Michael Blomquist

Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on a plumbing project that would have corrected the water waste issue I decided to do some experiments with the existing infrastructure. The dishwasher has the capability to heat the wash water during use. It uses a total of six fill/drain cycles, with the third cycle being the longest. I let the machine fill and run for about 2 minutes on the shorter rinse cycles and 5 minutes on the longer middle wash cycle before checking the water temperature. The shorter cycles average temperature was between 170-180 degrees and the longer cycle temperature was right around 200 degrees. Plenty hot for optimum washing and sterilizing. My water bill is below $100/month now.

Will address my water conservation challenge at a future date. Other renovations in the house are proceeding.

Renovation project still on hold due to supply chain issues. I will discuss the hot water problem with my contractor.

No progress yet on in-line water heater. Starting a bathroom renovation project though which will include low-flow faucets.

My plan is to correct a long-standing water waste situation in my home built in 1972. There is a long distance between the kitchen sink, dishwasher, laundry room, and the hot water tank. To get the proper hot water temperature to the dishwasher I have to manually run a couple of gallons of water down the drain between fill cycles just to keep it hot. My plan involves a rather expensive plumbing solution of placing either an inline heater at the three points of use or a small 5 gallon electric unit in the laundry room and rerouting the hot water line to those three areas.