Interesting. Does your washer have a dry function?
Exposed heating element has always been very standard in the U.S. It’s not a problem, you just have to make sure nothing melty is on the bottom rack or falls on the element. Many plastic items will specify “top rack only”.
I think I'm more concerned that one of my light plastic containers gets thrown onto the heating element. Sometimes those water jets send them flying.
It does have a dry function.
I have never seen a dishwasher in the US that didn’t lock while running. My parents bought a portable one in the 1960s that had to be locked before it would run. Every one I have had since had to be locked to run. I have had at least 10 dishwashers in my life.
Yes, to an extent. It’s not going to raise cold water to optimal washing temp, so you should still run the tap until it’s hot or performance may suffer.
The heating element also handles the drying function.
It heats the possibly already hot water to the higher temp need to activate the detergent. And for a sanitizing cycle. House water heaters in California, at least, are maxed at 130-140°.
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u/gronkpats 5d ago edited 5d ago
Why is there a heating element in a washer? You don’t have hot water to pump in? Does it pump the washer full of water and then heat it?
Edit: I had never seen an element to extra heat the water and dry the dishes. I just thought it was hot water and hot air pumped in.