The house we bought a few years ago had a dishwasher. It doesn’t work.

We’d like to replace it but we asked the shop guys if they can help with that they told us they don’t have any local contacts who do dishwasher installs.

We’ve never used one before, but with two little kids it feels like hand washing is getting a bit much sometimes.

Yes.

I usually do both because I have never had a dishwasher that actually cleans anything off the dishes, no matter what I do or what cleaner I use. I am at the point I think they’re a myth propagated by Big Dishwasher. JK… or am I! Yeah, they probably do exist, but just for everyone else but me.

By hand. We are only two people, and we usually clean after we cook/eat. When one is cleaning only 2 plates + a pot/pan at a time, it is easy to use little water. Spray of soap, metal scrub, sponge scrub, and then turn the tap on to rinse for a few seconds. Utensils get individually scrubbed and then all rinsed together for a few seconds.

Maybe when we have kids a dish washer will make sense.

Yes

By hand. I’ve only lived in a place with a dishwasher for 1 year. During that time I felt like the dishes never got truly clean. Like if shit was stuck to a plate or bowl it would need manual intervention. If a pan sat for a day and shit got really caked on it wasn’t even worth putting it in the dish washer. I don’t see how it saves on water either. Like I don’t leave the water running while I wash the dishes. I don’t fill the sink. I rinse a plate. Turn the water off. Scrub it down. Rinse it again. Water is on for maybe 5-10 seconds a dish. Scrubbing does all the work.

Mentally, it’s kinda like taking a shower in the sense that my mind goes to a completely different place and all things that bothered me before are flushed out. That change in activity or environment really lets me process shit in a way that meling in front of a screen doesn’t.

Recently, I was house-sitting for friends, and the dishwasher broke. I had to pause it every few minutes to empty the water by hand. It amounted to 2 shallow oven dishes’ worth of water. And not filled to the brim, either: I had to be able to bring them to the sink without spilling.
It was a really, really small quantity of water.

Dishwashers are definitely the way to go. They use less water than hand washing (source: https://www.popsci.com/environment/science-of-using-dishwasher-vs-handwashing/).

I’m so firmly in the dishwasher camp that I installed a second dishwasher in my kitchen a few years ago and it has been one of the best upgrades I ever made on my house. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to live somewhere with a single dishwasher again.

Also, there’s no need to buy any expensive pods or dishwasher detergent. The cheap store brand powder detergent works the best. Personally I use the Great Value brand powdered detergent and have been very satisfied with it. I do not pre rinse any dishes either. I just lazily scrape off my dishes in the garbage and put them straight in the dishwasher.

If you do go the dishwasher route, be sure to do your research and get a good dishwasher if you have a choice. I went with Bosch dishwashers based on reviews from Consumer Reports and have been highly satisfied with their performance. They’re so quiet my wife sometimes opens them mid cycle and gets a surprise. I find this hilarious because they shine a red spot on the floor to let you know that it is running.

Dishwashers are superior to handwashing in basically every regard, and as such I lean towards it for everything in my kitchen that can handle it.

Dishwasher for sure. Many years ago, I had a dishwashing job where I had to wash everything by hand, and that made me really appreciate dishwashers ever since.

Dishwasher. I’ve done hand washing and dishwashing depending on where I’m living each year. Dishwasher does a better job than me, uses less water than me, and saves me time. I run it at night and put away the dishes in the morning.

I use paper plates and bowls and throw that shit away. Depending on what I ate, I can get a couple uses out of them.

I use the dishwasher for everything that can go in there, because I especially like the sanitization cycle.

When I worked at a summer camp, they had a commercial dishwasher that was amazing and could do a load / tray of dishes in about 45 seconds. But I don’t think this was particularly water saving. I could be wrong, but that was my favorite dishwasher ever.

By hand. I don’t have a dishwasher. The place I rent didn’t come with one, and I don’t have the space for my own (plus no money). I think I’ve only ever met one person with a dishwasher, although I suppose I wouldn’t know if someone has one unless I either go to their house or they bring it up. I don’t see the issue with doing dishes by hand, and I pay a flat rate for water so water usage is not a concern to me.

I have a dishwasher (came with the place). I don’t like it. I don’t think it does a very good job.

I use it as a dish drainer. That is to say, when I hand wash, I open the dishwasher, and I use its racks to air dry my washed dishes. I don’t even skip straight to the dry cycle, that’s a waste of electricity.

I would not own a dishwasher. I would throw it out if it were up to me and use the space for shelves to store more gear, like my slow cooker, toaster oven, air fryer, stand mixer, etc. when they are not in use.