#DishwashersSaveWater Challenge

Did you know that a dishwasher can use as little as 6.5L of water per cycle? This means a family of four could save on average 57 litres of water per load, compared to handwashing. Can you imagine being able to clean 144 items with 6.5 litres of water?

By switching to a dishwasher, the amount of water saved over a year, compared to handwashing dishes can be more than 10 thousand litres per household.

The current drought woes have highlighted the need for efficient water management systems and concerted conservation efforts by all South Africans. While good winter rainfalls may relieve some of Cape Town’s water issues, droughts will continue to hound Cape Town and greater South Africa.

According to the Water Research Commission, South Africa will demand 17% more water than exists by 2030. The commission reports that the country’s water supplies are almost fully allocated, making it difficult for new enterprises to access water licences and placing a dampener on future economic growth.

“There is increasing pressure on South Africa’s water supply and if current population growth trends continue, domestic and industrial water demand will more than double by the year 2050,” says Dr Konanani Khorommbi, Project Manager: Institutional Reforms and Realignment for ‎the Department of Water and Sanitation.

“Now more than ever, we need a strong social, financial and political commitment to reduce future water use,” he continued.

Finish marketing director Raheel Dhaduk says water conservation should not only be the responsibility of the public sector. “Corporate South Africa has an important role to play from an awareness and education perspective. The debilitating drought in Cape Town has highlighted just how important it is for every sector of the economy to get involved in addressing the crisis.”

A thorough investigation of manual dishwashing, namely the Laboratory Investigation of Manual Dishwashing Habits and its Resources: A study of consumer panels in seven global regions, points to an increased demand for resources such as water and energy in the residential sector in the foreseeable future.

The study, which examined the manual dishwashing habits of 289 people in 29 countries found that automatic dishwashing achieves “a clear optimisation of the dishwashing process under chosen test conditions with regard to more efficient resource usage and an improvement in cleaning performance.”

With water management one of the cornerstones of global environmental protection policies, ordinary citizens need to consider what they can do to consume less water.

Dhaduk says the Finish and Bosch partnership is aimed at encouraging consumers to use products that save water. “While the average global dishwashing machine uses about 10,2 litres of water per quick cycle, the handwashing of 13 place settings uses an average of 68.5 litres of water.

“A family of four can save up to 10,670 litres of water a year by using a dishwasher. This is a compelling reason to invest in an automatic dishwasher rather than continue along the manual hand washing route”

Dhaduk explains that the use of an automatic dishwasher can reduce water consumption by a massive 57L per cycle. Notably, technological advancements have meant that a Bosch dishwasher now uses as little as 6.5 litres of water per cycle

“A dishwasher is not just about water-saving, it can also save you time, energy and give you a more hygienic clean” he continued.

Dishwasher users save as much 51 minutes of time and 1.1kWh of energy per cycle. Trended over a year and time savings can equate to over 6.5 days, with enough energy saved to run a standard kettle over 1800 times. In addition, water is heated to 60 degrees Celsius – a temperature that human hands cannot withstand – ensuring dishes are more hygienically clean.

Dhaduk further explained that all these savings add up. The water and energy saving achieved using a dishwasher can mean that as much as R700 is saved per year. This means that a R4000 dishwasher effectively pays for itself in just over 5 and a half years.

Within this context, leading dishwashing brand, Finish, has leveraged its partnership with Bosch to demonstrate how dishwashers can support water conservation initiatives in the country.

In addition, to underscore its commitment to the preservation of water, Finish is partnering with the Department of Water & Sanitation (DWS) to further educate communities on the importance of water conservation. Dhaduk says the initiative will be conducted in consultation with the DWS. “We want our investment in the community to be sustainable and make sure that it is aligned with initiatives by the DWS. We will be tracking its progress by monitoring water consumption, water saving and behavioural trends.”

This post and content is sponsored, written and provided by Finish.