Dishwasher

From ArticleWorld

A dishwasher is an entity designed to wash or clean dishes. It can either be a human or a device. This article is on devices that have dishwashing capabilities. A dishwasher can be defined then as a mechanical device used to wash food utensils using a system which relies on spraying of hot water and very strong detergents.

Description

Most dishwashers have a standard size depending on some local industrial standards. For example, in Europe they have a depth of 60 centimeters and require a hole of minimum 86 centimeters. The portable variations though can come in either 45 or 60 centimeters depth; typically these have an attached countertop and castors. The design of a dishwasher can vary drastically from one brand to another, but typically they all have an inside tub which comes in two dimensions: standard and tall. The tub can be made either from metal or plastic. Sometimes dishwashers also have hard food disposal modules or sound dampening systems.

Trends

The most important trends in the evolution of dishwashers nowadays are: the sound dampening systems, the aim to use less and more efficiently electricity by adding microprocessors and finally the last years saw the advent of the waterless dishwasher concept:

• The sound dampening systems are usually incorporated in the high end products and can typically achieve a level of 44 decibels compared to 65-70 decibels that a non dampened dishwasher produces. This is usually achieved by several methods including the use of continuous doors as opposed to the use of service kickplates, the use of steel tubs and the use of advanced engineering concepts dealing with the rotary valves which aim to lower the cavitation effect.
• The electronics as in other home appliances brought a drastic decrease of electric consumption by using more efficiently algorithms which take in calculation the number of dishes to be washed, the amount of dirt and the optimum amount of water needed.
• The waterless dishwasher concept was revealed at the Electrolux Design Laboratory competition in 2004 by a group of students from University of New South Wales. The concept relies heavily on the usage of a closed loop containing supercritical carbon dioxide as opposed to water. The main benefit of this system is the fact that it uses no water which predictably will become a more expensive resource in the future.