Dishwasher water temperature?

[Walter R.]

I have a 20 year old General Electric Potscrubber 1200 dishwasher.

It does not seem to be doing as good a job in cleaning dishes at it used to do. The spinner is spinning and the pump is pumping OK. The setting is for "Normal"

The water at my adjacent kitchen faucet is 130 F. After the dishwasher has filled initially (starting with 130 F water), the temp in the tub is 120 F (because the tub was cold).

After it has been washing for 5 minutes, I checked the temp in the tub again and it is still 120 F.

There is a heating coil above the bottom of the tub.

Isn't this coil supposed to come on and heat the water from 120 F to 140 F?? Is 120 F hot enough to do a good job washing the dishes? 120 F would certainly not be hot enough to sterilize!

Thanks for any input

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It may not come on for every part of every cycle. Some only do for a single wash and a sani-rinse.

It could be the element, could be the relay that turns on the element, could be the pump is not pumping as well as it did 20 years ago, could be the spray arms are partly clogged, could be the filter is partly clogged, could just be it is wearing out slowly.

DW detergent is so caustic it will probably sterilize anything anyway, but it is also made to work best at elevated temperatures. Given the age of the machine, I'd not put a lot of money into it. Even the cheaper models today will out wash it and use less energy and be quieter doing it.

[SQLit]

Normal setting on my dishwasher does not heat the water. I have a button that I must push for heating of the water and another one for drying.

[trader4]

I have a new GE profile and I believe it only heats the water on the final rinse cycle. For the final rinse, it fills then sits there for about 5 mins, which I presume is the time to get the water up to temp.

If you want to verify that the heating element works, put it on heated dry and see if it's hot/dry when done.

[trader4]

I have a new GE profile and I believe it only heats the water on the final rinse cycle. For the final rinse, it fills then sits there for about 5 mins, which I presume is the time to get the water up to temp.

If you want to verify that the heating element works, put it on heated dry and see if it's hot/dry when done.