I wasn't using a great deal of water or time rinsing them off. Usually I just scraped the plate well the minute we were done with it and then took a wet, cold dishcloth to wipe the residual off before I put it in the dishwasher. Never even ran water over it.

And it really depends on the dishwasher. The modern ones will take a lot of food off the plates if not all, even WITHOUT dish soap. My old dishwasher--at least 20 years old if not older--would not.

Right now I don't have a dishwasher. We just got tired of the roll-around and got rid of it, and right now I do the dishes by hand.* Some day in the next five years we have plans to remodel the kitchen, and when that day comes we'll be putting in a modern, under-the-counter, water-saving dishwasher. yippee!

*Though! See this for progress on that front!

Lynn Siprelle, Editor