Year old Whirlpool dishwasher, anyone else have one, opinions?

[ultralux88]

I’ll be honest by saying I don’t find this poor thing terribly impressive, it gets the dishes mediocre clean, things can come out a bit spotty and or filmy at times, and I’ve thoroughly cleaned it out with LemiShine, but still it’s jot what I’ve come to expect from a dishwasher, and everyone has noticed the Kitchenaid gets things cleaner. And I know the Whirlpool we have at home does way better than this new one too. Is something wrong with this machine? Or is this just how modern dishwashers are?? Anyone else have something similar, and if so what do you think? I think someone may have filled the Jet Dry with vinegar (not me!!) because they read online that it’s a ‘natural’ alternative to the real thing, this may be contributing to the lack of decent results?

 

[appnut]

Murando531 has the next model up, both have about the same feature set.  His give excellent result.  My Kenmore Elite equivalent gives outstanding results.  Maybe it's not getting enough water per fill period.  What temperature is the water heat set?  Is the hot tap run first to flush cold water form the line before starting it?  What cycle/options are used?

 

[stevet]

Great questions, Bob

I picked up a used machine like the one pictured and just hooked it up in the garage this past weekend and had it run the 1 hour cycle to see how well it would do with 2 days worth of dishware and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the results. I used Great Value powdered detergent, no jet dry to see how it would dry without any rinse aid.
Nothing was pre-rinsed and some of the dishes had dried egg on them, and some had left over pancake syrup and bits of pancake on them.

I did not run the water first, but the machine is hooked up to the slop sink in the garage which is right next to the hot water heater which is set at 130 degrees.
And my water is mechanically softened as well.

Everything came out clean and spotless including the silverware on the door which was very well packed. Not much had any food on it to start with but they came out better than my Kitchenaid usually does. I was surprised at the pressure that tiny little pump develops and my machine runs both arms at the same time. No diverter mechanism in it.

People have to realize that these use an even lower operating temperature than the previous generation(Point Voyager) machines did. IIRC, the 1 hr cycle runs at 105 Degrees and no more that 120. So I think much of the credit may have to go to the fact that it was getting hotter water than it would have produced itself.

It is far from quiet and comes only with a think white insulating blanket that only covers the top and sides. It starts and stops frequently to sample the state of the water and you can tell when it has different water fill levels in it as the pump almost sounds like it is cavitating. The spec sheet indicates that the fill levels are not all the same.
There are a number of water changes during the 1hr wash so I also think that aids in getting the dirty water out and the clean results and lack of any residue on the dishes and glasses.
I have not tried anything with burned on food. The worst think in the load was day old pancake batter suck on the inside of the mixing bowl, which came out perfectly clean in the top rack.
The 1 hr cycle only dries for 13 minutes but dried the outsides of everything well. There was more water on top of the cups an glasses compared to my KA but I reserve judgement on it until I can run a normal cycle which is longer and has a longer dry cycle.

So far, I would say I am impressed. I am sure the stainless steel tank as shown above will be much quieter but as I can see in my own KA it can be an unforgiving material if you hat to see any lime scale or other water issues when the machine finished washing and drying.

 

[ultralux88]

Well when I run the machine, it run the hot tap, I don’t know what temperature but it’s good and hot, I don’t suspect anyone else bothers to purge the hot water, I tell them to run it on sensor with all the wash options selected (high temp wash, target clean, etc) and to not scrape or rinse the plates, just remove and clean the filter every few uses. I believe they tend to run it on the normal cycle with nothing but the heated dry option, and they, being the Lily livered dish rinsers, tend to rinse the dishes til there’s nothing left on them! Ugh! It should still give clean dishes though... I’ll have to get back to you on the not getting enough water per fill, this might be a possibility. I have a few ideas, but how does one check this out? I know for a good while the person who installed it didn’t understand what was going on the the standpipe under the sink and subsequently connected the drain hose to the garbage disposal without an air gap or looping the hose up high to prevent water draining back into the machine! So there may have been other plumbing faux-pas unknowingly committed on the hot water supply side.

 

[iowabear]

My Whirlpool is a few years older but will also only heat to 105 on the normal cycle unless the "hi temp" wash option is selected.

 

The normal cycle without the heated wash doesn't do a great job.  But it does OK with it (and also using the most expensive detergent - the cascade platinum pacs.)

 

I would rather have a vintage DW that used more water and a more powerful motor.

 

[jakeseacrest]

I have an Amana that I think has the same wash system and I'm impressed with what it cleans. I don't rinse and always use Finish Quantum pacs. Normal and High Temp is my go to cycle but I often use Heavy also. One hour wash has never let me down either

 

[ultralux88]

It seems we have a problem to get to the bottom of...

 

[re563]

I have the model down from this WDF760. I love it!!!. I did have to recently change from Finish to Cascade because of Texas having hard water. I mostly run the Normal or Sensor Cycle. Cycle times can go anywhere from 2hr 40mins to 3hrs 10mins depending on the soil level. I don't rinse, but scrap my dishes. The only option I truly use is heated dry. I have used target clean a couple of times, but I have also found that it does a great job with out it.

Here is my link

New Dishwasher (R.I.P. Weezer)

A year and a half ago after living with a Hotpoint BOL HDA2000 From the 90's, I went to my landlord to ask if I could get a better dishwasher since I cook and need something that would clean. He graciously said yes and told me to let him know once I got it, that he would have his guys put it in...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[panthera]

I've put about 30 similar machines

Into rental units the past six months and they wash well.

One must prescrape the dishes, of course and they won't remove baked on anything - but, then, nothing built today actually cleans dirty pots and pans, that's what you're for. We no longer build dishwashers for anything but moderately dirty dishes.

This leads me to guess that your machine has a problem.

With hot water and a good detergent, even the least expensive machine in this line up (Amana for about $279) cleans quite well. 

 

You know what to check, something is probably blocked, but I'd start with a non-obvious test. Put several glasses in the top rack, facing up. Run the wash cycle for a minute after it has filled. How full are the glasses with water? Are any empty? 

 

[lakewebsterkid]

105* wash

This temperature will be effective for a highly concentrated wash solution over a very long period of time. I do not feel that this is high enough for a normal cycle though. Make sure to use the high temp wash for sure! As everyone else has mentioned, make sure that everything is cleaned out well. I almost wonder if detergent pac residue is in the sump??

 

[ultralux88]

Some sort of residue in there. I’ll do the cup test next time I’m there. I might take off the wash arm and have a look in there too just to see. The filter area is clean, and I ran the filter through the kitchenaid, there was some greasy hooping it, and a film on the dishes and inside of the tub. It took several long cycles with LemiShine to get the film completely gone, and it hasn’t returned, but the wash quality is abysmal. I assumed the film was just a buildup of food residue but now I’m not sure. The detergent they were using was liquid cascade, the some powdered cascade, and now Kirkland tablets. Used all 3 of this in the Kitchenaid and it got everything sparkling clean, so I don’t think it’s the detergent, and the water temperature seems to be more than adequate for it as well. So I’m thinking either the Whirlpool is not getting adequate water, is clogged or severely dirtied.