In this machine age, almost everyone is indulged in an extended hours job five days a week. When we get free time, it’s usually the weekend.
Weekend runs more like doing home chores than chilling on the beach. At the end of the week, a pile of clothes is waiting for you with a whole bunch of used dishes.
Washing machines and dishwashers are no less than best friends for working people. If you are one of them, you might have the idea.
In such a busy life, you might have thought of doing several tasks simultaneously. Like ironing clothes along with doing laundry and washing dishes.
There is this legit question, Can I use the dishwasher and washing machine at the same time? If this thought had occurred to you, you landed in the right place.
I will give you insight into whether or not you can use a dishwasher and washing machine at the same time. If yes, what are the advantages? If not, what are the disadvantages?
Excited? Stay with me to the end.
Can You Use the Dishwasher and Washing Machine at the Same Time?
Yes, it is completely okay if you want to run your dishwasher and the washing machine at the same time. In fact, this will be beneficial for your water heater.
Before that, you should consider whether your dishwasher and washing machine heats the water themselves or they need to be fed with hot water.
Another thing is whether you are doing laundry with cold water or hot water. If you are doing it with cold water, then it would not be an issue.
The reason behind this is that the washing machine and dishwasher will draw the hot water at the same time. Therefore, your water heater will have to cycle water inside for once only. Running both the appliances at separate timings decreases not only the efficiency of the water heater but also lowers the cost of operation.
In the other case, when you run the two appliances at different timings, the water heater will draw water at separate times to get it to heat up. The cost of operating a water heater will be higher this way.
Basically, the whole idea behind doing this is to better the working of a water heating system.
Total Water Intake
Modern-day washing machines run on less than 20 gallons of water, while old washing machines take about 50 gallons of water.
Similarly, if you got an old dishwasher, remember that its water intake per load is around 16 gallons. While that of modern-day dishwashers is 7.5 gallons.
When considering the water heaters, they can hold up to 50 gallons of water.
If we combine the total water intake per load of an old dishwasher and an old washing machine, then it comes out to be less than 70 gallons.
Similarly, for the modern-day washing machine and dishwasher, the water intake will be around 30 gallons.
Therefore, running the water at the same time for both the appliances will be beneficial as they will extract the water from the water heater simultaneously.
Water Heater
Whenever the water is drawn from the water heater, some more cold water gets added to it right away.
As a result, the water heater becomes operational. Let us suppose that you use the dishwasher first, then the consumed 7.5 gallons of water will be refilled, and the water heater starts operating.
After some time, when you use the washing machine, 20 gallons of water are again drawn by it. To compensate for the loss, again cold water gets added into the water heater, and it starts working.
Water heaters functioning in intervals like this way will, therefore, cost you more than average.
When Should I Avoid Running the Washing Machine and The Dishwasher at The Same Time?
Precautions are always beneficial. In the case of electric appliances, you should be extra careful and avoid taking risks.
Though there is no such issue in running the washing machine and the dishwasher at the same time, there are still some scenarios in which you should avoid.
Unaware of the appliances’ capacity
If you do not know about the capacity of either of the washing appliances, then it is better to avoid using them at the same time. This is because the dishwasher needs more hot water than the washing machine.
If the washing machine draws more hot water, then the dishwasher will not have enough hot water to do the task. Unavailability of enough hot water can also damage the dishwasher.
The appliances are very old.
If your washing appliances are older than ten years, then do not take the risk of running them at the same time. This can cause some tripping of the circuit breaker due to overloading.
Benefits of Running the Washing Machine and Dishwasher at The Same Time
Running both these washing appliances at the same time will not only save your time but also provides you with three major benefits.
Use of Hot Water
Your dishwasher always uses hot water, while the washing machine usually takes a mixture of hot and cold water. Sometimes washing machines use only cold water, but it never uses hot water as it might damage the clothes.
Therefore, you will not be consuming lots of hot water. It’s just a few gallons for the dishwasher and a mixture of hot and cold water for the washing machine.
Efficiency of Water
You got to do the two most daunting tasks at the same time. This will lessen the cost of heating water. You can save money this way as you are using less water and, in turn, using a water heater for a lot less time.
If you are already using modern-day appliances, then congratulations! You are saving a lot more water. As old appliances use some extra water, which would have cost you a lot.
Cost of Electricity
If you have a tankless water heater, there would not be an issue as they have the capacity to heat up to 240 gallons of water per hour.
However, in the case of other regular water heaters, you can save a lot of energy and ultimately your money by running the dishwasher and washing machine at the same time.
As you draw a lot of water from the heater at once, it will get filled again and run only a single cycle to heat the water. This will increase the efficiency of your water heater.
In the other case, you draw water in intervals; thus, the water heater will run several cycles to meet the hot water needs. This reduces the efficiency and increases the cost of its operation.
Can You Take a Shower While the Dishwasher or Washing Machine is Running?
If there is a legit plumbing system installed at your house, there would be no problem in taking a shower while running these appliances. However, you should consider two things in mind before that.
Water Pressure
Sometimes, the plumbing system is installed such that using the water from more than one tap reduces the water pressure. If it is the case in your house, then your shower experience will not be much relaxing.
However, if the pressure is just fine no matter how many tasks you do at the same time, then there will be no problem in taking a shower.
Hot Water
If your water heater doesn’t hold enough water, then there is a chance that either you or your washing appliances will run out of hot water. Therefore, before going for a shower, make sure there is enough hot water to support the dishwasher, washing machine, and shower.
In order to save time, we all want to do several chores simultaneously. There is no harm in taking a shower with a running washing machine and a dishwasher as long as there is adequate water pressure and enough hot water.
Conclusion
There is no need to be scared of running the washing machine and the dishwasher at the same time. Nonetheless, it is beneficial for you.
You can save a lot of water, cost of electricity, and increase the efficiency of the water heater as you run a single cycle to get hot water again.
For the washing appliances that are older than ten years, it is good to run them at the same time as you will save a lot of things. But at the same time, be very cautious to not overload the circuit breaker as it can lead to the tripping of the breaker.
Also, go ahead with taking a shower along with a running washing machine or a dishwasher, provided that there is adequate water pressure and enough hot water. You can save your time this way.
Thank you so much for reading to the end. I hope you got the answers to all your questions.
