a machine for washing dishes. Dishwashers were introduced in the last quarter of the 19th century. Modern dishwashers may be commercial or domestic, all-purpose or specialized, and continuous-action or cyclic-action. The machines clean dishes with a jet spray or with brushes. Two kinds of dishwashers are currently available: the compartmental type and the open type. In compartmental machines the dishes are washed with a jet of water or detergent solution at a temperature of 30°-6O°C; open machines clean the dishes with water or a detergent solution that is applied by brushes or other mechanical devices.
All-purpose cyclic- and continuous-action dishwashers are the most widely used in the USSR (for example, the commercial machines MMU-250, MMY-500, and MMU-1000; the domestic Straume machine). Many machine models automatically maintain the necessary water level in the tub, water temperature, and detergent concentration.