You Shouldn't Rinse Your Dishes Before You Put Them in the Dishwasher—Here's Why

You know those people—the ones who simply refuse to rinse their dishes before loading the dishwasher. Laziness aside, it’s just plain gross.

Well, it looks like you might want to bite your tongue before chiding them next time. According to the Wall Street Journal, those disgusting jerks might be onto something!

Here’s what the experts say:

Cascade, made by Procter & Gamble, recommends skipping the pre-rinse, except for removing large pieces of food.

Enzymes in most detergents are designed to attach themselves to food particles. Without said food particles, the enzymes have nothing to latch on to.

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Rinsing before loading could also be bad for the environment, experts say.

Some Whirlpool machines have a “TargetClean” option. When you select this setting, sensors determine how much soil is attached to your dishes, making handwashing a waste of time and water.

“Don’t hand-wash anything, put everything in the dishwasher,” says Casey Tubman, Whirlpool Corp. general manager for cleaning in North America. “You’ll run more water down the sink hand-washing than you will with a whole load of a dishwasher.”

OK, we get it. We won’t judge you for failing to hand-wash your dishes—as long as you don’t judge us for rinsing.

Because, you know, ew.