Let’s Dish on Dishwashers

In our technological age, rarely is a home without an automatic dishwasher. And no, we don’t mean the family pet who licks the plates clean.  We mean that beloved appliance that generally lives close to the kitchen sink that we are constantly filling up, running, and emptying.  Automatic dishwashers not only save us hours of manual dish scrubbing, but they save water usage, prevent our hands from getting chapped, and thus save us from buying countless bottles of hand lotion needed to remedy dry, chapped skin.  

Dishwasher problems, however, are not infrequent.  If you don’t want to call the expensive repair person every time your appliance acts up, consider following the advice below for learning about how to take care of your dishwasher to avoid as many problems as possible and then learn some easy solutions to some of the most common snafus. 

Important maintenance habits to establish for optimal dishwasher function and longevity

• Clean the filter.  Yes, it really is gross, but doing it is a gateway into adulthood and keeping the filter clean and free of old food debris will solve a myriad of problems.  This chore is best done when the dishwasher is empty.  Grab the filter out of the bottom of the dishwasher, rinse it out thoroughly in the kitchen sink and then replace it before filling up the dishwasher with the next stack of dirty dishes. Your owner’s manual (Yes, you should keep those in a handy location) probably outlines how to do this if you have any questions about how the filter detaches.
• Clean around the door and its seals, and other edges.  Using all purpose cleaner and wet rag or sponge, clean up all the spills and spots that have accumulated from usage.  Use an eagle eye to check around the detergent dispenser and other hard to reach places that might not get clean with a regular cycle.  
• Don’t over fill with too many dishes
• Run it regularly
• Inspect and clean the spinning arms
• Run a mild acid through a cycle to clean out.  White vinegar, plain citric acid, Tang (yes, the drink of astronauts), lemon juice, lemonade mix…any of these will erase old mineral deposits that have accumulated and are preventing your machine from optimal operation.  Place liquids in a bowl in the top rack.  Powders can be placed directly in the soap dispenser. 

While many dishwasher issues can be avoided with proper care and maintenance, inevitably, you will encounter problems.  When these little snafus arise, sometimes they can be easily remedied with a DIY hack.   

• Cloudy glasses:  If you notice your glassware getting cloudy no matter how much you wash them, make sure you have topped off the rinse aid dispenser in your dishwasher.  Additionally, you might check your water temperature to make sure the water heater is heating the water high enough to dissolve the detergent to get enough cleaning action out of it.  Lastly, try adding a quarter cup of a mild acid (like citric acid) to your next few wash cycles.  If you want to remedy the cloudy glasses as well as trouble-shoot your appliance, you can try soaking the glasses in vinegar for 5 minutes followed by a vigorous hand wash with hot water and detergent.  
• Weird smell:  when food particles and grease get trapped in the filters, spray arms, or hoses, odd odors begin to emanate.  Again, vinegar to the rescue.  With an empty dishwasher, set a glass bowl filled with vinegar on the top rack.  Run the dishwasher through a single cycle to neutralize food odors and clear out muck.  When the cycle is complete, open the door and let the appliance dry out completely before continuing on with loading it and running it as normal.  
• Dishes not getting very clean (like there is still food stains on them): Your dishes may not be getting clean because your dishwasher is dirty.  Clean the dishwasher using the technique outlined above for getting rid of odors.  You can also try pouring 3 cups of white vinegar directly into the bottom of the dishwasher and running it through a cycle while empty.  
• Dishes don’t dry:  First, try not to overload your dishwasher, to leave more space between dishes for air to circulate after a wash cycle to dry out the water.  Secondly, make sure you are using the hottest water setting, as hot water will evaporate more efficiently than cooler water.  Lastly, try opening the door after the wash cycle and let the moist air escape to encourage more complete drying
• Dishwasher is making unusual sounds:  some sounds might just be a result of funny loading which causes a dish to knock against the machine or another dish.  You also need to try to figure out “When in the cycle is this sound happening?”  While you might not be able to fix it yourself, being able to tell the technician as much as possible will help him/her diagnose and fix the problem more quickly.  Weird sounds could be the result of a bad pump, a foreign object stuck somewhere it doesn’t belong, excess debris, faulty loading, or a faulty motor.  Give the dishwasher a good cleaning and check-out how it is being loaded.  You may easily fix the problem yourself, but if the sound continues, it is time to call in the professionals.
• Powder dispenser not working:  You can still use your dishwasher if the soap dispenser isn’t working.  The easiest thing to do is switch to dishwasher pods or tablets and throw them into the silverware basket or directly into the machine itself.  You may want to have a professional eventually replace the soap dispenser if you feel like the temporary fix is resulting in less than perfectly clean dishes.  

Unfortunately, other problems are more serious and will need the attention of a professional to fix properly.  Yes, you could try to fix some of these things yourself, but if you aren’t confident about your handy-person skills, call in a professional from the beginning.  The last thing you want to do is create more problems that will result in a costlier repair.  If you encounter the following problems, a more serious repair is probably needed right away:

• Dishwasher leaks
• Dishwasher won’t start
• Dishwasher will not fill or will not stop filling with water
• Dishwasher won’t drain
• Dishwasher continues to make funky sounds despite all your efforts to quiet them

We don’t want you to have dishpan hands.  If your automatic dishwasher is on the fritz and you don’t know who to call to repair it, call your favorite agent at F.C. Tucker Emge REALTORS®.  Our agents pride themselves on having relationships with other great professionals and can refer you to someone they trust to take care of the problem.