Vintage Dishwashers With Multiple Heated Wash Cycles

[launderess]

In doing some research on possible replacement for my dead dw have been reading comments/information about some vintage units.

If one understands correctly certain dishwashers such as the Mobile Maid heated water for one or more wash cycles, not just the main as is often found today. However given often how short these cycles are (often <ten minutes) it seems a horrible waste of energy. Why heat all that water only to send it down the drain a few minutes later? Then the next cycle begins and the show starts all over.

Understand the rationale behind multiple water changes as they are the only way to deal with bits of food in the absence of a filter and or grinder, but still...

Commercial dishwashers at least hold that hot water and use a different arm to spray rinse water.

 

[turquoisedude]

From a GE perspective, the impeller models right up to and including the 1959 model year heated water throughout the cycle.  The '56 pull-out actually has a 'pre-heat' position on the timer dial to get the calrod nice and hot before the fill for the first pre-wash.  The later (1960s) Mobile Maids had some early models where the water was heated throughout the cycle, but then later models did only heat the water during the main wash for the 'normal/mixed/daily loadas' or 'pots and pans/utensils' cycle. 

 

I believe the older 'short cycle' machines were intended to be used immediately after loading.  This does make a huge difference as food soils don't get a chance to really 'dry on'.  And I seem to recall that detergents back in the 60s and 70s were rich in phosphates, bleaches, and even sodium hydroxide which probably could remove most food soil in a short cycle.  I remember that when my folks upgraded from our 35-minute cycle Viking top-loader to the 60 or 90 minute cycle on the GE Potscrubber we suddenly had a lot of glassware etching and china fading from the extended wash times!