Owning a kitchen appliance like a dishwasher means there’s always a chance you’ll need to figure out what a particular symbol means. If you’ve lost your user manual or never owned one due to purchasing your dishwasher second-hand, you might not know what all the symbols and programme options mean.
Your Beko dishwasher will have many different symbols that you’ll need to be able to identify in order to run it properly, choose the correct settings, maintain the machine, and identify potential errors.
That’s what this guide is here for. While many symbols found on dishwashers, ovens, and other kitchen appliances are often universal and simple to understand, there are always functions/symbols unique to each manufacturer and appliance too.
This guide will cover all of the symbols and functions you could potentially find on any model of Beko dishwasher, so you know exactly what you’re dealing with.
Symbols for Operating Your Dishwasher
On your Beko dishwasher control panel, you will be presented with a number of different buttons, indicator lights, and a display.
The buttons and lights will help you select your programme and functions, and the display panel will show you information using symbols.
All of these will be discussed below.
Beko Dishwasher Control Panel
Below is an example of what your Beko dishwasher control panel will look like in reality.
The following diagram will help you to identify each different key on the control panel and understand what it means.
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On / Off Key
Overview:
The ‘On / Off’ key on your dishwasher can be identified by a simple button that has the words ‘On / Off’ written on it. This makes it easy to locate and use.
Best Used For:
Turning your appliance on and off.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
The On / Off key is easy to identify and use, and it also has an indicator light that will help you to see whether the machine is turned on or not. The light will illuminate for ‘On,’ and the lights will turn off for “Off.’
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Menu Key
Overview:
The symbol on the ‘Menu’ key will look like three squares on top of one another, each with a straight line to the right of it. This will look like a typical ‘menu’ symbol you might see on an app or website.
Best Used For:
The ‘Menu’ key will allow you to access additional functions that depend on the model of your dishwasher. To access these functions, press and hold the key for 3 seconds and then use the < – and + > keys found on the ‘Time Delay’ key to move to the desired function or setting on the display.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This will allow you to access the SelfDry function and the Tablet Detergent Function, which are useful additional functions on your dishwasher.
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Time Delay Selection / Menu Direction Selection Keys
Overview:
This key features the phrase ‘Time Delay’, which makes it easy to identify. The phrase is written in between two arrows and a plus and minus sign on either side and looks like this < – Time Delay + >.
Best Used For:
This key can be used to set and manage the time delay function as well as select additional functions on the menu.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
If you would like to set your dishwasher cycle to start during a specific time to use off-peak electricity rates or perhaps avoid dealing with the sound of the dishwasher while you’re in the house, you can easily set it to start after a time delay of your choosing.
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Selection / Confirmation Key
Overview:
The ‘Selection / Confirmation’ key is a button that simply states the word ‘Select’ on the control panel. This makes it easy to identify and locate on your machine.
Best Used For:
This key can be pressed to move between programme options on the control panel and select the one you wish to use.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This key is easy to locate and use, and it makes choosing the correct cycle programme and function easy.
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Display
Overview:
The display panel shows a number of different indicator light symbols which will illuminate to indicate various programmes, functions, and other information. These will be discussed in detail in the next section.
Best Used For:
This display is best used to understand information about your machine, what cycle it’s running, etc.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This easy-to-read display will provide you with all the information you might need to know to ensure that everything is running smoothly and help to alert you of any errors or issues at the same time.
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Start / Pause / Cancel Key
Overview:
The ‘Start / Pause’ key is another simple key to identify because it simply states the words ‘Start’ above and ‘Pause’ below.
Best Used For:
Starting, pausing or cancelling a cycle.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This key makes it simple to manage your dishwasher cycles, but all three of the functions (starting, pausing, and cancelling) are accessed with the same key.
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Function Selection Keys
Overview:
The ‘Function Selection’ keys and indicator lights can be identified by the codes ‘F1’, ‘F2’, ‘F3’, and ‘F4’, which correlate with Function 1, and so forth.
Each individual function code and its meaning will be discussed in detail in another section.
