Dishwashers are just too good, aren't they? We've been living without ours for the past 2 years and I recently got it fixed, and I am LOVING IT!! I just love the sound of it wishy-washying away, doing the job that I used to do. Excellent stuff.

But how green is your dishwasher? If you are thinking about saving water - quite green. Most of today's dishwashers are far more efficient than we could ever be because they filter the water and reuse it during the cycle.

But energy efficient - no. It costs you about $45 a year to run your dishwasher, and a bit more than that if you are buying 100% green power (which of course you are! :) )

I found some excellent tips from Energy Australia's Paul Myors about how to save energy and water while using your dishwasher.

* Choose it well and use it well. Drawer type dishwashers are a bit more expensive, but it means you can run a full load for a small family each night rather than waiting for it to fill.

* If you are rinsing your dishes before putting them in, use cold water instead of hot. Or why not stop? A good scraping is all they really need.

* Use the eco option if you can. But I know our eco option is not really eco because I end up hand washing half the load! If that's the case, I use the normal option now and try to catch it before it goes into 'dry' mode by opening the door and letting the heat of the water dry off naturally.

* Put it on as late as you can. Any time after 10pm is fine. You'll be using the off-peak power which is better for the environment.

* And get green power, as much of it and as good as you can. Believe me, the thrum of the dishwasher never sounds so good as when you know it's being charged by the wind!

(* Image courtesy of Marlon Paul Bruin - Thanks!!)