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Offline franksolich

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primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« on: January 18, 2012, 11:53:08 PM »
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1158300

Oh my.

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hedgehog (25,839 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

Dishwasher heater - my dishwasher just isn't working as well as it used to. The heating coil in the bottom is putting out some heat, but I'm suspicious it's not heating the water to the same temperature as before. Any comments?

The other possibility - the pump isn't putting out as much pressure as before. We're in a hard water area - could there be buildup in the pump?

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seabeyond (67,140 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

1. ya. i have had about two years of dishwasher hell

dumped the old one that was not that old for a new one. 3 plumbers, a couple diswasher repairmen, 2 city of amarillo water, and the water softening guys.....

i have the same issue.

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Hassin Bin Sober (5,045 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

2. Someone posted a thead about cleaning your coil.

If you get in to repairs, and are handy and want to try repairing it yourself, you might want to try these guys if you need a live person to walk you through it:

www.justanswer.com

I had good luck with them walking me through a couple furnace diagnosis and repair for $15 bucks a pop.

Of course, you can probably find a repair manual on-line (free, don't pay for one). www.appliencejunk.com had a bunch of manuals on file. I went the repair manual route on an LG dryer I fixed.

Replacing parts on these units is not that hard if you get steered in the right direction. Not paying a service call fee helps weigh the decision toward repair rather than junking it and replacing.

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Tesha (19,381 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

3. Dishwashers are pretty simple.

1. They fill the tank with an inch or two of water,
2. The pump sprays the water around, and
3. They drain the tank.

Fancier models have a heater that, on some cycles, can heat the water hotter than the incoming water.

So, what can go wrong besides leaks? In no particular order:

1. The jets in the wash arms get plugged up, perhaps with bits of food or paper. Sometimes the wash arms themselves get blocked, either by crud build-up or by things you've loaded.

2. The filter(s) that lead to the pump get clogged.

3. The incoming water may not be hot enough.

In some dishwashers, you can remove the wash arms and inspect them for clogs and maybe flush them out in your kitchen sink.

The pumps are centrifugal designs and unless the inlet filter to the pump was really letting nasty, abrasive crud through, the pump's probably still working okay. If your dishwasher has a garbage grinder in it, the garbage grinder blade eventually does wear away, but only after a long, long time (unless you load a lot of sand into your dishwasher).

You can judge whether the water's hot enough by (carefully) opening the door during an early wash cycle and seeing how things inside feel.

120° F (normal water heater temperature) is just about too hot to stay in contact with. If your dishwasher has a water-heating cycle, that would be more like 140° for normal wash cycles and that would be too hot to touch.

At the same time, see if there's about the same amount of water in the bottom of the tank as there used to be.

An inch or two, with probably at least an inch below the bottom of the door.

Is there a rinse agent dispenser? Is it still working?

We've had direct or indirect experience with about five dishwashers so far and of the three that died, we've always found that it's leaks that kill them off.

In one case, the porcelained steel tank of the KitchenAid finally rusted beyond repair. In another case, the plastic tank would never have failed but the main seal of the pump motor gave out and the cost of the repair didn't really seem worth it at the age of the machine. And in an old (I think) GE, the drain valve started leaking and again, it was too old to be worth fixing.

Other than leaks, you can almost always get 'em workin' again.

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hedgehog (25,839 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

5. Looking around since I posted - I think my dishwasher spray arm is plugged with loose tea leaves.

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Tesha (19,381 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

6. It's amazing what can get stuck in the nozzles.

And don't forget to check back again later when more crud manages to wash out into the nozzles.

Our nemesis used to be paper from the occasional glass bottle label that would wash off. The labels would be too well-adhered to remove by hand, but the dishwasher would work them off and then clog the jets with papier mâché.

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jeff47 (2,625 posts) Profile Journal Send DU Mail Ignore

4. One quick cleaning tip

Put a cup of vinegar in it, and run a cycle. Do this without soap and without dishes in it. Helps to remove any soap build-up, and loosen any hard water deposits.

