Elizabeth, I have only ever had a dishwasher. I've never lived in a space (for longer than two months) where I didn't have access to that convenience. And, you know what? I'm terrible at cleaning as I go. It's a good habit, one not worth giving up, as far as I'm concerned.

You might be losing that convenience, but I find that when I do dishes as I go, things move more quickly. Of course, I only do this out of necessity ;) (or if my husband insists!)

In our two-person household, we usually run the dishwasher every day, and sometimes twice a day, if we're doing quite a bit of cooking. We put all of our cutting boards and pots and pans in there, so it fills up quickly.

I miss having a dishwasher, I grew up with one and since college haven't had one :-( I find I don't have dinner parties as much as I'd like to (but I am able to convince dishwasher-having friends to host!) and I don't take on certain cooking project during the work week because clean-up would just be too daunting.

My next place, it's gonna have a dishwasher!

Also, with the newer energy saving dishwasher models, you actually use less water using the dishwasher (when running it full of course) than you would cleaning the same amount of dishes by hand.

I use the dishwasher as a drying rack.
I try to run it once a week - usually on Saturdays and Sundays. It feels so decadent.

Elizabeth, I'm used to cleaning as I go too. I haven't been able to break the habit, even though I now have a dishwasher for the first time. I've been hand washing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher to try. I'll take advantage of the convenience of having a dishwasher someday...

I never had a dishwasher until I hit 25, so I got used to either cleaning as I went or leaving a giant pile and doing a marathon washing session. I love it and hope to never live without it again, but that's because I never disciplined myself. The definition of convenience is that it makes some aspect of your life easier. You have obviously already figured out a good system, so it's not a convenience for you. Enjoy the fact that you don't need it, and save it for those nights when you don't feel well enough to wash as you go or just plain don't want to deal with it.

I've worked in restaurants too, but the water and energy savings from using a dishwasher have definitely broken me of the habit. Dishwashers use MUCH less water (and hot water) than washing by hand.

It's just my husband and I, but we usually run it once a day and that's even with no pots and pans (those are all hand wash). I guess we go through a lot of dishes. I find it especially useful for bulky items or crevices that would be difficult to clean.

I'm pretty lazy, so I don't like washing dishes by hand, but I also find it much more efficient for me and for my water bill to use the dishwasher.

I moved into my apartment 6 years ago and haven't used my dishwasher since the first month I was there. It's not a high quality appliance, and I found that it just didn't wash my dishes as well as I could. No matter how "clean" the dishes were when they went in, they were riddled with terrible spots when they came out. Mine is now a glorified dish drainer. I don't feel like I'm wasting the appliance, because I just don't find it useful; however I would love to better utilize the space. I keep thinking that when I can afford it, I'm going to ask my landlord if I can replace it with one of those under-counter washer/dryer combo's that are so popular in Europe. Now that's a major appliance I wouldn't let go to waste.

My roommate and I run the dishwasher about once a week, but we REALLY load it up. We wash pots, pans, mixing bowls, cutting boards, and our fancy, expensive knives by hand. Our electricity bill is through the roof, especially in the winter with our electric heat, so we've gotten into the habit of using the dishwasher as little as possible and not putting any big items in that will fill it up too fast.

I'm lazy about washing dishes by hand too, but what I hate more than washing dishes is drying dishes. Perhaps the idea of using the dishwasher as a drying rack would work well for me.

I use mine lots. Less water and energy. High temperature equals more sanitary results. I have found the 'bargain' DW soaps are unsatisfactory - get the good stuff. The liquid soaps work better with aluminum. I usually cancel the forced drying and let the load dry from the residual heat. When this one dies I will run out and get another.

We have one a rarely use it because the dishes often come out more dirty than when I put them in. I end up having to hand wash almost everything and run the dishwasher once a week, at the most.

It's just my husband and me, and we run the dishwasher about once every 3 days or so. If it isn't full at that point, I do a rinse cycle, just to make sure things get clean when I do run it later in the week.

I do find that if I'm in the mindset that I can use the dishwasher, we go through more dishes. Otherwise, I rinse out the coffee cups and reuse them, etc. But, if, instead of washing up the dishes right away, you throw them in the dishwasher, you might find yourself using dishes you have forgotten you have! And then, all of them clean in one go!

I've got this terrible stigma about dishwashers since I never grew up with one and the only one I was exposed to was my grandmother's. I quickly developed a distaste for the smell that came out of it (clean and dirty) and I got into the habit of touching every utensil and bowl for dried on food particles "just in case".

