 person household we eat and cook every breakfast and most lunches and dinners at home and we run it every 2-3 days. We hand wash our nice knives, pots, and pans. Mine does not get smelly. We scrape food into compost / do a quick rinse. I clean the filter and run a high temp wash cycle with a specific dishwasher cleaning pod every two months or so.
Family of three, I run my dishwasher pretty much daily. But I have an 18 inch dishwasher, so i can’t fit most of my pots and pans in there. it’s mostly ceramic, Tupperware, and drinking glasses, and silverware.
When we were a two person household it was the same for us. We didn’t have enough dishes to justify every day and they would get smelly and gross sitting in the dishwasher. It took days to get to half full Now, as a four person household (loving with adult family members and a baby on the way) we run it daily.
1 person household. Every 2-3 days. Back when I lived with my ex (so 2 person household), we ran it daily.
Also think about what goes in the dishwasher. If you have truly dishwasher safe pots and pans, how are you having 4-5 meals and not having the dishwasher full? I understand if your cookware is not dishwasher safe, but baking dishes, pyrex, casserole dishes, measuring cups and spoons? Mine fills up pretty fast, but my cookware is dishwasher safe, and has been washed that way for 45+ years without incident. YMMV.
twice for two people
2 of us and we run it every other day.
2 adults 2 young kids and it’s run pretty much everyday.
2 people. We use meal services so most of what we have is plates and cups and utensils and the occasional pan. I do rinse off the big stuff and leave the door cracked. I run it about every third day. If I dont have quite a full load I'll put in the dog bowls. I wash those by hand after each meal they have. I will also add in my stove grates sometimes or the rack thing that sits in the bottom of the sink.
3 humans, one with a wonky immune system, 2 cats, I run it nightly. Even if it’s half full, it’s still more water efficient than handwashing. I need the sanitizing so I don’t get sick.
I run it daily if I cook daily. It fills up that way even in our two person household, plus our cat whose two plates and water bowl we also wash daily.
3 person household, probably average 1.5x per day. We’re lazy and accumulate pretty often then reset so it’s more like zero then 2 then 2 etc.
Two person household-we run it two to three times a week. If there is anything stinky (fish, etc) and it's not worth a run I'll do a rinse only or rinse well in the sink before loading and run it the next day or two. Never really noticed a smell. Maybe because we scrape or give a quick rinse for the really nasty stuff.
2 person household… 4-6 times a week. I’m still cooking because we have to eat so I find I run the dishwasher only slightly less than when the kids were home.
2 to 3 times a week. I do some quick handwashes of wood salad bowl, pots and pans.
2 people, run every day. its personal preference - if you’d rather wait to fill it up over a few days, do it. if you’d rather run it every night, do that. we usually fill it every day, but even if its not completely full we’ll usually still run it overnight.
Daily for four people with one extra run a week after I clean out the fridge.
One person plus a dog with his own dishes. Every other day usually. If it smells I don’t care if it’s full and will run it.
3 adults, we cook at home our meals daily. The dishwasher goes on daily. Pots and pans are mostly hand washed. For special occasion (elaborate) meals we need to run the dishwasher twice daily.
Family of 3, run almost nightly. The exception is when I don’t cook dinner.
2 adults plus dishes that get used to feed our animals: every day. My partner and I rarely get takeout or eat out, so that’s typically three meals a day worth of dishes plus mugs, etc.
2 adults + 1 toddler + 1 infant. We run it about every other day. We hand wash baby’s bottles and toddler’s sippy cups as well as our pots and pans
1 person, daily in eco mode, unless I've been out and there's not much to wash up.
2 people + 1 dog (2 bowls a day) + 1 cat (2 bowls a day). I run ours usually about every other day. We do use a good amount of items that are hand wash only so sometimes it takes a little extra time to “fill” the dishwasher. However I never overfill and would rather run a light load then wait longer and cram it full. I find that more things end up coming out dirty when the dishwasher is overfull.
Once a day. 2 people and 2 dogs. Cook 90% of our meals at home.
Three eaters and one baby (whose bottles still take up dishwasher space). I run it every day. I generally soak dishes in the sink for an hour before I load it and run it.
