Patent ID: 7897104

Claim:
A sterilizing control method for a dishwasher, comprising: inputting wash preferences for a sterilizing cycle through a control panel; determining whether the inputted wash preferences are for performing a stand-alone sterilizing cycle or adding a sterilizing cycle as an option with other cycles of a wash course, the other cycles including at least one of a wash cycle, a rinse cycle and a drying cycle; and performing the sterilizing cycle without a wash cycle and a rinse cycle when the stand-alone sterilizing cycle is selected, and performing the sterilizing cycle after the other cycles are completed when the sterilizing cycle is added as an option with other cycles of a wash course, wherein performing the sterilizing cycle comprises: turning a sterilizer on and off at regular intervals; and operating a drying fan to exhaust moist vapor to outside of the dishwasher while the sterilizer is turned off, and wherein when the sterilizer is turned on, the drying fan ceases operating, and when the sterilizer is turned off, the drying fan operates.