The short answer
E2060 means there is limescale build-up in the heat pump, as the table records. That is a maintenance finding rather than a broken part: minerals from hard water have deposited where the machine heats and moves the water. Descaling is the response, and on this fault the first attempt is genuinely an owner job.
Code table
Reference| code | meaning | owner-checkable |
|---|---|---|
| E2060 | There is limescale build-up in the heat pump. | partly |
| E2030 | There is a heat pump internal heater fault/error. | see page |
| E21 | The heat pump is blocked. | see page |
What you observe
- Glassware is cloudy and does not clear — A classic hard-water symptom that precedes the code by months.
- White deposit around the tub and the heater area — Visible scale in the machine is the same scale the pump has collected.
- The cycle takes longer than it used to — A scaled heater warms the water more slowly, and the programme waits.
- NEAR MISS — the machine will not drain at all — Standing water is a drain fault, not scale, and it needs a different page.
Likeliest causes first
- Hard water with no softening — First: the salt reservoir empty or the water-hardness setting wrong lets every cycle deposit minerals.
- Low-temperature programmes used exclusively — Second: eco cycles run cooler, which suits the dishes and suits scale formation too.
- Descaling never having been done — Last as a cause, first as a fix: the machine has a routine for this and most owners have never run it.
Check in this order
- Check the salt reservoir and the hardness setting — An empty reservoir or a setting left at the factory default explains most of these.
- Look for visible scale around the tub and filter — What you can see is a fair guide to what has built up where you cannot.
- Run the machine’s own descaling routine — On this fault the treatment is also the test: results that improve confirm the diagnosis.
Owner-safe steps
- Fill the salt reservoir and set the water hardness correctly — The manual gives the setting for your supply; getting it right stops the problem recurring.
About 20 min
- Run a descaling cycle with a proprietary dishwasher descaler — Empty machine, hottest programme, product as directed — and repeat it if the deposit is heavy.
Tools: descalerAbout 90 min
- STOP HERE — heavy scale inside the pump needs dismantling — If two descaling cycles change nothing, the deposit is beyond what a routine will shift.
Safety first
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A dishwasher sits on a live circuit and a water supply at once: close the supply valve as well as the breaker, and expect standing water in the base of the tub.
When to call
Call when two proper descaling cycles have not cleared the code, because at that point the deposit inside the pump needs the assembly opened or replaced. Say what you have already run: it tells the technician the machine has been treated and moves the visit straight to the pump. Fill the salt reservoir first regardless — the repair will scale up again without it.
Neighbouring codes — E2030 and E21 appear beside E2060 in the table and are recorded against different hardware — different questions with different answers. A shared prefix on this brand is not a shared fault.
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the Bosch dishwasher class rather than for one model line, and E2060 is read exactly as the shared table records it. If your family or model has its own page, that page is the more specific answer and it is linked below — go there first when your model is named. Left out deliberately: connector positions, wiring colours and part numbers, which are family-specific.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