Best Used For:
Selecting various functions on your dishwasher, separate from the program you have chosen.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
Your Beko dishwasher offers various additional functions that can add specific features or benefits to the cycle you have selected, and these functions are easy to select on the control panel.
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Programme Selection Keys
Overview:
Similarly to the ‘Function Selection’ keys, the ‘Programme Selection’ keys and indicator lights will allow you to choose your programme, and the correlating light will turn on when a programme has been selected.
Best Used For:
Selecting the appropriate programme for your cycle.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
Your Beko dishwasher has various different programmes to choose from, each best suited to different types of dishwashing loads.
Beko Dishwasher Display
On your display panel, there will be several symbols that, when illuminated will indicate a different function or piece of information.
Auto Door Open Indicator
Overview:
The ‘Auto Door Open’ indicator shows an image of a dishwasher with the door slightly open and an arrow that indicates that it is opening.
This looks like a box with a diagonal line and an arrow.
Best Used For:
This symbol indicates that the Auto Door Open function is on, which means that the door of your machine will be opened automatically at the end of the program.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This function can increase drying efficiency by immediately opening the door at the end of the cycle. This can also help to save energy when using your machine.
Filter Cleaning Function Indicator
Overview:
The ‘Filter Cleaning Function’ indicator symbol can be identified as a vertical cylinder with sparkling stars to show cleanliness. This symbol indicates that you need to clean the filter of your dishwasher.
Best Used For:
When this indicator is illuminated, you know you need to clean the filter of your Beko appliance. Simply remove the drain filters, remove any waste, and give them a rinse under the tap before returning them to their place. The indicator light should turn off once the filters are clean.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This indicator is helpful because it alerts you when you need to clean out your filters. Keeping the filters clean is important for both ensuring that you have clean, sparkling dishes, but also the lifespan of your dishwasher.
IonGuard Function Indicator
Overview:
Depending on which Beko dishwasher model you have, you might have the IonGuard function. The symbol can be identified by two circles – a white circle with a + sign inside and a black circle with a – sign inside.
Beko’s IonGuard technology uses a fan and a hidden ionizer to circulate fresh air and remove bad odours inside your dishwasher without the use of harmful gasses or chemicals.
Best Used For:
Identifying when the IonGuard function has been selected and is active.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
The IonGuard function can help prevent odour from building up in your dishwasher, allowing smaller households to maintain a fresh smell in between more infrequent washes.
Delay Time / Programme Time Indicator
Overview:
On your control panel, you will see a place for digital numbers with two functions. First, the numbers could indicate the amount of time left on your dishwashing cycle.
However, if you set the ‘Delay Start’ function, then this time indicator will be used to show you how much time is left until your cycle begins.
Best Used For:
Keep track of how long your dishwashing cycle still has left to run.
Additionally, when you want to start your dishwasher at a specific time, using the delayed start function is helpful.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
A great benefit of a Beko dishwasher is that you can pick any amount of time by which to delay the start of your cycle. You can set the delay by 30-minute increments up to 6 hours and then 1-hour increments until you reach a full 24-hour delay.
Delayed Start Indicator
Overview:
The symbol of the clock with an arrow pointing around it is the delayed start symbol. This symbol should be used in conjunction with the delay time indicator to know how many minutes or hours the delay has been set for.
Best Used For:
When you want to start a dishwashing cycle, but perhaps only after you’ve gone to bed or after you’ve left the house, so that the sound doesn’t bother you, you can delay the start of your cycle by a few hours.
This symbol has an indicator light to show you when a delay has been set. The light helps you remember that your cycle is set to start in a few hours, which can be useful.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is a really useful function for when you want to take advantage of off-peak energy rates or avoid a noisy appliance while you’re busy at home or hosting people, but you don’t want to forget to start your dishwasher either.
End of Programme Indicator
Overview:
The ‘End of Programme’ symbol looks like an arrow pointing to the right and a vertical line next to it. This indicator will illuminate when the washing programme is over.
