Maytag (Point Voyager Pics) After Citric Acid Cleaning

[mark_wpduet]

So my Maytag is about a year and a half old now and I ran to longest cycles with the main detergent cup full of citric acid. It's an awesome dishwasher and I've never had a problem with it cleaning. I use finish powerball and a splash of bleach and jetdry in the rinse aid and everything comes out great. I've always noticed the screen under the lower wash arm has always had sort of a skim over it. After this citric acid wash, the screen looks really clean EXCEPT the very edges of it (if you notice this in the pics) What is this? Whatever has been on the screen has not affected the washes at all. Should this be cleaned by me and if so, is it easy to take off and clean? I know you can unscrew the lower wash arm but I have never gotten beyond that point for fear that I would screw something up that works great.

 

[cam2s]

As long as water can circulate through the filter and back into the sump I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes crud can build up on the underside from accumulated food soils, but as long as the spray holes on the underside of the wash arm are clear they should backwash it reasonably well. The filter does come out fairly easily though, you unscrew the wash arm and lift it out. There are 4 torx screws that hold the filter/sump grate in place. One of them is under the feed tube for the upper wash arm though. You'll have unclip or unscrew the feed arm depnding on how yours if set up, then twist the feed arm clockwise and it will pop off the main water feed revealing the 4th screw. Then you can lift the sump grate out and from there just pop the filter off the top of it. If you do clean the screen be careful with it as the mesh is kinda delicate, breaking it will affect the performance of your machine.

Cameron

 

[johnb300m]

Screen Edge Crud

That stuff was always there on my parents' old GE XL.
It was usually small amounts of food deposits, minerals and lint. The cleaning jets just couldn't get to the very edges, but as long as the majority of the filter screen is clear, it's good to go!

 

[mark_wpduet]

OK thanks

I'm going to leave it as is because the screen looks a lot better than it did before, and that mesh screen does feel delicate so I won't mess with taking it apart.

 

[aquarius1984]

Splash of bleach? that sounds interesting. which part of the cycle do you add the bleach?

 

[mark_wpduet]

CleanteamofNY user

on here gave that tip. He just said he adds a splash of bleach to the door before he starts the cycle. When I say splash, I mean, like a shot glass worth, then close the door, start the cycle. By the time the main wash starts and the finish powerball is released, most of the bleach has been washed away.

When I started doing this, I could tell a HUGE difference in how much cleaner the interior of the dishwasher looked and it had that super clean sanitized smell at the end of the wash more so than if no bleach had been used. I was a little skeptical doing this at first, but it works GREAT sanitizing dishes and keep the inside of the dishwasher cleaner. But I wanted to to the citric acid (or, what I used was diet lemonade drink mix) to clean any hard water deposits. It shined like new when the cycle was done, but I noticed that screen had a little bit on the edges, which is my original reason for posting.

 

[frigilux]

Did your Maytag have a nice lemonade scent, Mark?

 

[mark_wpduet]

during the wash yes

but not at the end.....I tried something else today because I ran a load. I have this STPP that I bought a LONG time ago and it's got to be at least 3 or 4 yrs old. It's about 1/2 remaining so I added some in with the finish powerball. I still added a bit of bleach in the beginning. After the wash was over, and I opened the door to let things flash dry, there was hardly a water spot to be found on any of the stainless steel. It wasn't really that bad before, but you would tell phosphates were added by the look of the machine at the end. I guess they still work even as old as this batch I have is.

 

[joeypete]

I believe that STPP eventually morphs into TSP as it ages?? I know TSP is what is recommended in the dishwasher...but not washing machine. Where as STPP can be used in both.

I still put STPP in every load in my dishwasher. I think it really makes a difference in getting rid of any residue. My dishwasher looks brand new inside. Granted it's only a year old, but! lol

 

[mark_wpduet]

Mine does too

except for that small screen under the lower wash arm..on the edges.....That's why I'm going to start using phosphates again to see if that will go away. It's washing and cleaning great, but that screen crud bugs me a little.

