From Darren Catterall
Your article on dishwashers is a little misleading (7 December, p 27). If you want to compare the water consumption of a dishwasher with the amount used when washing dishes by hand, you must include the water involved in the construction of the dishwasher. While I agree that certain manual dishwashing methods will use more water than a dishwasher, there are a number of other issues which need to be included in the final equation.
This may seem pedantic, but the “cradle-to-grave” approach to environmental impact assessment is crucial in allowing people to make a fully informed decision.
darrencatterall@hotmail.com
