How do you actually start your dishwasher? Many of us prefer to choose a program that seems super practical at first glance – but has many disadvantages!
Oh, dishwashers are really great: Simply put in the dirty plates and cups, put a tab in the compartment, press two or three buttons and you can go back to the sofa while the machine does the dirty work.
It's just stupid that the machine takes so long: Sometimes it can take up to three hours for the dishwasher Has turned dirty plates into shiny dishes. But there is also the practical short program …
Warning: This very popular program in particular shouldn't be used all the time. Because it is expensive, harmful to the environment and can damage your machine!
Why is the short program in the dishwasher harmful?
One after the other – let's first clarify why the dishes are cleaned so quickly in the short program. It's impressive: what the machine normally needs two to three hours for can suddenly be done in just under three quarters of an hour …
Yes, the machine washes the dishes faster in the short program, but it also reverses it a lot more energy on. Means: more water, more heat, more short rinses. Even drying after cleaning should work faster – and of course that only works with more heat.
In other words, while in the normal or even in the Eco program the dishes are cleaned in longer sections with a lot of water and little heat, the machine fires in the short program at full speed, so pumps hotter water into the wash cabinet more often and, in the end, heats the dishes even more so that they dry faster.
What can the consequences of the short program be?
Because the dishwasher uses full power in the short program and doesn't care about all economy, it uses a lot more energy – which is not good for the environment on the one hand, but also not good for our wallet on the other. Those who frequently use the short program can at the end of the year up to 30 euros more Pay for electricity and water, that's what Stiftung Warentest has calculated.
And the machine itself does not benefit from constant use: frequent use of the short program can damage the dishwasher let break earlier. This is also due to the fact that the device simply works with more energy – and ultimately the machines are not designed to constantly heat up to the highest level. This constant load can lead to heating elements breaking earlier than if we were using the more economical programs.
So we remember: If you don't really want to go fast, we'd rather let the machine run in the normal program – or even better in Eco mode. This is not only good for the environment, it is also kind to our wallets …