 

[combo52]

Adding Bleach At The Beginning Of The DW Cycle

Can help, but the way I get the benefits of bleach is by putting liquid DW detergent in the first cup that contains bleach, in addition to the benefits of bleach you also get a boost to the overall cleaning of the DW by having detergent in the first wash. I also put a tablet in the main wash cup and close it.

 

I have been using Aldis Reeva DW gel for the prewash, it is only about $2.50 for a 75oz bottle.

 

At my partners house I have used nothing but the Aldi detergent in both cups of our 1987 WP Power Clean DW for the last two years and it works great, but we have a water softener system there so you don't need the more expensive tablets etc.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I haven't used GEL

dishwasher detergent in FOREVER! How can gel have chlorine bleach in it and no phosphates? I thought all modern dishwasher detergents had to have enzymes since phosphates were not allowed. I did not think you could have bleach/enzymes in a detergent as that would cancel it out...I realize you put a tab in the main wash, but most people probably who use gel would just use the gel and that's it. I wonder how the gel cleans if it doesn't have enzymes?

 

[askolover]

I do the same thing as Combo

in my 1994 KDI23.  I'll fill the first wash cup about half full of some gel or powder with bleach in it and put a tablet or pod in the main wash cup.  I'd use gel in both cups but I've found that the spray is so powerful in the KA that the gel gets washed out by water getting under the cap!  This cap doesn't have a gasket under it (that I can see) like the Jetclean does.  I did the same thing in the Jetclean with gel and a tab.  We also have a water softener...and I think some of the tabs are too strong for softened water. My Mother uses gel with bleach in her KDI23 too.  No complaints from her for 22 years!

 

"I wonder how the gel cleans if it doesn't have enzymes?"

Very well!

 

Combo, I'll have to look for that at Aldi.  I don't go there much so I'm not familiar with all their stuff.

 

[mark_wpduet]

What kind of gel do you guys use?

and, does all gel have chlorine bleach?

Thanks

 

[magic_clean]

Mark

I think this version of Cascade is the chlorine (no enzyme) formula. It should say so on the ingredient listing label.

Cascade Gel | Cascade Detergent

Cascade dishwasher gels provide an exceptional clean on the toughest grease stains. Find the Cascade product in gel form that's right for you.

cascadeclean.com

 

[mark_wpduet]

Interesting

I wonder how if it's phosphate free and enzyme free it cleans dishes? I thought you had to have one or the other based on what I've read. I read the label and it does contain bleach. I knew the gels used to have bleach back in the day. You could smell it but it also had phosphates. I may try adding a little of this to the prewash with finish powerball in the main cup.....but I'm thinking that would essentially be the same thing as adding a splash of bleach when you start the wash.

 

[combo52]

Liquid DW Detergent With Bleach

The main ingredient in any product that is used to clean dishes in a DW is DETERGENT, phosphates, bleach or enzymes alone will do very little good on there own.

 

[askolover]

some Sun DW gels

have bleach.  I looked at a bottle today at Big Lots and it listed "contains chlorine bleach" on the back.  My bottle of Palmolive Eco has it as does my Cascade with Clorox (it has the clorox logo on the label).   I have the Cascade powder with the clorox logo on the box too.

http://cascadeclean.com/en-us/products/by-line/cascade-gel-with-the-power-of-clorox-dishwasher-detergent-lemon-scent

 

[iej]

The downside is those bleachy old formula detergents will fade patterns and designs on your crockery.
It does remove stains but the whole purpose of modern day detergent is the ability to do that without chlorine.

I have some old dishes that were handed down from my grandmother and I keep them largely for sentimental reasons but they'd are bleach damaged from 1970s/80s dishwashers.

She would have used Super XM and probably old versions of Finish and Sun powders and gels that were very bleachy formulas.

If your machine is running hot enough you shouldn't have any issues with buildup.

I suspect running endless Eco cycles will cause crazy gunking up in dishwashers. It's not something I've ever tried !