Showerthought: My dishwasher is running for 2 hours every night

I was reading my energy bill and saw a breakdown online from our local utility in Portland. Turns out running my dishwasher on the normal cycle uses almost 3 times the electricity of the eco cycle because of the heated drying. Has anyone else bothered to check their appliance settings or just run them on default like I did?

3 comments

3 Comments

tyler_wilson20d ago

Had the exact same wake up call last month. My bill jumped and I started digging around, found out my dryer was set to "more dry" which just runs way longer than needed for no reason. Changed both settings and saw an instant drop. It's wild how much power we waste without even realizing it because we just hit start and walk away.

laura_wright20d ago

Ha! I felt personally attacked reading this. My poor dryer has been working overtime for nothing.

oscar_ellis17d ago

Hold up, I gotta push back on this a little. Isn't it possible you're just overthinking a machine that does one job? I mean, my dryer has a "more dry" setting for a reason, like if you've got heavy jeans or towels that trap moisture. You change that setting and suddenly you're pulling out damp clothes that need another cycle, which uses more power overall. Plus, aren't most modern dryers pretty efficient anyway? That bill drop might be from something else you changed at the same time, like turning the thermostat down. People love to blame the dryer because it's an easy target, but that thing just spins and blows hot air.