What Causes A Dishwasher To Have Hot Water Problems?

A dishwasher can be rendered near useless if it isn’t able to properly heat up water. A heating issue not only leads to dishes remaining dirty, it can also mean that they take longer to dry. There are a number of reasons behind the cause of your dishwasher either not heating the water up, or not heating it enough. This can be complicated by what type of dishwasher you have (make and model), as well as the system used to deliver water to the dishwasher.

Because of this, there isn’t often a ‘quick fix’ DIY solution to these problems – with such problems often requiring a dishwasher repair engineer to be called out – but there are some more general problems that you may be able to troubleshoot and repair on your own.

Too Hot To Handle

A dishwasher can either be supplied with cold or hot water. This is thanks to dishwashers being built with thermostats and heating elements that both identify and control the water temperature. Despite this, many prefer to connect their dishwashers to a hot water supply as it can save on electricity bills and be more energy efficient. However, not all models allow this.

If you have a cold water supply and the dishwasher isn’t heating up the hot water, then the problem likely lies with the thermostat or heating element (see below).

If, however, your dishwasher has this problem despite being connected to a hot water supply, then it’s worth looking at the actual supply rather than the dishwasher.

Additionally, it’s important to be careful when connecting dishwashers to a hot water supply. The appliance’s manual will likely specify a maximum water temperature. If the temperature is exceeded within modern dishwashers, then there tends to be mechanisms in place to detect that this has happened. This will cause the dishwasher to shorten the wash cycle – leaving dishes half cleaned.

Troublesome Thermostat

While not directly involved in heating the water, the thermostat is the component that tells the relevant dishwasher components (such as the heating element) what temperature that the water needs to be at. So if the thermostat is ‘talking’ a load of nonsense to the rest of your dishwasher, or isn’t talking at all, it’s no surprise that the water temperature isn’t at the right level.

A thermostat can be tested if you have a tool called a multimeter – a device that can measure the voltage, current and resistance of a particular component to see if it sits within expected readings. Thankfully, thermostats aren’t too expensive to replace. The only issue that arises from getting access to, and fitting, a thermostat is that they can often be house on the underside of the dishwasher.

In Your Element

If your thermostat is working just fine, then the problem may lie with the actual heating process. This is an issue that can occur even if your dishwasher’s water supply is hot or cold. The heating element not only controls water temperature, it also helps to dry dishes. Heating elements are often built to last, but it’s not unknown for them to suffer from an electrical fault or from getting burnt out.

As with the thermostat, a multimeter can be used to test the resistance levels of a heating element. This reading should be within the 15-30 ohms range – any higher and it will need replaced. However, the problem may also be located within the wiring, or there may be an issue on the control board. Much like a thermostat, a heating element isn’t an expensive part to buy – nor is it too hard to install if you’re quite handy,

Handle with Care

If you are looking to handle the internals of a dishwasher, always remember to turn the machine off and remove any connections to power supplies. If you are uncomfortable with this process, or if none of the above has helped to solve the issue, then don’t be afraid to call a dishwasher repair company to come in and fix the problem – such as Repair Aid. Qualified engineers have the experience, knowledge and ability to fix heating problems within all makes and models of dishwashers.