If you do have soap build-up (the walls feel chalky or slimy), then you need to use less soap. You don't have to completely fill the detergent cups.
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2012, 03:05:29 AM »
My dishwasher is 52 years old and has never given me one minute of trouble...also brings home a check and cooks. :-) They don't make dishwashers like they used too. :-)
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Offline Celtic Rose

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2012, 06:45:27 AM »
My dishwasher consists of two hands and a dishcloth.  It is pretty resistant to breaking  :p
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Offline vesta111

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2012, 07:38:28 AM »
Quote from: franksolich on January 18, 2012, 11:53:08 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1158300

Oh my.


Some great ideas on keeping expensive appliances in tip top condition.

We have a filter at the bottom of ours we need to clean out, remove and wash out stuff that is causing a problem, Vinegar is much cheaper and safer with septic tanks then the chemicals sold to clean dish washers. 

Anything that one uses once a day needs maintenance same as your car.  We spend hundreds of dollars for items and then ignore them, everything from a furnice to the cooking stove needs maintenance to keep it working.

I was looking at new stoves and a woman next to me told me the brand I was looking at was no good. She had bought one only 7-8 years ago and the darn thing died.   I asked her if she had used foil on the botton of the oven and she said yes, then I asked what kind of oven cleaner she used.   She laughed in my face, "my stove is self cleaning, I never had to clean it."   

I kept an eye out for house fires for a few weeks wondering when her dryer would cause a fire, clean the vents, heck no------

Lesson in life for me, grandpa after using a tool cleaned it off soap and water and oiled it.   If you he told me take care of your tools, they will take care of you.

Liberals just buy stuff and replace it when their negligence causes it to stop working.  Then they wonder why they are buying shoddy stuff with little life span.

Conservatives on the other hand may be using a item, still in good shape their parents bought 30 years ago or more. Why is this that Mom has a furnice she had checked every year that is 50 years old and the neighbors who ---cannot afford to do the same just put $10,000 to replace a 20 year old furnice they never paid one bit of attention to.

These are not socks to be darned and kept. Anything costing money has to be maintained, One can maintain a hair cut, go to the gym to maintain their body but it seems the Liberal have a throw away society.   The most expensive items in life are ignored and perhaps this is why so many of their children get the same treatment.





   
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Offline jukin

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2012, 10:56:36 AM »
If the environmentals have their way there will be no more dish washing machines except for the elites. Another DUmbass hypocrite, imagine.

My first guess would be that thanks to environmentals phosphates have been removed from all dish soaps. Phosphates are the surfactants that made such soaps work well. Unintended consequence is people now wash dishes twice using double the water to get their dishes clean.

If a Liberal is for something, anything it will retard society.
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Offline FiddyBeowulf

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2012, 11:03:25 AM »
Why do brides wear white? The dishwasher should match the sink and the refrigerator.  :rimshot:
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Offline jukin

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2012, 11:05:42 AM »
Quote from: FiddyBeowulf on January 19, 2012, 11:03:25 AM
Why do brides wear white? The dishwasher should match the sink and the refrigerator.  :rimshot:

Why are women's feet so small?

So they can stand closer to the stove. :rimshot:
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When you are the beneficiary of someone’s kindness and generosity, it produces a sense of gratitude and community.

When you are the beneficiary of a policy that steals from someone and gives it to you in return for your vote, it produces a sense of entitlement and dependency.

Offline shadeaux

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2012, 11:22:06 AM »
DUmmies need that dishwasher or they'll end up with a Warpy kitchen.  You know they never clean.
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Offline sybilll

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Re: primitive's dishwasher doesn't work
« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2012, 12:44:11 AM »
Quote from: jukin on January 19, 2012, 10:56:36 AM
If the environmentals have their way there will be no more dish washing machines except for the elites. Another DUmbass hypocrite, imagine.

My first guess would be that thanks to environmentals phosphates have been removed from all dish soaps. Phosphates are the surfactants that made such soaps work well. Unintended consequence is people now wash dishes twice using double the water to get their dishes clean.

If a Liberal is for something, anything it will retard society.

You are spot on about the phosphates.  I have a great handyman who is more honest than he is greedy.  When I suspected something was wrong with my dishwasher, he told me to buy a bag of phosphates to mix with my dishwasher liquid, and voile' problem solved.  He also had a long laundry list of the new regulations that are making his livelihood next to impossible. 
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