New dishwasher detergent dispensers being flooded

[maytaga806]

I wanted to ask if anyone else has noticed this irritating phenomenon in newer dishwashers. You place a pac, or detergent of choice in the dispenser and close it and by the end of the first pre rinse you smell your detergent, look inside and pop the detergent cup to find out that half or nearly all the detergent has been flooded out of the dispenser? This happens every single cycle on my new GE portable. Drives me insane. By the time it’s done with its four or five pre rinses on the auto cycle, there is practically nothing left in the detergent dispenser for the main wash. It’s being flooded severely by the upper wash arm. The seal is still fine, but it’s like the seal isn’t thick enough? The last time I opened it up the other night after the final pre rinse, a little glob of my Cascade pac was left, 90% of it had already been dissolved into the first few pre rinses. First of all, idk why this dishwasher runs so many pre rinses but it’s absurd. Sometimes it does one pre rinse, other times it does four. Chinese built crap, I know.

I noticed this happen on my family’s 2019 Maytag. If you place a pac in the dispenser, it will be completely flushed out in the first pre rinse. Things are just not built right anymore. What’s the point of a dispenser when it’s not working the way intended so? My old whirlpool power clean has a very tight fitting seal around the cup, and has never once flooded during the pre rinse the detergent pac always stays fully in tact up until the main wash when it’s released. This just really irritates me, most loads I want a pre rinse done cause I let dishes get real nasty, and now it’s senseless using the detergent dispenser at this point if it’s just gonna wash away almost half to all the detergent inside of it within the first ten-fifteen mins. This drives me crazy. Maybe I could find something to seal this detergent dispenser better.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

stupid design

I think that was a stupid design. They could've waited until the detergent dispenser was open. What was the point in this?

 

[me]

My Bosch dishwasher's dispenser fills with water during the pre-rinse, it's designed that way to pre-dissolve the dishwasher powder/detergent, but it is not supposed to leak out. Our previous dishwasher, a hotpoint(UK) branded Bosch from the late 80's or early 90s worked the same way.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

detergent dispenser

Okay, I see. I think mine predissolves the detergent without leaking so it becomes a solution without detergent burn.

 

[Chetlaham]

Every single detergent dispenser I've opened before the main wash release was filled with water to the brim. Some like GE Hotpoints I believe even leaked detergent out. However with a modern machine I agree that it shouldn't be leaking out the way it is. I think the best detergent dispenser was the Whirlpool Power Clean.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

close to slide detergent cup

It seems like everybody is using slide to close detergent cups. What were they thinking? It reminds me of a Bosch design which everybody else copied.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

full of water

The only machine I have ever used that does this was my Bosch. My Power Clean, Point Voyager, and Micro Clean do not do this. 

However, the Bosch did not leak out. That sounds like a bad seal.

 

[mattl]

My KA has a rubber seal around the dispenser door.

 

[combo52]

Leaking detergent dispenser

If it’s really leaking out and the detergent is getting quite diluted by the time it opens I would be complaining to GE big time, there’s something wrong with the dispenser.

There is a rubber seal on your dispenser, but it may not be made properly get them to replace the dispenser would be the first step unless they have another better solution.

John

 

[egress]

Sliding detergent dispensers

They don't get blocked by errant plates or large dishes. several times I recall our old point voyagers didn't open fully because it hit a platter or something and then the wash would finish without so much as an attempt to dissolve the full quantity of detergent, necessitating a redo of the entire cycle. The sliding design reduces or eliminates this issue, and I much prefer it though it has a chance to get stuck if you use pods with a plastic skin, which can partially dissolve into a glue. not an issue for us, we use powder.

 

[DADoES]

 
No trouble with this 20yo.  Current models have the same dispenser.

1) Loaded, 2) closed, 3) after prewash, 4) after prerinse, 5) after main wash fill.

 

[lavamat_jon]

The tablets have always stayed dry in the dispenser in my previous Miele and Bosch dishwasher, and my current Siemens (Bosch) dishwasher. The Siemens and previous Bosch dishwashers have the sliding dispensers.

The Mieles had a prewash section with holes so that prewash detergent could be rinsed out and dispensed if you were using powder.

 

[Chetlaham]

I want to ask- how practical would it be to build dishwashers without a detergent dispenser? I'm think a simple molded dish would solve a common failure point?

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Surprisingly, they were actually

Some dishwasher that had a little cup/divot To put detergent into, The one that I used to have it was made in Israel, and it went straight into a hot main wash if you wanted to do a pre-wash, you would set the machine to the final rinse and let it pre Rinse, it did a pretty good job drying As well, considering it used The same element For heating water and drying dishes, that was the “Lemair pony” Dishwasher, It worked good until I Time travelled to the 50s and moved that one on

 

[gelaundry4ever]

to egress

My dad's Kenmore has a sliding detergent dispenser. The rinse aid dispenser opens up when you lift the dispenser lid. It's like a retake on Bosch. And yes, I noticed that even though plates and platters are in the front, the detergent dispenser still fully opens.