I have a dishwasher now, but I never use it. On the rare times I have, I just don't feel like anything comes out clean enough. It's like the previous users of it washed their shoes in there because there's sometimes a weird grit that accumulates in cups and bowls.

I clean as I go, too, because that makes more sense (and I enjoy the quiet time spent washing dishes by hand) -- so nevermind the fact that I don't trust dishwashers to actually clean the utensils that are going in my mouth, I just generally prefer doing it by hand.

We'll be moving soon and we'll have a brand new dishwasher never used by anyone else and I'd like to try to use it regularly. But I have no idea if I'm going to be able to. JenPDX's single statement about using it as a drying rack just completely blew my mind. That makes so much sense plus I'd feel as if I were using it AND it would save so much counter space. Thanks for that one single sentence. It totally changed my world.

Just a note--you can also clean as you go by putting the dirty things in the dishwasher!

I'm surprised by all of the people who don't use their DW because they didn't grow up with one. I didn't have one until I was in my 20's, and I've never looked back.

After going without one for over a year we are happily using our new dishwasher. I am definitely a "clean as you go" person but I just put things into the dishwasher. We're getting used to the idea of not rinsing or "pre-cleaning" the dishes and also of putting almost everything in the dishwasher (excepting knives and vintage Pyrex). Our habit is to run it after dinner, open it after the cycle ends so the dishes can dry overnight, and then to put away the clean dishes first thing each morning (as the water boils for tea). This way it is always empty and waiting for the day's dirty dishes.

Not only did I convince my spouse that we would save water if we replaced the broken dishwasher (thank AT!) but we're also finding that as active home cooks preparing three meals daily we've cut close to an hour off the time we spent washing dishes each day.

I've gotten into the habit of washing all my pots, pans, mixing bowls, knives, cooking utensils, wine glasses, storage containers (which I use at least 1 a day due to taking my lunch to work), etc by hand. I basically only wash cutting boards, plates, bowls, cups & glasses, & silverware in the dishwasher. This way I only run it about 1x a week. This is for a 2 person household.

I grew up with a dishwasher, except for a 3 year stint in middle school when we lived in a small farmhouse on our farm as we built a house. (The farmhouse also ONLY had a wood burning stove in ONE ROOM as a heat source for the entire house; and only a window airconditioner in one room. That house made me appreciate a LOT!)

We are a two person household, who run the dishwasher nearly every day. After renting a vacation house without a dishwasher this summer, I realized that I am a terrible water-waster when I hand wash - one of those skills I didn't learn as a kid, since we had a dishwasher.

If you're not using your dishwasher, you are wasting an enormous amount of water AND electricity.

http://1greengeneration.elementsintime.com/?p=314

It has nothing to do with breaking silly habits or not feeling like it's worth it or any of the other silly reasons being mentioned in the comments; if you have access to one and are not using your dishwasher, you are being an irresponsible consumer and passing on your wastefulness to the rest of us.

I grew up with a dishwasher and finally have one of my own! for the past 9 post-collegiate years, I have been dishwasher less. my new house has a dishwasher that I love. my only complaint? it is one of those compact 18 inch ones and I want a bigger one. I run it everyday, twice a day if I do a lot of cooking or if I have guests.

There are these cool double-decker dishwashers out there, my mother has one. It's total size is the same as a normal dishwasher, but there are two separate washing drawers, one on top of the other. So for a small household it's great! You can run the dishwasher (actually only half a dishwasher) full, to save water and energy if you're not producing a great deal of dirty ones to fill a conventional sized dishwasher. They are more expensive than convention dishwashers, but may be well worth it if you can afford it.

That's an incredibly judgemental statement, MichaelH. I'm very frugal with the water I use when I wash dishes, and I use far less than I did when I used my dishwasher, because before I would need to rinse the dishes thoroughly (if they weren't basically clean to begin with, I'd get food particles on my dishes), run the dishwasher and then rewash the dishes to get rid of all of the water spots. Not to mention the extra products I was using to try to combat the water spots. I have no more control over the crummy dishwasher my landlod gave me than do others who have no access to a dishwasher at all. Not using my dishwasher saves me time, money AND water.

My house came with a crappy 60's dishwasher that didn't work well, so i grew up never using it. I'm used to washing by hand. Sorry, i don't buy that i'm using more water and electricity, or that dishes come out cleaner/more sanitary from a washer.

