I tested the cheapest way to run my dishwasher – the winning setting could knock £30 a year off bills
I LOVE my dishwasher and the relief of shoving all my dirty plates into it.
But I’m getting increasingly scared of the cost, given the rising cost of electricity and water.
My model’s a Neff bought in 2016 and has four key settings - but I’ve never really understood which might be the most economical.
There’s a short setting, which lasts just half an hour at 45°, “Auto”, which varies the temperature somewhere between 45 and 65° based on the dirtiness of the plates, and “Eco”, a cycle designed to use less water and electricity.
All sound pretty efficient, except the fancy “chef” setting, which runs intensively at 70° for three and half hours.
I don’t dare touch that button for fear of the cost.
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But I am keen to know which option can save me the most money.
Here are the results of the tests I ran using my smart plug.
Short Cycle - 45°: 29 minutes
The 29-minute cycle is super fast and cooler than the others so seems a good value option.
It's designed for more fragile items like glassware but I threw in a load of bowls and plates that were covered in bolognese sauce, porridge and tomato sauce as well as a casserole dish with scraps of last night’s dinner hard baked on.
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After a quick half an hour run my tableware and cutlery emerged gleaming, as well as burning hot to touch.
But the casserole dish had fared less well with scraps of food still welded onto it.
I could have prevented that with a quick rub with a Brillo pad prior to going in the dishwasher.
For plates which are only mucky with soft food waste, this quickie setting did the job surprisingly well given its short run time.
- Energy used: 0.85 kWh
- Cost: 29p
- Yearly cost: £105.85 (if used daily)
Auto 45° - 65°: running time varies
The auto function is pretty clever. It works out what kind of setting you need by using a sensor on your plates to see how much cleaning is required.
My dishwasher suggested it would run for two hours 45 minutes, but in fact it stopped after an hour and a half, with our lightly-soiled plates all gleaming beautifully.
The cycle’s temperature range is between 45° and 65°.
I thought it was going to work out more expensive than the short setting as it took longer, but in fact it only used 0.61kWh, which was 9p cheaper than the short setting.
But if I had very dirtier places in there it would have cost more.
- Energy used: 0.61 kWh
- Cost: 21p
- Yearly cost: £76.65 (based on doing a similar load every day)
Eco 50°: 3 hours 30 minutes
Eco is a three and half hour programme which uses less water and electricity.
I’d always been put off by the amount of time it takes to do this cycle, but it takes longer because it uses less resources.
I tested it after several family meals involving fish and chips with ketchup, porridge, scrambled egg, chocolate spread on toast and mashed-up baby food.
The cleaning was top-notch, not a spec of our old nosh anywhere, but it was costlier than the other two settings with a total consumption of 0.89kWh, costing 30p.
It also took all morning to do. I won’t bother with that again.
- Energy used: 0.89 kWh
- Cost: 30p
- Yearly cost: £109.50-
Verdict: My dishwasher isn’t new but all of the settings work pretty well, even the 45° quick function.
So really it’s just a question of cost - and the winner in that category was the Auto setting.
That cost just 21p to run a cycle, compared to 29p for short and 30p for Eco.
The Auto function does however vary in cost and if my plates were really dirty then it would run for longer and more intensively.
So the lesson I’ve learned is to use a Brillo pad to loosen any scraps that are hard stuck down before they get to the dishwasher.
I’m not talking about washing them up before they go in, as that would really add to the cost, but just using a bit of elbow grease to make life easier for the machine so it doesn’t have to work as hard.
With electricity costing so much, every extra degree of heat and minute of run time counts towards our bills so it’s worth making sure you choose the best value setting.
Of course all machines are different and mine, at seven years old, is not a patch on all the newer more efficient machines on the market.
But a smart plug can tell you where you’re going wrong and right in terms of how you use your appliances.
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I’d highly recommend getting one, if only to give you some ammunition to nag your family to turn things off.
Remember that a 8p difference in running cost per use - like I found between my two cheapest dishwasher settings - can mean an extra £30 in your pocket at the end of the year.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]