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Also worth checking your dishwasher manual to see if it has a minimum temperature requirement for the incoming water. If it does, run the kitchen faucet till th

Also worth checking your dishwasher manual to see if it has a minimum temperature requirement for the incoming water. If it does, run the kitchen faucet till the water gets as hot as it can before starting the dishwasher. Many cheap dishwashers have a heating element which cannot heat the water to the required cycle temperature unless the incoming water is hotter than a certain temperature. More expensive dishwashers can work with cold or hot water.

Scoundreller 3y ago
My belief is that manufacturers use the same heating elements between europe (240V, but often piped to the cold water line) and North America (120V, but usually piped to the hot water line). No matter what, North American dishwashers will only be able to draw 1500w, and probably less because they're not always on a dedicated circuit, and have other power needs than just heat. So it's probably not a "cheap diswasher" vs expensive one issue.
- c0pium 3y ago
  I’ve seen no models that are the same across the US and EU market, do you have any evidence for this?
- superseeplus 3y ago
  The amount of water heated up in each cycle is small enough that 1500W is not the limiting factor. Maytag recommends connecting to the hot water outlet and recommends a minimum temperature of 120F [1]. The Miele user manual for their USA models recommends connecting to the cold water inlet unless the hot water is known to be heated by a very efficient source [2]. [1] https://producthelp.maytag.com/Dishwashers/Product_Info/Dishwasher_Tips_and_Tricks/How_Water_Temperature_Affects_Cycle_Time https://producthelp.maytag.com/Dishwashers/Product_Info/Dish... [2] https://media.miele.com/downloads/05/c4/00_96106053F20B1EDDB7BB8B663D4905C4.pdf#page84 https://media.miele.com/downloads/05/c4/00_96106053F20B1EDDB...
  - perryizgr8 3y ago
    > recommends connecting to the cold water inlet unless the hot water is known to be heated by a very efficient source Huh? How does it matter to the dishwasher?
    - superseeplus 3y ago
      It doesn’t. They just assume that the user is looking for the most efficient solution. There are pros and cons though. The delicate crystal cycle uses a very low temperature and will only work with cold water. Some of the faster cycles will only be as fast as claimed if the supplier water is already hot.
- dwaite 3y ago
  I haven't checked code - but since my wiring had the dishwasher and garbage disposal shared on a single 20A, I would expect that each now have a requirement to not consume more than 1200W. At 1200W and a 2.5 gallon wash cycle, I'd expect heating from 70 to 130F would take about 20 minutes. Unless the pre-rinse cycle was extended, I would expect this would mean the soap was released at the start of the wash cycle before the water was to temperature.
eclipticplane 3y ago
... And don't forget to check that your dishwasher actually is hooked up to hot water, not cold.
- eru 3y ago
  I don't think many people outside of the US actually hook their dishwasher up to hot water? And dishwashers work just fine in eg Germany. (Though they might have different dishwashers in Europe with better heating?)
  - mrweasel 3y ago
    I'm rather confused about that as well. My dishwasher is hooked up to cold water because that's the only option.
    - sgerenser 3y ago
      Why would it be the only option? It seems to be the standard in Europe, but not sure why you couldn’t connect it to the hot water line instead. This is especially true if you have an efficient hot water source like solar or a heat pump water heater.
      - bluGill 3y ago
        You have to hire (or be) a plumber to make the change. Often getting access to the pipes can be tricky. Depends on how your house is though. Sometimes this is as simple as connecting the hose to the other valve already in place, sometimes this means opening up the wall to get access to the pipes.
      - mrweasel 3y ago
        Normally the only pipe that's available to dishwashers is the cold water pipe. However, even if you had hot water available, it would actually be to hot. The hot water entering can be much hotter than the required 30C for the lowest setting, so the dishwasher would need to cool the water.

Scoundreller 3y ago

My belief is that manufacturers use the same heating elements between europe (240V, but often piped to the cold water line) and North America (120V, but usually piped to the hot water line). No matter what, North American dishwashers will only be able to draw 1500w, and probably less because they're not always on a dedicated circuit, and have other power needs than just heat. So it's probably not a "cheap diswasher" vs expensive one issue.

c0pium 3y ago
I’ve seen no models that are the same across the US and EU market, do you have any evidence for this?
superseeplus 3y ago
The amount of water heated up in each cycle is small enough that 1500W is not the limiting factor. Maytag recommends connecting to the hot water outlet and recommends a minimum temperature of 120F [1]. The Miele user manual for their USA models recommends connecting to the cold water inlet unless the hot water is known to be heated by a very efficient source [2]. [1] https://producthelp.maytag.com/Dishwashers/Product_Info/Dishwasher_Tips_and_Tricks/How_Water_Temperature_Affects_Cycle_Time https://producthelp.maytag.com/Dishwashers/Product_Info/Dish... [2] https://media.miele.com/downloads/05/c4/00_96106053F20B1EDDB7BB8B663D4905C4.pdf#page84 https://media.miele.com/downloads/05/c4/00_96106053F20B1EDDB...
- perryizgr8 3y ago
  > recommends connecting to the cold water inlet unless the hot water is known to be heated by a very efficient source Huh? How does it matter to the dishwasher?
  - superseeplus 3y ago
    It doesn’t. They just assume that the user is looking for the most efficient solution. There are pros and cons though. The delicate crystal cycle uses a very low temperature and will only work with cold water. Some of the faster cycles will only be as fast as claimed if the supplier water is already hot.
dwaite 3y ago
I haven't checked code - but since my wiring had the dishwasher and garbage disposal shared on a single 20A, I would expect that each now have a requirement to not consume more than 1200W. At 1200W and a 2.5 gallon wash cycle, I'd expect heating from 70 to 130F would take about 20 minutes. Unless the pre-rinse cycle was extended, I would expect this would mean the soap was released at the start of the wash cycle before the water was to temperature.

eclipticplane 3y ago

... And don't forget to check that your dishwasher actually is hooked up to hot water, not cold.

eru 3y ago
I don't think many people outside of the US actually hook their dishwasher up to hot water? And dishwashers work just fine in eg Germany. (Though they might have different dishwashers in Europe with better heating?)
- mrweasel 3y ago
  I'm rather confused about that as well. My dishwasher is hooked up to cold water because that's the only option.
  - sgerenser 3y ago
    Why would it be the only option? It seems to be the standard in Europe, but not sure why you couldn’t connect it to the hot water line instead. This is especially true if you have an efficient hot water source like solar or a heat pump water heater.
    - bluGill 3y ago
      You have to hire (or be) a plumber to make the change. Often getting access to the pipes can be tricky. Depends on how your house is though. Sometimes this is as simple as connecting the hose to the other valve already in place, sometimes this means opening up the wall to get access to the pipes.
    - mrweasel 3y ago
      Normally the only pipe that's available to dishwashers is the cold water pipe. However, even if you had hot water available, it would actually be to hot. The hot water entering can be much hotter than the required 30C for the lowest setting, so the dishwasher would need to cool the water.