Once enough water is in the tub, the dishwasher rinses your dishes to loosen food particles before detergent is released. This is where the circulation pump, spray arms, and heating element all start working together.
After the fill cycle ends, a timer or sensor tells the control board that there's enough water in the tub. Power is sent to the circulation motor, which pressurizes water and forces it up through the spray arms.
The spray arms spin from the reaction force of water shooting out their angled nozzles — there's no separate motor turning them.
As soon as the water is circulating, most dishwashers begin heating it with a heating element in the bottom of the tub (or, on newer models, an in-line flow-through heater). Warmer water dissolves grease and food residue much more effectively than cold.
A thermistor monitors the water temperature and tells the control board when the target temperature is reached.
The hot, pressurized water knocks loose food particles from the dishes. Those particles are either ground up by a food chopper or caught in a filter at the bottom of the tub.
The water is then drained out by the drain pump so that the wash cycle can start with fresh water.
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