whitekingd
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Are these cleaners good to use? Are they necessary, or just hype. I've got an old KDS-14P. Will it hurt the machine?
dishwasher cleaners
- Thread starter whitekingd
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dj-gabriele
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I've never used one, ever.
To me it's simply a marketing gimmick!
If your dishwasher just needs "refreshing" pour a glass or two of white vinegar after it has filled and run a cycle, it works great!
To me it's simply a marketing gimmick!
If your dishwasher just needs "refreshing" pour a glass or two of white vinegar after it has filled and run a cycle, it works great!
I think this needs to be in the Super Forum, however,
Your KDS14 uses enough water to keep itself clean. Unless you have hard water, you do not have to worry about "cleaning" your dishwasher. At 2.3 gallons per fill, your machine would probably dilute any of these modern products to where they would be only marginally effective anyway. Early automatic washer and dishwasher advertising used to include the clause, "cleans itself" in the list of functions the machine performed. Now they are so water efficient that they have to have special cycles and products just to clean the machine. You will pardon my lack of enthusiasm for HE washers and dishwashers.
Our first Mobile Maid had instructions for using vinegar if dishes and glasses had developed hard water film. You placed a measuring cup of vinegar in the center of the cover over the impeller and let the machine run through a complete cycle without detergent.
Your KDS14 uses enough water to keep itself clean. Unless you have hard water, you do not have to worry about "cleaning" your dishwasher. At 2.3 gallons per fill, your machine would probably dilute any of these modern products to where they would be only marginally effective anyway. Early automatic washer and dishwasher advertising used to include the clause, "cleans itself" in the list of functions the machine performed. Now they are so water efficient that they have to have special cycles and products just to clean the machine. You will pardon my lack of enthusiasm for HE washers and dishwashers.
Our first Mobile Maid had instructions for using vinegar if dishes and glasses had developed hard water film. You placed a measuring cup of vinegar in the center of the cover over the impeller and let the machine run through a complete cycle without detergent.
westyslantfront
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Every so often, I ad dishwashing detergent with a good dose of chlorine bleach and run the maching through a cycle after which the tub smells fresh and clean.
Ross
Ross
not that a dishwasher is not self cleaning, or a washer the same, wether it be a TL or an HE, there are certain areas that need wiped down or cleaned out by the user, where as a regular cycle would never reach, under the door lip, around any seals, door openings, etc......just ocassional maintenance can keep these areas in clean working order.....
even a self cleaning oven only cleans the inside, surrounding areas have to be manualy wiped down and scrubbed
but we all know and do this anyway....don't we?
even a self cleaning oven only cleans the inside, surrounding areas have to be manualy wiped down and scrubbed
but we all know and do this anyway....don't we?
autowasherfreak
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I bought two cleaners and used them in the Whirlpool and KA Custom 21. It did make them smell nice and fresh, but I couldn't tell any difference in performance after I used them. About once a month I will run them empty and use either vinegar of bleach to clean them.
Lemishine worked wonders on my sister's machine. She has super hard water.
My Thermador's cleaning instructions employ a two-step process:
Allow machine to fill, then add one cup of bleach and run through that phase of the cycle. After it drains and re-fills, add two cups vinegar, then let the entire cycle complete through the remaining rinses.
I used this method when I first got the machine installed since it hadn't operated for quite some time, and it has been turning out sparkling glassware for me ever since. I used it again just recently after a crazy person houseguest allowed regular dish soap to mix in with the detergent, which resulted in a baked-on white film on everything. One cleaning treatment and my glasses were sparkling again.
When I first moved in here and the Maytag that had sat nearly dormant for over a year was leaving film on everything, I used only vinegar. It may have helped clean the machine, but it didn't improve its performance. Just using it over and over eventually allowed it to find its groove again, and it was doing a fine (if not deafening) job within a few loads' time.
If your KA is doing a good job on the dishes, I don't think a cleaning treatment would be necessary, unless you have very hard water.
Ralph
My Thermador's cleaning instructions employ a two-step process:
Allow machine to fill, then add one cup of bleach and run through that phase of the cycle. After it drains and re-fills, add two cups vinegar, then let the entire cycle complete through the remaining rinses.
I used this method when I first got the machine installed since it hadn't operated for quite some time, and it has been turning out sparkling glassware for me ever since. I used it again just recently after a crazy person houseguest allowed regular dish soap to mix in with the detergent, which resulted in a baked-on white film on everything. One cleaning treatment and my glasses were sparkling again.
When I first moved in here and the Maytag that had sat nearly dormant for over a year was leaving film on everything, I used only vinegar. It may have helped clean the machine, but it didn't improve its performance. Just using it over and over eventually allowed it to find its groove again, and it was doing a fine (if not deafening) job within a few loads' time.
If your KA is doing a good job on the dishes, I don't think a cleaning treatment would be necessary, unless you have very hard water.
Ralph
One often overlooked place where real goo gathers is under the door, especially in machines where there is no detergent in the first fill. Grease floats on the water's surface and gets deposited on the lip of the tank and the backside of the door liner, both areas unexposed to the water spray.
I' m sorry to disagree with some of you, but dishwasher cleaner is actually more effective than regular detergent.
One assumes that a dishwasher is selfcleaning (and it is) but actually there are parts in the hydraulic circuit that aren't sprayed (hoses,sump under screens, inside of spray arms) no matter it's a modern DW or a vintage water hog. These parts may get greased, for example because of abuse of low temp eco cycles (euro DW) or never using the hi temp option in american DW.
A Finish DW cleaner commercial states it, but it's actually the truth. One can have a clue just checking the strainer/screen before and after running a cycle with the cleaner. Also racks and plastic parts look cleaner.
Basically it is an acid (often it is citric acid)
One assumes that a dishwasher is selfcleaning (and it is) but actually there are parts in the hydraulic circuit that aren't sprayed (hoses,sump under screens, inside of spray arms) no matter it's a modern DW or a vintage water hog. These parts may get greased, for example because of abuse of low temp eco cycles (euro DW) or never using the hi temp option in american DW.
A Finish DW cleaner commercial states it, but it's actually the truth. One can have a clue just checking the strainer/screen before and after running a cycle with the cleaner. Also racks and plastic parts look cleaner.
Basically it is an acid (often it is citric acid)
NO VINEGAR IN PORCELAIN!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh
One of those fancy cleaners is just peroxide to bleach plastic tubs.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh
One of those fancy cleaners is just peroxide to bleach plastic tubs.
