Hi. my dishwasher finishes its cycle but the dishes are cold and wet (and very poorly cleaned). it seems that the water is not getting hot. what might be causing this?

First ,Check for a water puddle on the bottom of the dishwasher .If you have water there, you more than likely have a plugged drain or drain hose, or bad drain pump (less likely) If no water is there see if the dishes are hot after a cycle. If they are not you could have a bad heater (that circular thing on the bottom of the dishwasher) other problems could be the timer or computer Depending on the model brand and age of the dishwasher .One last thing there is a vent to let moisture escape that could be bad but then you would have hot wet dishes

Most dishes in any dishwasher are still wet when cycle is finished. The heat built up in the dishes during the washing cycle is what causes the water to evaporate when the machine stops.
If you want to accelerate the evaporation, simply open the door very slightly so that as the hot air escapes it causes the dishes to dry quicker.

Check the heating element.

Hello

There are some things you can try, however, if your Maytag dishwasher is not getting your dishes as clean as you would like. Maytag recommends several processes for fixing this issue with your dishwasher.


Do not run your Maytag dishwasher while hot water is being used in other parts of your home, such as washing clothes or showering. Hot water is needed for your Maytag dishwasher to properly clean dishes.


Run water in the sink in your kitchen until it gets very hot. Then, turn on your Maytag dishwasher. This will ensure that the water cleaning your dishes is the hottest possible temperature.


Clean your Maytag dishwasher to improve the cleaning results for dishes. Run your dishwasher on a short wash cycle and wait for it to fill up with water. Stop the cycle and add about 1/3 of a cup of rust remover to the dishwasher and finish the cycle. Run your Maytag dishwasher through one normal cycle with regular detergent to finish the cleaning process.


Check your detergent. Old detergent or those that have been exposed to moisture can be clumpy. This detergent will not clean your dishes as well when loaded into your Maytag dishwasher. Purchase fresh detergent.


Use extra detergent when washing dishes that have a lot of built-up grease or food particles. The extra amount of detergent is needed to get your dishes clean. Choose a long cleaning cycle to clean these dishes.


Fill your Maytag dishwasher properly. Dishes should not be stacked on top of each other or excessively crammed into your dishwasher. This will keep the dishwasher from adequately cleaning all areas of your dishes and from rinsing them thoroughly.

sounds like your heating element is not working prtoperly or you are not washing in very hot water stop washer in middle of cycle and open it if steam come out hot steam be careful keep face away when you open itif not hot that could be the problem,A appliance serviceman once told me if water is hot enough and end of wash and rinse cycle not to run the dry cyvcle just open dryer a few inches and let the steam out Run hot water over a plate or a pot and set it in the drain tray in your sink notice how fast it dries itself while draining in the tray very hot water in a dish washer dopes the same good luck with this problem I hope my advice helps you oh yes one more thing always run the hot water till it get hot before you turn your dishwasher on

check thermostat and heating elementwires and timer

If you've installed it recently make sure the hot water tap was plumbed in and not the cold water tap, check the hot water tap temp in the house to make sure it's getting warm, there also should be a heating element located inside of the dishwaher that heats up to help the dishes dry at the end of the wash cycle, which is controled by a thermostat. If the heating element or the thermostat are bad your dishes won't dry.

I was able to fix this by using rinse during the cycle.

It is very common that high eficiency, low water using dishwashers take longer to finish all cycles. The best way to "hurry" the washing is to make sure that the water heater is providing hot water of at least 120 degrees. But no hotter then 140 degrees.
If the dishwasher runs even longer, check to see is the dishwasher is actually connected to the cold water line. This dishwasher can be run from cold water but the water heating phase in the cycles will add much time ti the entire cycle.

This unit has a sensor that detects the detects the water clarity towards the end of the wash cycle. Rinsing the dishes may speed the load a little, but encourage not to go crazy on the rinsing because the dishwasher actually counts on the food particles to help clean the dishes.
Also, note that the final (third) blinking light means drying. You can simply open the door anytime after the final draining and power off the dishwasher, allowing the hot dishes to air dry.
Hope this helps. Please resply with your findings. Thanks!

Dishwashers are suppose to be hooked up to hot water. If you had hotter water it would clean just fine. 120 deg or more!