hi, my dishwasher does a wash, rinse and dry cycle for about 2-3 hours in whichever mode I select, whether it is light wash, medium wash or heavy wash. is there a way to determine the time it takes to do a specific cycle. what is the best option to be used in a normal wash cycle?

Hema, March 2012

Never heard of any dishwasher taking 2 to 3 hours and to do the same on all wash cycles even light wash makes me think there is something wrong with the appliance. Check if the water is heating by opening the door after 10 minutes and feel if water is warming up. If not it will continue washing for ages waiting for it to reach a set temperature. If water heating is ok then either timer or PCB could be faulty depending on your make & model which you haven't supplied.

Lincoln Appliance NZ, April 2012

The length of a cycle can be determined by several factors other than the "programmed time" in the electronics.
These factors will apply:
1) Slow filling (low water pressure) there usually is a fault mode if it fills too slowly.
2) The incoming water temperature. (should be cold water and winter to summer there can be 10 degrees difference in temp), takes longer to heat. Again there should be a fault mode if the water is not raised in temperature by a degree/minute calculation.
3) Not draining quickly

Some dishwashers use infra red to detect the water soiling as the wash cycle progresses, very dirty water will increase the wash time and also increase the rinsing. Therefore the total wash time is increased accordingly.

There are options for wash temperture, 50 to 70 degrees covers most wash programmes depending on the soil on the dishes.

ukanfixit, April 2012