Brits spend 24 HOURS a year stacking the dishwasher and fork out £66 annually for the luxury appliance

THE AVERAGE adult will spend 24 hours each year – the equivalent of a full day and night cycle – stacking the dishwasher.

A poll of 2,000 adults who own this kitchen appliance found 30 per cent will load theirs at least once a day.

While the average person stacks the dishwasher four times a week, taking seven minutes each time.

And just over one in 20 households (six per cent) run theirs 10 times or more, every week – more than once daily.

But 22 per cent often have to re-stack theirs after noticing it not being done up to their standard – taking up valuable time.

Of this task, the biggest time waster is rearranging the order of items and how they’ve been stacked, with 23 per cent taking time to straighten things up to make them “uniform”.

Others will turn knives over so they face down (16 per cent) or shift glasses from the top to the bottom tray (eight per cent).

Of those who live with a partner, 52 per cent have disputes over the correct stacking of the dishwasher – with men being the bigger culprit for this compared to women.

The research was commissioned by Utilita Energy after releasing its Power Price List which is made up of 76 commonly used household appliances and electricals – showing how much each of them cost to run per minute, per average use, per cycle, or when left on standby.

With dishwashers typically costing around 26p per use – which adds up to an average of just under £66 a year.

A spokesperson for the brand said: “Dishwasher etiquette varies from family to family.

“But there’s one thing common across all users, and that’s just how long we spend sticking things into them and taking them back out once they’re clean.

“Dishwashers don’t just take up time, but they also cost money to run, so you want to make sure they’re working as efficiently as possible.”

The study also showed a clear preference for whether cutlery should face up or down in the cutlery tray.

More than half (55 per cent) have their spoons facing upwards, likewise forks (53 per cent), while 49 per cent make sure their knives point down.

Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) also make sure their glassware is placed on the top tray, while 24 per cent say plastic containers can go anywhere it likes.

More than a fifth (21 per cent) admit they’ll happily turn the dishwasher on when it’s only half full, according to the OnePoll.com figures.

And the majority (43 per cent) of users will stick theirs on during the evening, compared to 12 per cent who set it going overnight.

Only 25 per cent have read through instructions or watched a tutorial on how to use their dishwasher.

And just 15 per cent know exactly how much it costs to run the dishwasher per cycle, with only 27 per cent always running theirs in ‘eco-mode’.

According to the energy experts, not using this setting costs a single household an extra £24.30 per year on average.

And only half-filling the dishwasher sets them back £38.84 – equating to an eyewatering £171 million per year across all households, which in turn sees a wastage of 7.5 billion litres of water.

Utilita Energy’s spokesperson added: “When it comes to loading a dishwasher, there are a few simple guidelines that can help ensure everything comes out clean and undamaged.

“One of the key rules is to avoid overcrowding.

“People often try to fit as much as possible into the dishwasher to save time, but cramming dishes together can block the spray arms and prevent water and detergent from reaching all the surfaces.

“Ensuring enough space between items is crucial to getting the best results – and saving you money on your bills.”