Pre-rinsing dishes before putting in the dishwasher is mostly unnecessary. Modern dishwashers are very efficient and will remove all but the most stubborn food residue. Pre-rinse or soak only those items which won’t clean or don’t fit in the dishwasher.
1 standard cycle in a typical dishwasher costs the same in energy and water as heating between 4 to 6 washing-up bowls of water in the kitchen sink, or running the hot tap continuously for 6 to 9 minutes (depending on a metered or unmetered water supply).
Josephine Cochrane invented the first dishwasher and unveiled it at the 1893 Worlds’ Fair in Chicago.
