Hygiene or sanitise option (plus or shield)
The machine raises the wash or rinse temperature and holds it for longer to reduce bacteria further — for chopping boards, baby bottles and similar items.
What the manuals say to do
Choose it for chopping boards, baby bottles and after illness, not for every load. It lengthens the programme and uses more energy (Bosch). Beko’s Hygiene Intense also adds an extra rinse. On Smeg, if the temperature drops during Ultra Clean (door opened, power cut), the option light and programme lights flash to show the extra phase did not complete.
What it does not mean
It does not sterilise: the manuals speak of a “higher hygiene status” (Bosch) or “a further reduction in the bacteria level” (Smeg), not of making items sterile. A flashing Ultra Clean light on Smeg does not mean the wash itself failed.
Makes differ, check your dishwasher’s manual: the same drawing can mean different things on different brands, and only your model’s manual says exactly what a light means and which programmes an option works with.
- What it looks like
- It varies more than any other icon: a plus sign, a shield, a baby bottle, or just the word Hygiene or Sanitize.
- Names makers use
- Hygiene+ / HygienePlus (Bosch); Hygiene Intense (Beko); Ultra Clean (Smeg); Hygiene 70 °C programme (Miele); Sanitizing 65° programme (Hotpoint, Whirlpool)
Where makers differ
An option added to a programme on Bosch, Beko and Smeg; a programme of its own on Miele (Hygiene 70 °C) and Hotpoint/Whirlpool (Sanitizing 65°, which Hotpoint also suggests for machine maintenance). Temperatures range from 65 to 70 °C.
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No single published standard defines dishwasher panel icons, so this meaning is taken from the manuals of 5 different maker groups (Bosch, Beko, Smeg, Hotpoint, Miele), each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Bosch: Bosch — User manual, dishwasher SMV4HVX32E (PDF) — Additional function Hygiene+: “To ensure a higher hygiene status for the appliance and tableware, the temperature is raised and maintained for an extra-long period. Especially suitable for cleaning chopping boards or baby bottles … This will increase the run time and energy consumption.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Beko: Beko — Dishwasher user’s manual, BDEN38640FG / BDEN38530FX (PDF) — “Hygiene Intense function … increases the washing and rinsing temperatures in the selected cycle and extends the periods of these steps in the cycle. Moreover, an additional rinsing cycle is performed.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Smeg: Smeg — Instruction manual: guide for using the dishwasher and the washing programs, 19390674500 (PDF) — “ULTRA CLEAN … prolongs the final hot rinse to ensure a further reduction in the bacteria level”; if the tank temperature falls, the option light and programme lights flash; “This does not mean that the wash program has been less effective than usual.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Hotpoint: Hotpoint — Dishwasher Daily Reference Guide, 15 place settings with 3D Zone Wash and ActiveDry (PDF, 05/2023) — “Sanitizing 65° – Normally or heavily soiled crockery, with additional antibacterial wash. Can be used to perform maintenance of the dishwasher.” Checked 2026-09-26.
- Miele: Miele — Operating instructions, dishwashers with touch display, M.-Nr. 11 831 681 (PDF) — Hygiene 70 °C: “Robust items that need to be hygienically clean, e.g. baby bottles, chopping boards … Programme with special parameters for the hygienic cleaning.” Checked 2026-09-26.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.