Dishwasher Tragedies

[pulsator]

Speaking of Dishwasher tragedies, I'd say that just owning this dishwasher is a tragedy in itself. We preWASH as well as prerinse our dishes and we STILL have to use the longest cycle possible on this machine in order to get semi-okay results. I have to use the Soak and Scrub Cycle with the Super Scrub and Sani Rinse options selected. Glasses still come out with yuckyness on them that wasn't there when they went in! I've been trying to convince mom to replace it with either an older KitchenAid by Hobart, or a new Miele. She claims that she thinks this machine does fine, but I can tell that she isn't satisfied with the results. We are thinking that it is going to need a new upper wash arm as the old one keeps getting stuck. I have trained myself to hear the upper wash arm go by and over the past couple weeks I have noticed that it is getting stuck, I often open it and try to spin it to see if there are any obstructions, but when it goes around a couple times and stops I close it and let it continue. Then when it's time to unload, I often notic that the upper wash arm is right where it stopped after I spun it myself midcycle. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

 

[toggleswitch]

Is there a piece of glass, etc. preventing water-flow to the upper spray-arm(s)?

 

[pulsator]

Nope, I've checked everything I can think of that might be blocking waterflow. It now appears as if some of the holes are getting clogged. I don't know what to do about it. I use Dishwasher Magic monthly and still the holes are starting fill up. I think that I am gonna need to replace the upper wash arm assembly.

 

[polkanut]

Shorly after my wife and I bought our home she started to move some of her plates, glasses, etc. Well both her and her mother were heavy smokers at the time so everything was covered with cigarette smoke residue. She sprayed every item with Simple Green, and filled the cups with Cascade like I had showed her. That evening we showed the house to some friends, well imagine our surprise when we saw all the suds. This was a 1980 GE dishwasher. I grew up with a 1974 KA, don't ask the model no. though.

 

[DADoES]

Arm bearings can wear over time.

 

[nasadowsk]

When I was living in an apartment in Hartford, I had a dishwasher. I had always heard you shouldn't use Dawn in a washer (my dad says filling the washer with Dawn was a popular gag in FDNY...).

Anyway, one day I was pretty bored and had nothing to do, so I decided to dump some in and see what happened...

Had something to do for the rest of the day

 

[gansky1]

Suds in dishwaser

are quite easy to get rid of, just pour in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooking oil. The detergent will "eat" and suspend the oil, knocking down the suds. Allow the machine to finish it's cycle as normal and wipe up the floor.

 

[maytagbear]

Fortunately,

I have been such a big fan of dishwashers all my life (even though we didn't get our first one until 1973....) I knew better from an early age not to use a high sudsing detergent in a dishwasher.

I've been very lucky, and have only lost one item, a beautiful Dansk Melamine spoon, in dark Orange, and have charred a few wooden spoon handles when they got knocked to the sump. (Yes, I put wooden spoons, and wooden handled rubber spatulas in the machine. Bite me.)

I am no longer "fussy" about loading (for "fussy," read "a*al retentive,") but I make an effort not to throw things into the machine.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[appnut]

My mom used to put cheapo plastic ice tea spoons in the utensil rack of the 1959 waste king. Yep, smell of melted plastic on heating element. And one time, it even caused the drain solenoid to sty open.

We'd had the 1972 roto rack for a few months. Mom bought a new Tupperware juice pitcher. Well, given I"d been exposed to KAs with forced air drying, I figured the Kenmore would have the same benefits. Nope, that heating element would glow bright orange when on. The pitcher was melted into a malformed thing.

 

[mrtide]

Not exactly a

I was in the process of making ice tea and needed the pitcher out of my new WP in my apartment. It had just finished and the glass pitcher was hot. Without thinking like a real idiot I sat the pitcher in the sink and poured cold water in. The bottom cracked and I rally hated losing that pitcher as it went with a set of glassware-sort of a clear green with a "geodesic looking design on the outside" A normal size pitcher but squatty glasses.

 

[rayjay]

Jamie, I have the same dishwasher in white. I have no problems. Almost everything comes out clean without pre-rinsing. My cousin had a problem with his in that there was a crack in the back of the top wash arm. SO... the water was leaking down to the bottow and not spraying through the top wash arm

 

[mixfinder]

Arm doesn't go around.

Let the dishwasher finish it's fill cycle and being to wash. Open the door and add 2 quarts of water. Listen and if the sound of surging water and whooshing wash arms is apparent, the machine is starved for water. You may need to make sure the supply is big enough, a self tapping line wasn't used or that minerals haven't overtaken the line.
Kelly