> I don't know about the "recycled soapy water" bit. All the systems I've seen use fresh water on each use. Here's an example of the kind of machine I'm talkin

> I don't know about the "recycled soapy water" bit. All the systems I've seen use fresh water on each use. Here's an example of the kind of machine I'm talking about: https://www.hobartcorp.com/products/commercial-dishwashers/door-type/am-select-dishwasher https://www.hobartcorp.com/products/commercial-dishwashers/d... It has a tank at the bottom, for the wash water. As fresh water comes in for sanitizing, some of the wash water goes down the drain -- 3/4 gal/cycle, per the brochure. We would drain the tank at the end of each day, and fill fresh in the morning. > So, gross, stuck-on lettuce, yes. Sterile, yes. The rule we were taught was: when it comes out of the machine, if it looks clean, it is clean. Which is to say, if there was still lettuce or other things on a dish you needed to spray them off and run it through again (and do a better job spraying before loading).