# Dishwasher hookup question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025 "2016-01-13T11:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/21 "2016-01-14T14:26:21Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > I find this hard to believe. What possible dish cleaning agent will work _better_ with colder water? [Here’s an article](http://bekins.us/2013/01/cloudy-glasses-and-dishwashers/) than addresses some of that. Here’s an extract from another source > [@](#): > > Enzymes – break down and eat proteins and starches in foods and stains. These are water activated and begin working at the beginning of the cycle. They also take longer to work than the old phosphates, so short wash cycles and hinder performance. They also work best around 120 degrees, and die above 130 degrees. Too hot of water at the beginning of cycle and reduce performance ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/22 "2016-01-14T15:40:16Z")
I have seen a LOT of dishwashers installed, from Miele to GE to Samsung and none, ever, have been hooked up to the cold water. A lot ( most?) don’t even have a water heating system. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/23 "2016-01-14T16:44:21Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I have a butane tank, and electricity is much cheaper for heating water and the house. Could you elaborate? I’ve never heard of butane being used for home utility heating of any kind. Only for lighters and camp stoves. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/24 "2016-01-14T17:13:40Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > When our kitchen was remodeled about 15 years ago, the plumber used by the contractor was a moron. (Well, the electrician and the painters and the carpenters were all morons, too, but that’s another post.) The plumber replaced pipes in the basement (part of the project) and switched the hot water and cold water feeds to the kitchen. > > The dishwasher didn’t work worth shit when it got the cold-water feed. This was largely due to my forgetting at first that I had the dishwasher’s own water heating turned off on the control panel (more ecologically sound), but even after I turned the “power miser” function off, it still didn’t work that great. > > Moron plumber did fix the problem, but instead of replacing the pipes in the basement, he just put in some elbows so we have this double-helix kind of thing going on. Were your plumbers Howard, Fine, and Howard? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/25 "2016-01-14T17:27:48Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I have seen a LOT of dishwashers installed, from Miele to GE to Samsung and none, ever, have been hooked up to the cold water. A lot ( most?) don’t even have a water heating system. I have never seen a dishwasher without a heater in it. The cal rod is used to heat the dishes when washing and rinsing and to dry the dishes after running. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/26 "2016-01-14T17:48:55Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Could you elaborate? I’ve never heard of butane being used for home utility heating of any kind. Only for lighters and camp stoves. Er, LP is liquid propane, isn’t it? :o ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/27 "2016-01-14T18:59:26Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > I have never seen a dishwasher without a heater in it. The cal rod is used to heat the dishes when washing and rinsing and to dry the dishes after running. Well most European style models don’t even have cal rods and simply drip dry. This is becoming the norm for energy efficiency reasons (as a builder I also prefer as it reduces vapour damage to cabinets and counter tops). My Miele has no calrods but does have a heater to boost water temp, it is higher end. I did realize after posting that machines with cal rods probably would use those to boost temperature. Heater issue aside, industry practice here in Alberta is to hook the dishwasher up to hot water. On a high end kitchen plumbers will get a copy of install manuals for appliances during rough in and install. For most dishwashers everything is pretty standard and they don’t even crack the manual. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/28 "2016-01-14T19:04:50Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I have seen a LOT of dishwashers installed, from Miele to GE to Samsung and none, ever, have been hooked up to the cold water. A lot ( most?) don’t even have a water heating system. I have a Miele. [quote=Miele Installation Manual] **10. Make the plumbing connections.** An air gap is built into the water inlet system to prevent potable water from mixing with waste water. The dishwasher can heat its own water to the temperatures required by the wash program. This allows the option of connecting the machine to either a hot or cold water source.[ul][li]For lowest energy consumption connect the dishwasher to a cold water source.[\*]For fastest possible wash times, with slightly higher energy consumption, connect the dishwasher to a hot water source.[/ul][/li][/quote] Mine in plumbed into the cold water & works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2016, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/29 "2016-01-14T23:54:43Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Er, LP is liquid propane, isn’t it? :o Well, yeah, but it’s [propane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane), not [butane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane). They’re two different gases. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/30 "2016-01-15T00:03:55Z")
Whew… I was half afraid this was going to be some weird thread about an appliance fetish 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/31 "2016-01-15T01:36:26Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Well, yeah, but it’s [propane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propane), not [butane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane). They’re two different gases. I’m an instrumentation engineer, not a chemist. It is surely expensive as hell. A byproduct of gasoline, the price doesn’t seem to fall as gasoline does. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/32 "2016-01-15T14:10:28Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Whew… I was half afraid this was going to be some weird thread about an appliance fetish 🙂 Went on a date with a toaster once in college. Got that out of my system. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2016, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/33 "2016-01-15T14:35:27Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Went on a date with a toaster once in college. Got that out of my system. I hope you both stayed grounded. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/34 "2016-01-16T16:15:53Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Er, LP is liquid propane, isn’t it? :o But how does this say anything about butane at homes ? I think you mean that you are adding propane and saying you meant “propane/butane mix”… Natural gas , pulled the ground, is mostly methane,and is never stored in high pressure or liquid form. LPG is liquid petroleum and is mostly propane and butane. This is used a lot in tanks because storing it as a liquid gives a good energy density. However LPG in some places and times (winter) is sold with more butane, so could be called butane. I think they adjust the mix for vehicles so the vehicles run smoothly,so its not butane for home use… home users need a their “1” setting to stay one and their “3” setting to stay “3” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/35 "2016-01-16T17:22:53Z")
Perhaps that explains my confusion. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2016, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025/36 "2016-01-16T19:21:17Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > "… > > Natural gas , pulled the ground, is mostly methane,and is never stored in high pressure or liquid form. > > " It is shipped on LNG tankers as liquid. Extremely cold and under high pressure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dishwasher-hookup-question/743025.md?page=1)