"mocha" > wrote in message
...
> I grew up in a dishwasherless house, and thus handwashed everything. Even
> now with my own house, I've always been one to rinse off my
plates/flatware
> before putting them in the dishwasher for fear of food concretions
requiring
> a jack hammer to get off. I know the dishwasher has the rinse/hold cycle
> that's supposed to do that for you, but it seems like an extra use of
> electricity and water that would be a waste. Does anyone have experience
> actually using this cycle, and do you feel it's a more efficient use of
> resources versus doing it by hand? Thanks!

Most late model dishwasher don't require that you rinse your dishes.
Generally, you can simply scrape them and put them in the dishwasher. There
are grinding mechanisms or screens that deal with the particles of food left
after scraping. You are correct that the rinse and hold cycles are a waste
of resources. However, you will probably waste more water and energy by
rinsing the dishes. I would scrape them without rinsing, and machine wash
using the appropriate cycle. After some time, you will learn what your
dishwasher won't deal with well, and for those items only, you will need to
do some pre-scrubbing. The only time that I would consider using the rinse
and hold cycle is if I don't anticipate running the dishwasher for an
extended period. That almost never happens as even with only the two of us,
I run at least one cycle a day. I see the rinse and hold cycle as a way to
reduce odors from food left on dishes for a prolonged time more than a way
to rinse the dishes prior to washing. Most dishwashers increase the number
and duration of rinse and wash cycles as you go from light, to normal, to
pots and pans. If you find the your unrinsed dishes are not being cleaned,
then you should make sure the water is hot enough, you are using fresh
dishwashing detergent, use a rinse agent, and select a longer cycle. Also,
you might have to try several brand of detergent to get one that works well
in your machine.