Dishwashers Really do Save Energy

For years we never considered buying a dishwasher because we thought they used too much water and energy. Then I read in Consumer Reports magazine that, no matter how frugal you are, washing a sinkful of dishes used at least 4 gallons of water (plus the energy to heat it). We got an old dishwasher for free, that used only 7 gallons for a day's worth of dishes. Now, we have an Energy Star model that uses about 5 gallons. We use the shortest cycle we can to save energy - you can always spot-clean if a dish or two comes out with a bit of soil left on it.