Low hot water volume warewasher

Claim 1

In a commercial dishwasher, a complete warewasher cycle for (1) washing food soil from successive racks of ware such as dishes and utensils with a cleaning solution of water and detergent, (2) rinsing the ware with fresh water, and (3) effectively sanitizing the ware to a cumulative heat factor level over the complete cycle to meet accepted heat sanitization practices, comprising the steps of: (a) loading soiled ware into the racks and placing a loaded rack in a substantially enclosed wash chamber of a warewashing machine, (b) recirculating a supply of cleaning solution in said chamber under pressure through nozzles which direct the solution over the ware in sufficient volume and at a predetermined washing temperature with sufficient velocity and for a predetermined washing time period effective to strip the soil from and thereby wash the ware, (c) maintaining said cleaning solution supply at a minimum washing temperature during the washing time period, (d) upon completion of the washing time period, providing a short dwell period during which soiled solution can drain from the ware, then (e) sanitizing the ware by sequentially: (i) rinsing the ware for a predetermined rinse period with fresh rinse water heated to a minimum sanitizing temperature greater than said washing temperature and delivered through rinse nozzles dedicated solely to said rinse water and directed toward the ware, said rinse water being delivered in a volume sufficient to rinse loose food soil and remaining cleaning solution from the ware and achieve a substantial reduction in water volume in order to conserve energy, and said rinse period being of a duration whereby the surfaces of the ware rise from the temperature achieved during washing to a higher temperature to apply heat unit equivalents per second of time to said ware between an approximate minimum of 40% but less than 100% of the cumulative heat factor level required by accepted sanitization practices to achieve effective sanitization, and, (ii) upon completion of the rinse period and while the ware is still exposed to the accumulated rinse water and cleaning solution, maintaining the ware within a substantially enclosed chamber for a time period, in addition to any inherent time delay of a cycle controller, sufficient to allow the heated humid atmosphere within said chamber achieved without further addition of heat except from the heated fresh rinse water to apply to the ware surfaces additional heat unit equivalents, which, coupled with those applied during prior washing and rinsing, raises the cumulative heat factor for the complete warewasher cycle above the minimum level required to effectively sanitize the ware, and then (f) removing the clean, sanitized ware from the machine.