There’s good reason to use your dishwasher instead of that nasty sponge in your sink.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: We find it ironic that Black, whose kitchen always looks like it’s ready for a magazine photo shoot since she lives alone and rarely cooks, is explaining to Red, who loves to cook and whose kitchen is always a whirlwind of activity, how using the dishwasher can save time, money, and water.

It started on a typical afternoon; Black was skimming the Axios “Closer” newsletter when the bar chart under the headline “Two ways to clean a dish” caught her attention. The article bullet-pointed (one of the things she likes best about Axios) that Proctor & Gamble was heavily promoting the use of dishwashers, and how they save water, to increase sales of its Cascade dishwashing detergent. Since Black’s daily “dishes” consist of small single-serving French press coffee makers, a coffee cup, an occasional plate or two, and some silverware, most of which accumulate in her dishwasher throughout the week, it wouldn’t have much impact on her but might be valuable information for Red.

Of course, the subject line immediately caught Red’s attention. Mostly because it seemed so out of character for Black. A quick read later, Red started getting very excited at the thought that now she had some very good reasons to run the dishwasher more often, especially since it supported her efforts to change her habits into more environmentally-friendly ones.

But it also made gave her an idea, and she used Black as a sounding board (although Black thought it was just another example of her thinking out loud),

I’ve wanted a new dishwasher for a while but couldn’t rationalize it as my old dishwasher still works, although I feel it’s more of a sterilizer than a washer. But the new high-efficiency ones might provide the perfect excuse, although I know you’ll ask if I’ve crunched the numbers. And it’d be great to be able to give up handwashing everything, except my good knives, to help save water!

Black never expected to have a conversation about dishwashers, even though, over the years, she had gotten into heated discussions about the proper way to load them. And although she fully appreciated the logic of using the dishwasher more often, and all the “savings”, her focus was still on the marketing angle, and the use of humor,

I may only use my dishwasher once a week, but I love the Cascade advertising campaign, “Do IT Every Night.” And, if you have not already seen it, check out the version with Freddie Prinze, Jr. and his wife, Sarah Michelle Gellar.