Have you ever wondered how hot the water inside your dishwasher gets when running and if its hot enough to sanitize your dishes? While some dishwashers have a specific cycle for sanitizing, others simply have wash cycles, but this doesnt mean your dishes arent getting clean enough to be safe. In most dishwashers, the water is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit when the machine starts and will heat upward of 150 degrees as it runs. Since dishwashers are typically hooked up to the hot water supply, the water you hear rushing when you first begin a wash is already hot, and the heating element at the base of the dishwasher increases the temperature to kill bacteria and effectively clean your dishes. The temperature of the water can increase by about one degree per minute.
If your water heater takes a while to get hot, it can be helpful to run the sink closest to the dishwasher right before starting it, ensuring the water heats to the correct temperature.
A common question from owners is how hot does a dishwasher need to be to sanitize effectively? Per the National Sanitation Foundation, dishwashers are required to heat water to a minimum of 150°F, although some dishwashers may go above that.
How dishwasher sanitizing cycles work
While 150 degrees F is hot enough to kill most bacteria, you may want hotter water for some messes. Dishwashers that have sanitizing cycles heat the water to higher temperatures, and the cycles run for longer, sometimes extending the wash time by over an hour. This may seem like a good option if you want your dishes as clean as possible, but sanitizing cycles use more water, energy, and time. Note, this isnt needed for your dishes to be considered safe to eat from and it wont clean your dishwasher at the same time, so you can reserve the sanitizing cycle for extra dirty dishes.
Sanitizing cycles also arent hot enough to fully sterilize your dishes, which would mean all bacteria have been killed. If you need to sterilize something specific, like baby bottles, you can try boiling it or soaking it in a mixture of bleach and water.
Do dishwashers really sanitize?
FAQ
Are dishwashers hot enough to kill bacteria?
What temperature is sanitize on dishwasher?
Can you sterilize in the dishwasher?
What temperature should water be to disinfect dishwasher?
Does hot water sanitize a dishwasher?
Even if your dishwasher doesn’t get hot enough to sanitize your dishes, the hot water is handy for cleaning. High-temp water (even if it’s only 120 degrees F), combined with soap, can attack oil, grime, grease, and stuck-on food to get your dishes sparkling clean.
How hot should a dishwasher be?
However, some dishwashers have their own water heater and can heat cold water to the desired temperature. For the best cleaning results, the water temperature in your dishwasher should be between 49-60 degrees Celsius. This temperature range is hot enough to dissolve food particles and kill bacteria, but not so hot that it can damage your dishes.
What temperature should a dishwasher be sterilized at?
The generally accepted standard for killing bacteria is a consistent 155 degrees Fahrenheit. That means that merely reaching that temperature is not guaranteed to sterilize the interior of a dishwasher; you need prolonged exposure to this kind of heat.
Does a dishwasher use hot water?
Most dishwashers are connected to the hot water supply in your home, which means that they use hot water from your water heater to clean your dishes. However, some dishwashers have their own water heater and can heat cold water to the desired temperature.