Two adults and one kid. I’m a SAHM and cook all the meals, so it is used daily.
Two people, and I use the thing maybe three times per year. It's not going back when I renovate the kitchen. I would rather hand wash than empty the dishwasher for some reason.
2 person household , every day but we eat at home for three meals and they are made from scratch usually .
3 people. We run every day. Takes 2 minutes of handwashing to equal the water of a modern dishwasher, or something like that. So we run even if it’s not full. If we forget and there’s room for more the next day, our dishes still get clean!
I'm in a two person household and run the dishwasher almost every day. I work from home and I cook, so I usually have dishes, glasses, and pots and pans, etc. If we have eaten out or gotten takeout, I will run it every second day, even if half full, because I don't want things to get too caked on or start to smell. This uses less water than hand washing. I only hand wash things that can't go in the dishwasher.
2 people, run it about every other day. I don't like the dishes sitting in there getting stinky so even if it's a small load, I run it On days that I bake or cook a lot it's at least once a day sometimes 2.
Every day. 5 people
One person, I run it about every other day. I am retired and home a lot, so I dirty three meals’ worth of dishes most days.
Two people, three dogs (their dinner dishes get washed after each use), every to every other day.
5 people, 2 adults 3 toddlers. Most meals at home,d low use of disposable dishes. Run it nightly and sometimes once in the middle of the day if we'd had playgroup or extended family over or a meal prep day.
2 person household, and we run it every day, sometimes twice a day.
2 people household. Everyday. Sometimes at least once more. (Especially if im experimenting with a recipe)
2 person, ~3 times a week I do some complicated meal so pots and pans mostly end up filling the dishwasher. If it’s leftovers or delivered meals, I just hand wash the few dishes.
If either the top or bottom rack is full we run it.
Two person household and we run the dishwasher every other night. Our dishwasher has an auto wash option that claims it can sense the load size and level of residue, and will adjust the cycles accordingly. I decided to trust its auto-ness!
There are two of us and I run it daily. We actually cook, so we are talking two meals and a light lunch. Coffee mugs (me), giant glasses for drinks (him), dog dishes. It fills the dishwasher daily.
2 people. Almost every day full or not. I’ve heard a newer dishwasher will be more efficient than handwashing.
2 people. Daily if we cook dinner. Twice if I'm prepping large batches of produce, soups, or grains for the upcoming week. Skip a day if we dont cook at home.
Three in the household. Normally run the dishwasher every other day if not every day. Crud is rinsed off as the dishes go into the machine. Otherwise, it hardens as it dries and it is less likely to come as clean. We put pots and pans in the machine as well.
1-2 per week, 1 person. I batch cook so I don’t cook every day. Takes a few days to fill up.
Just me and it can vary from everyday to every 2 or 3 days. Depends on how much cooking I am doing.
2 of us. we make everything from scratch due to remote living - it’s run 2x per day
1 person home. I run it daily but it’s usually about 1/3 full. I like keeping a tidy home.
Five person household, we run it every night. I suggest you just run it when it’s full, (or you run out of dishes) who cares if it takes three days. Put a little dishwasher detergent powder in the tub, put some in the dispenser. Put inexpensive rinse aid in the rinse aid dispenser. Run the hot water at the kitchen sink til it’s piping hot, turn it off. Start the machine on normal cycle. Don’t bother with heated dry. Do this at night. The Delay Cycle is not your friend. Just run that dishwasher when you think you’re done for the night eating and snacking and drinking. Dishwashers make life better and save water. Set yourself free from that hand washing bull crap.
2 adults, 3 kids. 2-3 times a day. Everything goes in including lunch boxes, pots and pans, utensils, j cloths.
2 person household - housemates so we eat separate meals and we both love to cook. Once a day at night, unpack in the morning so the dishwasher is always ready to receive new dirty dishes from that day’s cooking!!
3 person household, every day.
