[sixseven]

I have always heard that but I never understood how that's possible. I filled a rice bowl with water and reuse that same water to wet all the dirty dishes before rubbing, then rinse with cold running water from the tap.

The majority of the energy used in dishwasher is from heating up the water. If you wash with cold water, you are using less energy than the dish washer.

[Izkata]

Fill up the sink high enough to submerge cooking pots, that's most if not all the way there.

Edit: I just measured my kitchen sink and pot for this, 17x19 and 4 inches high = 5.6 gallons. If I go all the way to the sink's overflow at 6.5 inches high, that's 9 gallons.

[jve]

> rinse with cold running water from the tap

You'd better rinse with hot water to get the soap away.

[midoridensha]

No, you're not. Water isn't free, and a good dishwasher is more water-efficient than you. Water requires a LOT of energy to pump, so less water means less energy.