I think a thing that most people neglect is that dishwashers are designed for approximately a family of four preparing and eating two meals a day together, which leads to a certain accumulation of dishes, and the dishwasher needing to be run at least every other day. That means a certain amount of time for the detritus to dry on the dishes. If you have a smaller dishwasher, or more people eating, the dishwasher will be run more often, and it’ll be more effective at cleaning dirtier dishes. If you run the dishwasher daily, #4 or #5 might work well for you. If there are only two eating, or you’re eating more take-out (fewer pots and pans) and you only do a load every 4 or 5 days, then the dishes need to be cleaner going into the dishwasher.
I haven’t really found this to be much of a problem. The prewash cycle should be long enough to rehydrate anything that dried out. Dry things that won’t come off (like baked cheese or eggs) won’t come off if you wash them instantly either.
Also you could just run the dishwasher half-empty and it’s probably still more water and energy efficient.
I think a thing that most people neglect is that dishwashers are designed for approximately a family of four preparing and eating two meals a day together, which leads to a certain accumulation of dishes, and the dishwasher needing to be run at least every other day. That means a certain amount of time for the detritus to dry on the dishes. If you have a smaller dishwasher, or more people eating, the dishwasher will be run more often, and it’ll be more effective at cleaning dirtier dishes. If you run the dishwasher daily, #4 or #5 might work well for you. If there are only two eating, or you’re eating more take-out (fewer pots and pans) and you only do a load every 4 or 5 days, then the dishes need to be cleaner going into the dishwasher.
I haven’t really found this to be much of a problem. The prewash cycle should be long enough to rehydrate anything that dried out. Dry things that won’t come off (like baked cheese or eggs) won’t come off if you wash them instantly either.
Also you could just run the dishwasher half-empty and it’s probably still more water and energy efficient.