Is it safe to wash dishes in the dishwasher in cold water?

The hot water heater blew out a week and a half ago and since then my dad has been putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher and washing them. I noticed that although there wasn't any noticeable grease or dirt on the plate but if you looked closer you could see clear dry grease thingies on the plates (I don't know what to call them). So I just wanted to know if that was safe or not.

Public Comments

1. it can be but if u had jreasy food it will be more batica on it then before
2. No, cold water doesn't get rid of the germs left on your plates, forks, spoons, and cups. You should really wash them with hot water so you don't spread germs.
3. it wont kill bacteria on any of them so i would have to say no its not safe
4. it does not take away as much bacteria as hot water would
5. If you wash them in cold water and then they heat dry the grease that is left is going to bake on.......doesn't sound too sanitary.
6. I put in a little bleach with the soap to kill the germs. Not sure if you should put in bleach but it hasn't hurt my washing machine and the things come out very clean.
7. No, not really. The dishwashing soap is formulated to work with very hot water, as well as you need the hot water to strelize your dishes. I'm sure that is why you could see debris on your dishes. Better to heat some water up and wash them in hot soapy water in the sink.
8. the bacteria won't be killed and the grease may not come off completely re-wash the dishes in the sink and let them soak...for hot water...boil water on the stove and add to sink
9. Are you sure you can wash your dishes in cold water? Dishwashers heat the water before starting to wash. You may be filling your dishwasher with cold water but the dishwasher is heating the water.