What's going on
Many apartment buildings heat water centrally and send it up through risers to each unit. Between uses, the water sitting in the pipes to your kitchen cools down. Some buildings keep hot water circulating and others don't, so results vary from line to line and floor to floor. The dishwasher's first fill takes whatever is in that pipe, and on a cold morning that may be barely warm.
Most dishwashers have a heating element and will warm the water or extend the cycle to reach their target temperature. That's why cycles can run long. If the incoming water is cool enough, you may still see a greasy film, pods that don't fully dissolve, cloudy glasses and food stuck on the top rack. Many manufacturers recommend running the kitchen hot water before you start a load for this reason.
What you can check in five minutes
- Run the kitchen hot tap and time how long it takes to get hot.
- Hold a cooking thermometer in a glass of tap water. Many manuals suggest about 120°F at the tap, so compare yours with what the manual recommends.
- If your model has a high-temperature or sanitize option, try it on a heavily soiled load.
- After a cycle, check that the detergent cup opened and the pod isn't stuck in the corner.
- Try running the dishwasher late in the evening instead of during the morning rush.
- Make sure the shutoff valve under the sink is fully open. Don't change which line the dishwasher is connected to yourself.
Rent, own or co-op: who handles it?
Hot water temperature comes from the building's system, so report lukewarm water to the super. Don't touch the boiler or the water heater settings. Who services the dishwasher depends on who owns it and on what your lease or building rules say, so ask the super or managing agent if that isn't clear.
What a technician will look at
- •The heating element and the temperature sensor
- •Whether the cycle reaches its target water temperature
- •The inlet valve and fill volume
- •How the dishwasher is connected under the sink
- •Filter and spray system condition, since cool water and clogs often show up together
Andre's field note: When someone tells me their dishwasher stopped cleaning after a move into a big building, I ask how long their kitchen tap takes to run hot. Often that's the whole story. If the water is hot and the top rack still comes out dirty, I check whether the machine is getting enough water at all, because on upper floors low water pressure can leave it underfilled. For anything beyond that, book dishwasher repair so we can test the heating parts directly.
Dishes still coming out filmy? Call ProFix NYC at (929) 699-8358.