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Should You Use The Quick Wash Cycle? (Dishwasher Edition)
Your dishwasher has a “Quick Wash” cycle. Should you use it?
As a follow-up to my piece about the Quick Wash cycle for washing machines, I decided to talk about dishwashers. Washing is washing, right? I’m a former appliance repair tech, so I’m speaking from practical experience working on all the major brands.
Modern dishwashers, especially those made in the last 15 years or so, have several sensors built in to enable them to do some smart things. One of these sensors is a thermocouple that senses the temperature of the water. Optimum cleaning for a dishwasher happens when the water temperature is above 120°F/49°C. If a sanitizing cycle is used, the dishwasher would like a water temperature of around 150°F/66°C. If the incoming water is below the desired temperature, the dishwasher will pause the cycle and use its heating element to bring the water to the desired temperature. This process can easily add 10–30 minutes to each fill cycle.
As a best practice, you should run the hot water at the sink nearest the dishwasher until it gets hot before starting the dishwasher. This will ensure the dishwasher fills with hot water and doesn’t have to spend time heating water before beginning the cycle. It is also a good idea to test the hot water at the sink to see if it is getting up to 120°F/49°C at its…