I eventually just tore the thing out and put in extra shelving in its place.

Second MichaelH's comment. Modern dishwashers are essentially so energy & water efficient -- and, after a scrape into the trash, shouldn't require pre-rinsing, onebravegirl -- that handwashing can't compete. (Countless studies out there confirm this; check the Google.) I use mine whenever it's full. There are in better things to do than hang out over a sink...like planning tomorrow's meal!

I wish my modern dishwasher was good at cleaning dirty plates... It came with the house, so I just have to wait until it breaks down to justify ripping it out for a better one. Adding vinegar helps.

I only run the dishwasher about once a week. I live solo, so there are less plates. And then I'm used to washing pots and bowls as I cook, so it's usually only plates, soup bowls, glasses, and silverware that go in the dishwasher.

If you're a renter and never use the dishwasher, it's a good idea to run it once every couple of months or so. If it never gets run, then the gasket can dry out and cause a leak, and the next tenants to come along might find themselves wading in water when using the dishwasher the first time.

I do a lot of cooking and run the dishwasher two to three times a week, for the two of us. I only hand wash things that can't go in the dishwasher - good knives, pots and pans, and wooden cutting boards, etc.

My husband and my little daughter and I run the dishwasher once a day. Its easy to fill, even though I seem to only buy vintage Danish pots and pans that aren't really dishwasher safe. It uses much less water than washing by hand and yeah, way more convenient.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

A couple people mentioned that if I loaded the dishwasher as I went, I'd actually be cleaning as I go. And you're all right to say that, but our dishwasher isn't one of the new, efficient ones and I'm concerned that it's actually costing us more because it heats up our little apartment. Also, we have literally three cabinets in our kitchen right now. All of the dishes are neatly stacked into one cabinet so it's almost easier to keep washing the same three plates then to get more out.

Elizabeth I am with you. I have had a dishwasher in my house for 10+ years and I have used it maybe 6 times! I have a small kitchen and I definitely need to clean as I go and the dishwasher just takes so long! I store my salad spinner and extra wine glasses in my dishwasher. I have learned to love washing dishes. I love the hot water, and I just daydream and/or stare out the window, it's therapeutic and it keeps my nails white and clean!!!

Never had one- can't imagine somebody so lazy they would find they just had to use one!

I lived alone and for TWO YEARS i had NEVER used my dishwasher. I lent my place for about a month to ONE person and she used it no less than 3 or 4 times a week (i thought it was ridiculous).

IMHO, for 1 or 2 people, especially if they clean as they go, it's not something that i can see being used so much.
For a family w/kids and such, i can totally see it being used every nite.

@aaakid We're about the same: 2 of us, lots of cooking, 2 or 3 dw cycles a week.

I got my first dishwasher when I moved away for college. I had it for a year, then I went something like 6 years without one.

I hated every minute of washing dishes for those six years. (To be fair, I hated the time before too).

Now, I won't live anywhere that doesn't have a dishwasher. I'm not afraid to cook complicated meals or use real plates for big parties, I rarely have dirty dishes on my counter, and my hands are in much better shape. (I have eczema, which makes hand-washing dishes a killer)

Wow. I WISH I had your clean-as-you-go ethic!! We've been without a dishwasher since buying our first home, but once our kitchen remodel is done (in about 2 weeks!!!) we'll finally have one again! I have definitely missed the convenience, but if I had the same discipline you do, I don't think I'd give it up. But, let yourself off the hook every once in a while and just throw dinner dishes in and relax in front of a movie. Nothing wrong with that!

We just bought a house with a dishwasher and I'm in HEAVEN. It's changed our lives. I cook more now without dread the sink full of dirty dishes.

We do one load a day (2 of us, and we wash our cat food bowls too) and put it up before going to bed at night. If I cook a lot I might do 2 loads.

I HIGHLY recommend the Method dish pellets ("Smarty Dish"). They work great and don't cost much. We get them at Target.

No. No, I cannot relate at all. It's me and my husband, but often the dishwasher is used (full load) multiple times a day. And all of our skillets, knives, and wine glasses are washed by hand.

Good Golly! I somehow often enough produce enough dishes for two FULL loads cooking for just two people and with rare exception I let the second batch wait until the first batch is dishwasher washed. I know that it uses less energy and water to use the dishwasher for me so I try to do it. That said I do a fair share of clean as you go also depending one what i am doing. Is DO wash pots and pans in the dishwasher though.