Does you dishwasher really wash dishes?
- Thread starter Gary Allan
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2 things I've found that help imeasurably;
1)Run the water at the sink until it gets hot, before starting the dishwasher. A home dishwasher does not use that much water, so it won't get hot while filling, and it's heating coil is not designed to get cold water hot.
2) Use Cascade Complete. This stuff really works well.
1)Run the water at the sink until it gets hot, before starting the dishwasher. A home dishwasher does not use that much water, so it won't get hot while filling, and it's heating coil is not designed to get cold water hot.
2) Use Cascade Complete. This stuff really works well.
1) Yep, I do that. I think it was mentioned in the owner's manual of our family's Kenmore Elite.
2) I use Cascade Pure Rinse Formula, it costs much less and works just as well I've found.
3) Our family runs our's every night, but we use the Quick Wash cycle and Air Dry.
4) I prewash the dishes prior to putting them in since they are often very greasy, and I use the quick wash cycle. If I had used the Normal Cycle, I would not prewash the dishes since it'd probably be unnecessary.
Michael
A plugged air vent in the drain line can cause that on some dishwashers. It can also keep them from cleaning properly for some mysterious reason.quote:
Originally posted by Patman:
Ours seems to be on it's last legs too (and it's only five years old) Yesterday it didn't drain out all of the water from the bottom even when the cycle fully completed.
Find a stray dog to lick the dishes first, they really sparkle later!
Speaking of bad dogs - the whole drain vent tube thing at the sink with a little breather cover - is just begging for a redesign.....I mean one little piece from some Wendy's chili or a chunk of a cornichon or a kalamata pit and that sucker is spewing more than frat boys on a Friday night...all over the sink and counter...
When we had a Lab, her nick name was pre-wash
I wish mine had done that. It's failure mode was just that the dishwasher didn't work very well anymore. I almost bought a new on one time before I found out about the problem and cleaned the vent. It worked like new after that.
I've saved a few other people big repair bills/new dishwasher bills since then. It's not a rare problem.
I had an appliance repairman comment that most people use their dishwashers as dish sanitizers...that was me. I changed my ways but it really freaked my family members..."you can't put DIRTY dishes in there, the dishes aren't going to get clean..."
We now use Cascade Complete and that seems to go a long way to helping it do a good job.
Heck, it even got the cat off and old glue trap...oops, wrong thread.
We now use Cascade Complete and that seems to go a long way to helping it do a good job.
Heck, it even got the cat off and old glue trap...oops, wrong thread.
Amen to that Pablo!
The visual that goes along with that is ..um...really something!
I prefer two full sized sinks over a dish washer. Counters that are designed to have a dishwasher used primarily drive me nuts because I don't have enough to wash in the machine and only having 1 sink wastes a lot of water.
Steve
Steve
Naw - she just lays around getting fat.
We have the $200 fridgeare and it cleans the dishes quite well. Some stuck on food in pots and pans may not come clean, but dishes do just fine. We use Cascade Complete and the water heater option too. The main problem is the dish arangement forces bowls to cover each other.
BTW most industrial models are mainly for sanitizing and aren't mean to clean anyway.
-T
BTW most industrial models are mainly for sanitizing and aren't mean to clean anyway.
-T
Wife won't let our dog do the pre-wash. My aunt's lab does... and though she approves, he prefers to do it when we're in the other room watching tv. When there's a quiet spot in the program we'll hear a "tinka-tinka-tink" from the kitchen.
How he weaves around the steak knifes, pointing up, shows his talent.
I throw all the grimey pots and pans in ours. If there are noodles or whatever baked on afterwards I don't mind chipping them off. It sure beats the greasy feel of how they are before the wash. It has the middle sprayer thingie which sure helps.
I use electrasol orange or walmart's cheap stuff. My dishwasher is portable so I run the water to hot before hooking it up. My well water is basically as pure as Poland Spring; I live between two of their bottling plants. I use the same water without reservation in my car radiators.
I throw all the grimey pots and pans in ours. If there are noodles or whatever baked on afterwards I don't mind chipping them off. It sure beats the greasy feel of how they are before the wash. It has the middle sprayer thingie which sure helps.
I use electrasol orange or walmart's cheap stuff. My dishwasher is portable so I run the water to hot before hooking it up. My well water is basically as pure as Poland Spring; I live between two of their bottling plants. I use the same water without reservation in my car radiators.
Those things are against code now in my city. They used to be quite popular, though. Now, the drain line must run directly to the drain pipe or disposer.
As for the way it washes, mine does great with two exceptions: pots in which meat has been boiled and gravy. Gravy is nasty. If I don't rinse it off first, I'll find hunks of it all over everything when the cycle's done. As for the boiled meat thing, I just run them through and wash what I have to by hand later. Makes it easier that way. Mine's a Kenmore elite, BTW. It's nice and quiet, too. I run it everyday, full or not. The coffee pot NEEDS to be clean in the morning.
We have a Sears unit, about 10 years old, it works fine. Main thing is you need one with a sprayer in the middle too, not just the bottom.
My ex-wife built a modular house (that I basically pay for *cough*cough*, but I digress), came with a cheapie unit that just sprays from the bottom and doesn't clean anything.
My ex-wife built a modular house (that I basically pay for *cough*cough*, but I digress), came with a cheapie unit that just sprays from the bottom and doesn't clean anything.
??? Most codes require those air gaps, due to concerns about cross-connection between the potable water system and the sewage system. The air gap prevents any siphonage.
Even if codes do no require them, running the drain line directly to the drain pipe or the disposer is a really stupid idea for reasons which you'll quickly find out if said drain line or disposer ever gets clogged!
I don't know what to tell you, but I went to replace one of those in my wife's (then girlfriend's) condo. The guy at Home Depot stated that they couldn't legally sell them in my city. I had to go to another city to get a replacement. I don't see how there could be cross contamination, though.
Since most dishwashers run directly to the garbage disposal and have an airvent in the line, please clarify what you meant.
You and Brian may be looking at opposite ends of the same elephant.
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