Warewashing system containing nonionic surfactant that performs both a cleaning and sheeting function and a method of warewashing

The invention relates to an institutional or industrial warewashing detergent and to its use in automatic warewashing machines that operates with a wash and a rinse cycle. The detergent of the invention promotes soil removal and rinsing or rinse water sheeting in washing and rinsing stages, respectively. The detergent can include a cleansing source of alkalinity, a rinsing source of nonionic and can contain additional ingredients such as surfactants, rinse agents, builders, hardness sequestering agents, etc. We have found an alkaline warewashing detergent composition that can contain a critical amount of a nonionic rinse agent that when used in automatic warewashing machines permits the use of a potable water rinse without the addition of a separate rinse agent. Sufficient residual nonionic surfactant from the alkaline detergent remains on the surface ware and internal machine and rack surfaces after washing to promote adequate sheeting in the rinse cycle. The residual nonionic surfactant on internal surfaces dissolves in the rinse water to create an effective aqueous rinse agent. The nonionic rinse agents can be a single nonionic for both foam reduction cleaning and sheeting or can be a blend of nonionic materials providing these functions. The detergent can be in the form of a particulate, pelletized or block solid. The detergent can be used in a variety of high temperature and low temperature automatic warewashing machines including large multizone conveyor machines, or relatively small institutional machines that have a single washing chamber.