Warewashing Machines: Temperature and Pressure Standards

Numbers that are easy to miss

  • High-temperature machines: final rinse at least 180 F (82 C) at the manifold, or 160 F (71 C) at the surface of the dish.

  • Low-temperature machines: chemical sanitizer at the correct concentration, per the manufacturer label.

  • Water pressure between 15 and 25 psi, enough to remove food but not enough to blow it around the room.

  • Scrape, pre-soak or pre-flush, then load items so water reaches every surface.

  • Air-dry; never towel-dry.

Warewashing and equipment practice

Free 580-question ServSafe Manager practice bank with a per-domain weakness map.