How A Dishwasher Works

Video Transcript:

We believe that knowing how your dishwasher works will help you when it comes to carrying out DIY dishwasher repairs.

Dishwasher are quite simple machines, much less complicated than automatic washing machines even though the job they are designed to do is very similar.

So, using this Hotpoint dishwasher let’s look step-by-step at the workings of a dishwasher.

With the dishwasher loaded it’s first of all necessary to ensure that the spray arms are free to turn and not catching on any cutlery or crockery that may be in the baskets.

The detergent dispenser is filled as recommended depending on the type of detergent used and the door of the dishwasher closed.

Next we can select the desired wash programme and we can now switch the machine on.

The machine will now start and will normally go in to empty mode to remove any excess dirty water that is lying in the bottom of the machine.

Water will then enter the dishwasher via the water inlet valve at the rear of the machine until it reaches a predetermined level and the water begin to heat.

The washing of the dishes and cutlery is by means of two spray arms located underneath each basket. A large induction motor (like this one) located within the bottom of the machine is what pumps the water to the spray arms simultaneously. The spray arms have holes on the upper side which water is forced through and is what then makes the spray arms spin. The water, mixed with the detergent is sprayed from the now spinning spray arms to clean the dishes and cutlery loaded in to the baskets.
At the bottom of the dishwasher underneath a large filter is the sump. This creates a reservoir for the induction motor to continually pump water to the spray arms.

The water is heated either by a partly submerged element such as this one, or by a remote through flow heater such as this. Heating takes place simultaneously with the wash action.

The detergent dispenser is opened at a predetermined stage of the cycle and washing will then continue for the duration of the programme selected.

At the end of the washing cycle the machine will empty via the drain pump (like this one) which is located within the bottom of the machine and the dishwasher will then enter a cold rinse cycle, filling, washing, and emptying but without heating the water.
And then it will complete a hot rinse, filling, washing, and emptying this time heating the water. The dishwasher will then empty again and the heat caused by the hot rinse cycle will aid in the drying of the dishes.

And that’s all there is to it! We have DIY dishwasher repair videos online showing you how to diagnose faults and replace faulty components. Remember that all dishwasher spares can be found on the Ransom Spares website. Thanks for watching!

By Lee Gilbert