Getting my kdss-21a ready for daily use, need some loading tips

[awooff]

Detergent

Lorainfurniture - chlorinated detergent will "kill" or negate enzymes in powdered or pod detergent.

Loading might benefit the tea cup by not placing items in the 4 corners of either rack as wash arms move circular. Also per manuals, soiled dishes (omit flatware) need faced down to catch spray..

Also try using normal or light wash and results maybe better as i have found w many machines. -The fewer water changes do not dilute detergent.

 

[DADoES]

 
Same with mixing chlorine bleach and enzyme laundry detergents or additives ... which is why better washers with timed dispensers release chlorine bleach late into the wash period, or in the first rinse as do some frontloaders.

 

[lorainfurniture]

Just to clarify, I’m not literally mixing the detergent, I typically use a chlorine pack for prewash and a finish pod or powder for the main wash.

@john L, don’t jinx my dw! Anyway I love the way It looks, and I hope I can get many years out of it. I am curious: upon initial start I hear a bit of a bushing rubbing noise. I don’t know how to explain it, but it sounds like a dry bearing. Can the motor be lubed? If not does anyone have a new or like new motor I can buy for a spare?

If the dw holds up perhaps I can get rid of my boring LG gas stove and get something a bit more exciting. John maybe I can relieve you of one of those micro ovens you have been collecting. Put my name on the thermador. I had a pink ge Americana and it was great.

 

[cycla-fabric]

Buy it with the Exhaust Feature only!

Eugene, you do not want that GE American stove as it doesn't have the exhaust feature on it. My parents had that exact same stove in that exact same color and it didn't have the exhaust feature on it and the front burner with the Sense a temp unit kept going out. I remember my dad replaced the Sense a temp unit 3 times as it kept going out, and then the burner doesn't work. If you cook anything on the back burners the steam collects right above it and drips down on the pots and the steam goes right on up and coats the upper oven door and just makes a mess that you would not like to have every time you cooked. I remember my mom cursed that stove out and was glad to see it go when the front sense a temp burner went out again for the 4th time. If you can find one with the exhaust and no front sense a temp burner, it maybe another story as the venting feature would eliminate the problem of the steam making a big mess.

Doug

 

[steved]

another one?

was perusing Facebook marketplace and spotted this electronic KA dishwasher in an ad for an oven, fridge and dishwasher. In Rochester NY

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[lorainfurniture]

If anyone is near it:

I’d would love (and pay) for the motor and controls. If it is in fact a kdss-21

 

[lorainfurniture]

Update

After about two years ye old kdss-21 started acting up. Turns out the timer motor started flaking out intermittently. Not a huge deal but with 3 kids in the house the dishwasher is a mighty convenient appliance to own and my life would suffer without it.

I ended up purchasing an absurdly expensive kitchenaid, KDTM804KBS and it Is wonderful.

I guess I’m just wrapping up this thread: overall the kdss was always a bit subpar in the cleaning department. I always had to add a bunch of extra detergent and I felt that was wasteful. I can say that despite the “small tub” it was able to fit everything I needed it to on a daily basis.

It was loud. My house is an older Victorian home so no open concept. The dishwasher frequently caused me to turn up the tv at night.

I probably won’t take in another Dw that old again.

 

[appnut]

Eugene, I'm jealous, you have the TOL model with the freeflex rack. How do you like it? How well does it clean very dirty stuff in that third rack? (aka a BobLoad in the 3rd rack).

 

[lorainfurniture]

Free flex rack

The Dw in general is amazing. In the first load it brought my yellow cutting boards back to bright white again. The top rack is so useful it basically negates the need for the middle rack. Loading this Dw is a pleasure and there is tons of room to spare.

My coffee cups are clean again.

I really feel like a snob with this dishwasher. It dries well and the cleaning performance is the best I have seen. Heads and shoulders above my beloved kdss. It made the breakup much easier.

Due to kids and Covid I don’t have guests over but I really can’t see how I’ll ever fill this thing up.

 

[ken]

How long total does it take to do a load in the new Kitchenaid?

 

[appnut]

Eugene, thank you for letting me know. My Kenmore Elite was released to the Sears web site August 2015 and I got mine October 2015. It's pretty much the KDTM804H from that era, but with what I consider a better motorized wash arm and has both bottom only and top only options. The two models released August 2015 were the first models with the Clean Water Wash system/Micro Clean filter system.

 

[lorainfurniture]

Wash times

I haven’t fully experimented but the “tough” with pro dry is around 3 hours. Express wash is 1:10, and with enough buttons pressed I’m reasonably sure I could eclipse 4 hours.

I only run my Dw at night so as long as it’s less than 6 hours I have no complaints

 

[stevet]

Detergent?

Eugene. What detergent are you using? I switched from Finish tablets with the red ball to Cascade complete pods recently and the Cascade brought my cutting boards back to sparkling white which was something the Finish could never do. Also, the inside of my KA tall tub sparkles like it was brand new again whereas the finish was leaving a fine white powder on some of the surfaces.

It does leave a strong odor on everything so I usually use the heavy duty cycle which gives two after rinses and it cut that down considerably.

 

[electronicontrl]

That's the one!!

Eugene, That's the dishwasher I want when I re-do my kitchen in 2021 and replace my Jenn-Air_DWU9905. (from 1992) That dw has a new rack design. You are the ultimate appliance tester. Please keep us posted as to how this machine doing! So please don't close this post. Update it a year from now!

 

[appnut]

Michael, you took the words right out of my mouth!!! As I think I stated, this too is the dishwasher I want when my Kenmore Elite bites the dust. Although I might "settle" for the KDPM704K.

It's KitchenAid FreeFlex BobLoad time!!!!

 

[stevet]

Detergent?

Eugene. What detergent are you using? I switched from Finish tablets with the red ball to Cascade complete pods recently and the Cascade brought my cutting boards back to sparkling white which was something the Finish could never do. Also, the inside of my KA tall tub sparkles like it was brand new again whereas the finish was leaving a fine white powder on some of the surfaces.

It does leave a strong odor on everything so I usually use the heavy duty cycle which gives two after rinses and it cut that down considerably.

 

[lorainfurniture]

Detergent

I use finish “pods” , I’m not sure exactly as we have been using it for quite some time.