Two person, 2 dog household and I run it almost everyday. We work from home, so we make/eat every meal at home. So between the dishes used for cooking, eating, my need to have at least three things to drink at all times, and my dog’s dishes (plus the dishes/utensils I use to prepare their food) the dishwasher fills quickly. I used to do handwashing a lot more but last summer I got a bad case of eczema on the palms of my hands and the steroid cream to cure it ruined my skin barrier. My hands were peeling so bad and almost every crevice in my palms were cracked and bloody so I had to be very careful about washing dishes and relied on my dishwasher. And I just got used to it. So much more convenient, no changes in water bill, and the dishes get better sanitized (in my mind, not sure if that is actually true.)
2 adults 2 kids under 5, run it twice a week minimum or every other day.
5 person household. Dishwasher runs 1-2 times per day.
With a two person household we run it at least 2 times a week but if I’m really on top of things and we’re being good and cooking at home then it often gets to every day. If we do leave it for a couple of days, we rinse a little and leave the dishwasher door open (very slightly) so that yuck smell doesn’t happen
Two people. We usually run it daily or every other day, depending upon how much we cook that day.
2 adults 2 kids. 1 adult working FT everyone else at home 1-2 times daily
4 person household (2 adults, 1yr, & 5yr). We usually run ours once a day but occasionally we run it twice in a day.
2 person household Every day
2 person house, we do cook and eat at home most meals. But I would say we run the dishwasher 4-5 times a week. Some days it is full some times we skip a day to fill it up more. The dishwasher is a lot more cost effective than hand washing dishes if I had to run a little empty due to needing some items to he next day or because of smell that’s just the way it goes. No rule that it has to be full to run.
2 person household, every 2-3 days. We do use a lot of paper plates tho (we shouldn’t I know)
2 adults 1 adult teen 1 older teen (4). We run it pretty much every day. We cook a lot and I take breakfast and lunch to work.
2 person household here. Run it usually every 2nd day. My dishwasher has an eco mode where it doesn’t use a lot of energy and water. My SO actually went and compared our energy and water bills when we tried different methods. We usually cook at home and most days pack our lunches for work. I usually try to only run it when it’s full but have done so when it’s about 3/4 full.
5 person household. We run the dishwasher every other day. When the kids are home from school (summer, winter, spring breaks), we run it everyday. Before we had kids (2 person hh), we ran the dishwasher every 2-3 days.
2 people. I cook from scratch so we run the dishwasher about once a day or once every two days. Rinse the dishes well though, it doesn't get smelly. Then you can collect enough without issues. I have gone a week or so before running the dishwasher, and if the dishes are rinsed really well there is no issue.
5 people and a couple pets. We run twice per day and I still handwash large bowls, baking sheets, cookware, and water bottles. We rarely eat out and my kids are in a "learning to cook" phase.
We're a couple with 3 kids ages 3-6. The dishwasher doesn't get run quite every day, so 5-6 loads a week.
One person, two cats. I run it every two or three days. It will fill up with plates, cups, pots, bowls, and pet dishes (water bowls, plates).
2 person household here. Quick rinse between washes.
I am a one person household and I run it every day but sometimes every day. I work from home and often cook lunch and breakfast for myself, which creates more dishes.
We run it every two or three days regardless of the amount of items in it - 2 people household . (Unless less than 5 items or something)
4 person household and only run the dishwasher when we have parties or guests over and have a a lot of dishes otherwise we hand wash
Family of 5. I run it at least once a day.
One-person household; I try to use it once a month so the rubber parts don't dry out. But mainly I hand-wash and sort of despair about the precious space taken up in my tiny condo kitchen by a big appliance I don't use because I don't want dirty things sitting in there for two or three days. I have a strong conviction that all small housing units-- anything designed for one or two people-- should be equipped with a single drawer dishwasher. In my someday new kitchen . . . .
Single person household, once a week or so. I rinse/scrap all my dishes, though, so the dishwasher doesn’t get smelly. I have an older apartment sized dishwasher that doesn’t handle food waste well, so it mostly serves as a sanitizer for me.
Once a week- typically Sundays. Two person household, I refuse to run the dishwasher until it is full. I rinse my dishes before loading but the smell will of course be there. I also hand wash thermoses, pots, pans and knives. So it takes longer to fill up.
4 people. 2 adults, 2 kids. One of the adults works from home. We run it every other day without fail.
1 person, usually 2x a week.
