Why you shouldn’t pre-rinse dishes before you put them in the dishwasher

A person loads clean plates into a dishwasher
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We all spend a lot of time pre-rinsing dishes before we put them in the dishwasher. But with today’s modern dishwashers, that might be an unnecessary task — and not rinsing your dirty dishes first just might be a way to get back a little bit of your precious time.

All you really need to do is scrape off excess food and place the dirty dish in the dishwasher. You are good to go! If you’ve been rinsing dishes first for years, though, you might not believe it’s true. However, research and even the makers of dishwasher detergent have proved it that it really is best not to rinse.

Here are four reasons why you don’t need to pre-rinse.

Dishwasher Detergent Works Best With Dirty Dishes

The makers of Cascade actually recommend keeping the dishes dirty.

“Enzymes in Cascade detergent are designed to attach themselves to food particles,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Procter & Gamble, the makers of Cascade, told the Journal that the enzymes won’t have anything to latch onto without the food there.

In addition to losing all the benefits of the detergent, as it can rinse off too early in the washing process, you might even be damaging your plates and bowls. Richard Tarrant of Bosch dishwashers told Popular Science that without something to for the enzymes to grab, the detergent can end up in the smallest scratches and pits on your dishes instead, etching them and wearing them down.

Dirty dishes sitting inside dishwasher
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Pre-Rinsing Dishes Tricks Your Dishwasher

Today’s modern dishwashers do a pretty amazing job at cleaning even the dirtiest of dishes, in part because they use sensors to determine how dirty your dishes are and adjust the cleaning cycle accordingly.  Consumer Reports found that when you pre-rinse your dishes, the sensors misread the dishes as being pretty clean already and then gives them a lighter clean, which is probably not what you wanted!

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Pre-Washing Dishes Wastes Water

You can waste up to 6,000 gallons a year by pre-rinsing dishes. Even if you run the dishwasher when it’s only half full, your dishwasher will still use about half the water that you would’ve by cleaning them by hand.

Man washes dish in sink with water running
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Pre-Rinsing Takes Time

We are all so busy nowadays. Why not spend time doing other things on your to-do list, or with your family and friends? Ditching this habit can save you time every day!

Daughter helps dad clear kitchen table
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Bonus Tip

Consumer Reports also says to get your dishes the cleanest, load large items at the side and back of the dishwasher so they don’t block the water. Face all dishes inward so they get hit by the spray.

Go ahead. Put dirty dishes into the dishwasher. It’s what it’s made for.

Cleaning & Organization, Home
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About the Author
Will Schuerman
Will loves discovering and sharing tips to help make life easier. In addition to his passion for hacks and tips, Will is a former granola business proprietor and a life long techie.

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