make the most of your dishwasher.

According to research, a load of dishes cleaned in a dishwasher requires 37 percent less water than washing dishes by hand. However, if you fill the wash and rinse basins instead of letting the water run, you’ll use half as much water as a dishwasher.
 
If you opt to use the dishwasher, wash full loads only. Scrape don’t rinse dishes before loading the dishwasher. Pre-rinsing can use up to 20 gallons of water. If you must rinse your dishes before loading them, use only cold water so you’re not running up your energy bill by heating water unnecessarily.
 
Use the energy-saving cycles whenever possible. Dishwashers that feature air power or overnight dry settings can save up to 10 percent of your
dishwashing energy costs.  Reduce the hot water temperature. Set the water heater to the “normal” setting or 120°F, unless the owner’s manual for the dishwasher requires a higher setting. Savings are 7 to 11% of water heating costs.  Avoid using the “rinse hold” setting on your dishwasher. “Rinse hold” uses three to seven gallons of hot water for each use. Disabling the heat in the drying cycle can save 20% of your dishwasher’s total electricity use.
 
Run your dishwasher after 7 p.m. Wash only full loads and use the shortest possible cycle.
 
Load dishes in their proper locations to ensure maximum cleaning efficiency.