"mm" wrote in message
...
It's one thing to say that about AC's and fridges and furnaces, where
I think there have been technical advances, but the DW has a motor,
and a heater to heat the water. How have they improved such things in
the last 30 (or even 50) years? Did a dishwasher use even a gallon of
water 30 or 50 years ago. How much less water could it use now?

Dishwashers, particularly older ones, use a lot more than "a gallon" of
water. Newer ones use less.

Newer dishwashers are practically silent compared to old ones. Our brand
new one is so quiet that you barely know it's running when you're standing
right next to it. The PC I'm typing on right now, which I consider pretty
quiet, is louder than our DW.

Newer DW's tend to clean much better than old ones.

The above may not be true if you're buying a bottom-of-the line, sub-$400
dishwasher today.

-Tim