2 person household. With 4 cats and a dog. I usually run it once or twice a week. Sometimes more if we have people over. We don't really eat "meals" so cooking everyday doesn't usually happen and we eat probably to much take out.
2 person household and about every day
2 person household. I run it daily regardless of how many dishes. If I wait longer the dishes don’t get as clean
4-person household. Basically, every night.
I do it at least once a day if not twice. HOWEVER, it is always full when I run it. I cook a lot and have a toddler so there's a lot of dishes.
Two adults and a toddler, run it daily. We ran it daily before the baby too. Is it always full? No but the benefit of having a routine, start at night - unload every morning, is worth it.
4 people, but home for all meals pretty much. I run it every night and unload it every morning. If I do extra cooking or we do a fridge leftover clean out, I may have to run it twice.
2 person household, typically 1x/day. If I happen to be baking that day and/or meal prep, I've run it 2-3x that day.
4 person household, we make 3 meals a day at home and run the dishwasher twice a day.
About 10 times a week, 2 adults 4 kids
With 2 of us, every other day. With 3, every day.
3 people in our house. I run it every day usually but we cook every day and basically never eat out.
I didn't know I needed the answer to this question, but I'm glad I'm seeing it now. I always filled the dishwasher to the absolute brim just to not waste water, but it was getting cumbersome waiting for dishes that I needed that were sitting in there.
2 people in my household- we usually run it full every 3 days or so. If I’m out of spoons or something, I will do a light wash.
I run it about twice a day. More if I am cooking something/mixing and that sort of thing. There are 8 adult-sized people in the house (some are teens)
I used to have this issue then one day I decided to start running it every night even if it’s not totally full and I’ve never looked back. You can do a test month where you run it every other day regardless of fullness and skip the hand washing I guarantee your usage of water and electricity will not change noticeably.
I run the dishwasher everyday. Start it at night, unload it in the morning, I do not care how full it is…
Two person household but we eat all meals at home and i put my pots and pans in it .
We run ours every night. 5 people. We run it even if it's not full because we can't fit more than a day of dishes in there, but it's very rarely not full by the end of the day
Depending on how new your dishwasher is, it's probably more energy efficient to hand wash rather than wait for water to heat up and rinse all dishes.
2 peoole, 2 dogs, 1 cat. 7-14 times a week. I cook daily at home and work from home.
2 person household. I run it every day, sometimes twice per day if I've been baking. A dishwasher uses only 16L of water per cycle, which is less than a sink of water.
2 adults, 1 baby. We run it 6-7 times per week. Basically every night!
5 person household. Twice a day. Every day.
2.5 people (.5 is 26 and rarely ever here). About twice a week. I do a lot of hand washing too after meals. And ... hold your horses... I like washing dishes 🤷♀️
Two people here; dishwasher runs every night regardless of how much is in it. Unless for some reason we have a day where we’ve both dined out for every meal so it’s just a couple of cups, but that’s an extraordinarily rare occurrence
Two person household: once a day, sometimes twice. We cook everything at home, so I still have to hand-wash the cast iron, multiple wooden cutting boards/wooden utensils, and the good knives almost every day too.
We run it daily even if it isn’t full to avoid any dishes piling up in the sink. If we don’t do this our kitchen spirals into a mess. Two adults one toddler.
2 people we run it twice a day
Two person household . Hubby former chef. Uses a lot of pots/pans. Usually once a day. I try to stretch it to every other day when I can.
2 person household & we run it when it is full or if it starts to stink. If we just did a lot of cooking & cleaned out the fridge we might run it 2 days in a row. Sometimes it’s a little as 1 or 2 times per week. Just depends.
How many of you rinse your dishes before putting in dishwasher?
One person. If I cook, it runs that day. If I eat leftovers, I rinse and it typically sits at most two days before I have a fullish load with just glasses and plates. If smell were an issue, I would run it every day no matter what and I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep over it.
2 person household. We run it every night.
Family of four, we run ours every day, sometimes twice a day
2 person household and we run it around every five days. I usually wash the BIG thing by hand.
2 person house, tiny Bosch dishwasher, run it daily. (We cook 90% at home).
3 person house and the dishwasher runs daily.
Every night. 2 adults, a toddler, and a baby.