Best Used For:
Identifying when your washing cycle is over so that you can take the next steps: Opening the door and turning off the machine.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
Your Beko dishwasher will alter you when your cycle is completed with this indicator light and an audible warning signal too. This will help you to know exactly when your dishes are clean so that you can empty the machine.
Rinse Aid Indicator
Overview:
This symbol looks like a star because it indicates that you need to refill your Rinse Aid, a cleaning agent that helps ensure your dishes come out shiny and sparkling.
Rinse Aid also ensures that your dishes dry thoroughly, evenly, and without streaks.
Best Used For:
When the indicator light turns on or flashes, simply refill the designated Rinse Aid container with the cleaning agent and then close it. The light should then turn off, and the appliance will be able to distribute it correctly between washes.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is another symbol and indicator light combination that will help you know exactly when to refill the container, so you won’t need to worry. Rinse Aid is not imperative to the maintenance of your machine or dishes, but it helps give your crockery a cleaner, shinier look.
Salt Indicator
Overview:
This symbol is easy to recognize because it looks like the capital letter ‘S,’ which stands for salt. Your dishwasher always needs to be topped up with enough course dishwasher salt in order to soften the hard water and protect your dishes (and the machine itself) from limescale buildup.
Best Used For:
When this indicator light is on or flashing, it means that you need to refill the salt in your dishwasher. Make sure not to ignore it too long before refilling.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This symbol is a useful way to help you stay on top of your appliance maintenance. If you don’t put salt in your dishwasher, a limescale buildup can potentially damage your appliance. This is a good way to remember to take care of your dishwasher as well as your dishes.
Water Cut-Off Indicator
Overview:
This symbol can be identified as a kitchen tap with a diagonal line drawn through it to indicate that the water has been cut off from the appliance. If the mains water is cut or the water inlet tap is turned off, the machine will not be able to take in water.
This will pause the washing cycle until the problem is resolved.
Best Used For:
Identifying a water inlet issue on your machine.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This indicator light will usually be accompanied by an E:02 error icon on the display, which will help you to identify the problem.
Liquid Detergent Dosing Indicator
Overview:
This symbol looks like a bottle with a drop spilling out of it. This is because it represents a liquid detergent. This indicator light will alert you when this function has been selected.
Best Used For:
Select this function when you have used a liquid detergent instead of a powder or tablet in your appliance. This will help the machine to optimise the performance of the program according to the type of detergent you have used.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This function helps you to get more out of your detergent because it alerts the appliance of the type of cleaning agent used and how it should be used for optimal efficiency. This can prevent your detergent from clumping or being unevenly distributed throughout the cycle.
Tablet Detergent Indicator
Overview:
This symbol looks like a dishwasher tablet – a three-dimensional rectangular block with a circle in the middle of it. That’s because it represents a dishwasher tab, which is a specific type of dishwasher detergent. This symbol also has an indicator light to inform you whether the function has been selected.
Best Used For:
Select this function when you have used a dishwasher tablet instead of powder in your appliance. This will help the machine to optimize the performance of the program according to the type of detergent you have used.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This function helps you to get more out of your detergent because it alerts the appliance of the type of cleaning agent used and how it should be used for optimal efficiency. This can prevent your detergent from clumping or not being distributed evenly throughout the cycle.
Beko Dishwasher Programmes
This section will highlight each of the programmes you can select to run on the appliance, how and when to use them, and what they might be best for.
As you will see on the appliance’s control panel, each program is represented by text with the name of the program, rather than a symbol, making it easy to use and understand.
Auto
Overview:
The ‘Auto’ function is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
This programme is called ‘Auto’ because it automatically determines the level of soiling and adjusts the temperature and wash time accordingly. This is suitable for all types of dishes.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is a great programme when you have a mixed load that needs to be washed, or if you’re not sure which programme to use.
AquaFlex
Overview:
The ‘AquaFlex’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
This programme is the best option for daily use and mixed dishes. While delicate items like glasses can be washed in the top rack, pans and pots can be washed in the lower basket.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is an easy programme to use every day for medium-soiling. More heavily soiled dishes will need a prewash or hand-rinsing before running this programme.
