As I put a dish into the dishwasher I thought to myself, “🤔 I haven’t cleaned the filter in a while.” So I took it out and gave it a real good blast with piping hot water from the kitchen sink. I even scraped some of the gunk off with a dish brush to the point where I couldn’t find a single mote of gunk upon careful examination.
Then I proceeded to refill the rinse aid (even though it wasn’t empty) and–as usual–spilled that stuff all over the interior door in the process. Is it even possible to not spill the rinse aid when refilling it? 🤔
My journey didn’t end there, however! I then proceeded to walk the entirety of my home searching for cups and plates that may have been left behind by my children, found several, and it was enough that it nearly filled the dishwasher racks; bottom and top.
The dishwasher has been started; the wait begins.
The reason I always heard was that it’s generally more cost effective to let your water heater supply hot water than to rely on the heating element in the washer. Most US dishwashers are plumbed to the hot water, so you’re already paying to heat that water, may as well let it make it to the dishwasher instead of just cooling off in the pipes.
It also makes the initial rinse cycle that much more effective.
I doubt it adds up to appreciable cost savings, but it’s just part of the routine at this point.