 

[lavamat_jon]

Cheatlaham,

Completely impractical, if you want a cycle with a prewash.

Some table top dishwashers here(mostly Midea made I think) don’t do a prewash and have a tablet cup moulded in the interior of the door, often with a window.

One could argue dishes by hand would eliminate even more common failure points.

 

[petek]

Jerome, perhaps your dads Kenmore is a rebadged Bosch. I recall the Kenmore Elite being a Bosch

 

[Chetlaham]

Well, I beg to ask- do you really need a prewash cycle?

 

[gelaundry4ever]

my dad's dishwasher

My dad's Kenmore in Killeen is a Whirlpool built unit. Mine is a Bosch built Kenmore. My apartment dishwasher does a great job. I am amazed at how powerful the spray pressure is, even at low pressure.

 

[combo52]

Do dishwashers really need to do a pre-wash

Reply number seventeen , Oh my God every time you ask one of your crazy questions I feel bad for your poor parents. Are either of them still alive.

But seriously a pre-wash was a great advance dishwashers look at what it does. It warms up the dishes, quickly rinses away the heavy soil and then it may be followed by rinse or go into the main wash and release additional detergent ( Detergent should be used in the pre-wash also ).

You would not want to heat the first pre-wash on a dishwasher to around 150°. It would smell bad because of all the food in the water. It takes a lot of electrical energy and it takes a lot of time, dishwasher manufactures discovered the dishwashers work a lot better with a pre-wash with detergent and then a wash with more detergent. There’s all kinds of variations on time and duration, but it really works a lot better.

Some days Chet I wonder if you pay attention to anything you probably will come back and ask the same question again

 

[logixx]

Out of curiosity, I did check the dispenser in my Bosch after the warm pre-wash and it was still dry.

Seems many of these parts are made by Bitron.

https://www.bitron.com/en/industries/home-appliance/dishwashers

 

[Chetlaham]

<blockquote>
<span style="color: #ff9900;">"You would not want to heat the first pre-wash on a dishwasher to around 150°. It would smell bad because of all the food in the water."</span>

 

 

</blockquote>
Well, I don't recall many complaining about their Whirlpool power clean modules which had the option of forcing a thermal hold in the first pre-wash. You talk without taking real world examples or successes into account.


 

I'm listening to the rest- a short prewash is better with loose soils and those consisting of tomato sauce.

 

[maytaga806]

Combo, thank you, I will say something to GE about it cause I’m very fed up with it. This is not normal. As I said before, I know mine isn’t the only newer machine that does this. The new sliding dispenser Whirlpool has been using gets completely flooded as well as it has in my parents Maytag. Also, the seal is totally fine on my GE, but I feel the seal should be much thicker. I just cannot stand the Auto cycle on this machine, it does four pre rinses every single time which is total overkill. I open it up after the first pre rinse and the dishes are already totally clean, thanks to the detergent being flooded out too of course, but it’s a very capable machine that is programmed ridiculously.

About the pre rinse topic, I think what makes the most sense is having an option for a cycle that provides a pre rinse and a cycle that does not provide one, like quick wash or light so that when you don’t have a very heavily soiled cycle it won’t be necessary to do a pre rinse, but you still have that option to have a pre rinse on other cycles for heavier soiled loads. If you don’t want a pre rinse, don’t use the cycles that provide them. Dishwashers have been using pre rinse cycles for longer than I can think back to, and they are very helpful in most loads. I think that concludes that subject pretty well. Options are what gives everybody what they want and need and they can choose what is best for their dishes.

 

[lavamat_jon]

“ About the pre rinse topic, I think what makes the most sense is having an option for a cycle that provides a pre rinse ”

Some of the European dishwashers do. The Miele G6310SC I had allowed you to set a cold pre rinse or warm pre wash (which they called soak) as permanent functions in the setting menus, and I believe the newer ones still do under the Extra Clean programmable function. Bosch/Siemens/Neff force a prewash on the auto cycle if you select the speed option.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Well I have days where mine works perfectly right and days where the tablet does not dissolve leaving a trail of its innards along the door downward…

— Dave

 

[logixx]

I've had my Bosch skip the pre-wash on auto + speed option if it seemed the water clean enough. That being said, I usually use a cycle without pre-wash and substitute it with an extra interim rinse via the Shine & Dry zeolite dry option.

 

[me]

I've also had problems with tablets not dissolving, it was caused on mine by the sliding flap catching on the edge of the tablet so it only part opened.

I'm now much more careful how I position the tablet in the dispenser, mine slides horizontally though so I just have to angle down the compressed solid tablets so the leading edge doesn't catch and make sure PVA ones are well down into the bottom of the dispenser.