Intensive
Overview:
The ‘Intensive’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
This programme is suitable for heavily soiled dishes, pots, and pans. This works well on greasy items or items that might have dried food stuck to them. This cycle runs at 70° and is not a good option for delicate items like wine glasses.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
A more intensive wash uses a higher temperature and might be less energy efficient. It could also cause damage to more delicate items.
Eco ***
Overview:
The ‘Eco ***’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
This is the most economical washing programme for normal, medium-soil dishes.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This cycle runs at only 45° and uses the least amount of water and energy, making it a great choice for the environmentally conscious or those looking to preserve energy.
Delicate
Overview:
The ‘Delicate’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
This is a special programme specifically designed for the gentle cleaning of delicate glassware and similarly dainty items. The programme runs at 40° and isn’t suitable for heavily soiled items.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is a great, fast, low energy-use programme for when you only need to wash a few glasses, perhaps for guests coming over or a similar situation. You won’t be able to wash more heavily soiled items in this programme.
Quick&Shine
Overview:
The ‘Quick&Shine’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
This is another daily washing programme for medium-soiled dishes. However, the Quick&Shine programme prioritises speed and efficiency for the fastest clean and dry cycle of your dishes.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
While this programme is much faster than the others, it is not more energy-efficient. The cycle runs at 60° and is not suitable for more heavily soiled items.
Mini
Overview:
The ‘Mini’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
The ‘Mini’ programme is also suitable for lightly soiled dishes that have been scraped, rinsed, and pre-cleaned. This is the quickest washing programme at only 30 minutes, so it’s ideal for when you’re in a time pinch.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
Of course, you won’t be able to wash more heavily soiled items, and you will need to either run a pre-wash programme first or give your dishes a pre-clean by hand before running this programme successfully.
Prewash
Overview:
The ‘Prewash’ programme is represented by simple text on the control panel and an indicator light.
Best Used For:
The ‘Prewash’ programme is suitable for removing the remnants of food and mess from pre-soaked dishes and cleaning up dried food from items that have been in the appliance for a few days before washing. This is a quick rinsing cycle that uses no detergent or hot water.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is a great way to help prevent odour buildup in your machine and rinse your dishes before a cycle.
Beko Dishwasher Functions
The additional functions on your Beko dishwasher are indicated by a code such as F1 for ‘Function 1’ and so forth. There are four different functions to choose from, which will be discussed below.
F1: Hygiene Intense Function
Overview:
The ‘Hygiene Intense’ function is represented by ‘F1’ on the control panel.
Best Used For:
This function is designed to be used when more hygiene is required for washing the dishes. The function increases the washing and rinsing temperatures in any selected cycle and extends the periods of these steps as well. This function also adds an additional rinsing cycle.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This function is great to use when you want to run a normal daily programme but have a few more heavily soiled items in the dishwasher.
F2: Extra Drying Function
Overview:
The ‘Extra Drying’ function is represented by ‘F2’ on the control panel.
Best Used For:
This function simply provides superior drying performance on any selected programme.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This function will extend the time on your cycle, but it will leave you with drier dishes that can be packed straight in the cupboard without waiting for them to air-dry.
F3: AquaIntense Function
Overview:
The ‘AquaIntense’ function is represented by ‘F3’ on the control panel.
Best Used For:
Your Beko dishwasher has an AquaIntense impeller located under the lower impeller, which helps wash your more heavily soiled dishes. The impeller is located on the right-hand side of the lower basket, which means that you should place your more heavily soiled items here in order for the function to work on them.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is a great function when your dishes are normally soiled, but you have only one or two items that need a more intense wash. These items can be placed near the impeller.
F4: Fast+ Function
Overview:
The ‘Fast+’ function is represented by ‘F4’ on the control panel.
Best Used For:
This function shortens the time of the selected washing cycle and decreases water consumption because it uses a higher pressure to wash the dishes faster.
Benefits/Drawbacks:
This is a great way to speed up a function and reduce water consumption at the same time, but be aware that the higher pressure could damage more delicate items in the load.