Faline Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Apparently I don't get it. Yesterday dh and I took ours apart and scrubbed it out....eeewwwww. Major yucko. I have been washing dishes by hand ever since. There was stuff GROWING in there. I just can't handle that. Ok, so we haven't been rinsing any dishes. I do all the pots and pans and big things by hand. We run the dishwasher once a day. We have hard water. I use powdered detergent (probably too much of it sometimes, esp when dh and the dc fill it). About once a month I run it empty with citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar. That used to get it nice and clean, but lately it hasn't done the job. Also there are always a few cups that don't get clean but have some gunk in them, like it wasn't rinsing well enough or something. WHAT is wrong? I HATE scrubbing goop off the walls, parts, etc. It is just...too much. Is this a normal part of dishwasher life? Are my expectations too high? Enlighten me! (Thank you!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I have never had to clean the inside of my dishwasher. I don't pre-rinse dishes, either. How old is your dishwasher? It sounds like you may need a new one. I use Cascade detergent. The tabs work the best, but I've never had those kind of problems with the liquid, either. I haven't used the powdered version in years, so I'm not sure about results with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 My recommendation is to rinse your dishes and silver ware off before putting them in the dishwasher. That way you won't get all the gunk inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 I forgot to say that the dishwasher is 5 years old. Guess we'll have to rinse. I always resisted doing that because I thought you shouldn't have to with a dishwasher. Guess I was wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I have never had to scrub the walls or anything -- the inside always comes out sparking clean, and we only scrub things that will dry on like cheese or oatmeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ria Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Some dishwashers are really lousy and you do have to rinse the dishes beforehand. The only dishwashers that are capable of handling real food chunks have a built-in garbage disposal in them. One thing I'd check - is the hot water line working? It almost sounds as if your dishwasher isn't getting enough hot water in it. Ria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 One thing I'd check - is the hot water line working? It almost sounds as if your dishwasher isn't getting enough hot water in it. Ria I dunno about the hot water. I know our sink water gets reeeaalll hot. Dh can check into this. Thanks! I have never had to scrub the walls or anything -- the inside always comes out sparking clean, and we only scrub things that will dry on like cheese or oatmeal. Yep, that's the way I pictured a dishwasher working. I am none too happy with mine right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I'd love to know the answer myself. Ours is only 7 years old, and has the gunk problem too. AND it has a food grinder feature so you supposedly don't have to pre-wash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 Is there a filter that needs to be cleaned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) When I first stopped working to stay home with my children almost 7 years ago, I decided I should read up on housekeeping and child rearing. I figured that if that was going to be my new job, I should be well educated about it and try to do the best I could with it, even though I'm not naturally a good housekeeper and I don't enjoy cleaning or doing most housekeeping functions. (I do enjoy washing and folding laundry and cooking, but that's about it. I don't enjoy putting laundry away). I read 20+ housekeeping books. Most of them had nothing in them that I hadn't already figured out, although housekeeping isn't one of my strengths. I did find 3 useful tips that I hadn't known before, and one of them concerns cleaning your dishwasher! 1. You are supposed to clean your dishwasher monthly with vinegar. (Not in the book, but I've found that it needs it at least twice a month in a hard water area.) To do this, you run your dishwasher empty with 1 cup of vinegar in the bottom. You fill a 2 cup glass container with 1 cup of vinegar and wedge it upright so it won't tip over in the bottom of your dishwasher. Run your dishwasher cycle as normal but without soap, and you can put it on the coldest dry setting and stop the machine when it gets to the dry mode if you remember. This last step is not necessary, it just conserves energy. 2. You should wash all your sheets and towels in hot water, even if they are dark colored. Otherwise, the water is not hot enough to kill the dust mites that congregate in sheets and towels. (I do a separate dark load of sheets and towels periodically.) 3. If you don't run a bleach load in your washing machine at least once a month, you should run your washing machine empty with bleach once a month to keep it clean. You should also leave the washing machine door open for a while after you use it to prevent mold build up in the machine. Interestingly, our dishwasher is broken right now, and is the same exact model as my in-Laws. My Father-in-Law is very mechanically inclined, so I called him for advice. He took his apart and told us how to take ours apart, ours was clean but his was dirty--ours is older than his! They are now going to start doing a vinegar wash, too! Edit: I just noticed you clean yours with vinegar, too! It may be broken, ours is starting to not get the dishes very clean, my FIL thinks the transmission is out and we need to get a new one. When we were in a hard water area, I finally found a special spot remover powder to run with the dishes that helped. I can't remember what it was called, but it was at most of the local supermarket/supercenter stores, in a package that looked like a mini sized powdered dishwashing soap. Edited February 22, 2009 by ElizabethB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Honestly if I had to wash my dishes before putting them into the dishwasher I would ditch the dishwasher. What is the point of that? I feel this way too. This is problem is not new, but I'm just fed up with it. 1. You are supposed to clean your dishwasher monthly with vinegar. (Not in the book, but I've found that it needs it at least twice a month in a hard water area.) To do this, you run your dishwasher empty with 1 cup of vinegar in the bottom. You fill a 2 cup glass container with 1 cup of vinegar and wedge it upright so it won't tip over in the bottom of your dishwasher. Run your dishwasher cycle as normal but without soap, and you can put it on the coldest dry setting and stop the machine when it gets to the dry mode if you remember. This last step is not necessary, it just conserves energy. Edit: I just noticed you clean yours with vinegar, too! It may be broken, ours is starting to not get the dishes very clean, my FIL thinks the transmission is out and we need to get a new one. When we were in a hard water area, I finally found a special spot remover powder to run with the dishes that helped. I can't remember what it was called, but it was at most of the local supermarket/supercenter stores, in a package that looked like a mini sized powdered dishwashing soap. I do the vinegar, but only once a month. IF I start using the dishwasher again, I will try twice a month. I wonder if I need a new one. Thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 There is a difference between washing the dishes - and rinsing them off. Like Ria said, not every dishwasher has a garbage disposal in it - hence the need to rinse them more than others. Is there a spot where all the food was collecting? OUrs has a drain grate and I can tell when the kids haven't bothered to get the big chunks off - they are still in there. Also, certain soap works better in some areas than others. Ask around and see what friends use and are happy with. But i too have never had to clean mine out like it sounds like yours did.... Make sure too that your center thing can go up to the top if it needs too (some have spinner/sprayers on the top rack and don't need the room to spray up there). I'm trying to think of other things to check - i'll keep thinking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 There is a difference between washing the dishes - and rinsing them off. Like Ria said, not every dishwasher has a garbage disposal in it - hence the need to rinse them more than others. Is there a spot where all the food was collecting? OUrs has a drain grate and I can tell when the kids haven't bothered to get the big chunks off - they are still in there. Also, certain soap works better in some areas than others. Ask around and see what friends use and are happy with. But i too have never had to clean mine out like it sounds like yours did.... Make sure too that your center thing can go up to the top if it needs too (some have spinner/sprayers on the top rack and don't need the room to spray up there). I'm trying to think of other things to check - i'll keep thinking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Time Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I think it's the hard water. Even if you clean out the dishwasher frequently with vinegar or other hard water remover, it does not clean inside the jets. Eventually the jets become clogged and suffer from low water pressure. Once this happens the dishes don't get clean or rinsed properly; it is impossible to fix. We had a dishwasher for a long time that worked poorly due to this. I finally bought a new one. I was amazed by my beautiful, clean dishes. However, it was less than a year and the same thing was happening (even though I cleaned it at least twice a month or more) - cloudy dishes that often did not seem clean. Finally I realized what was happening, and I now wonder how long my family ate off dishes that were covered in dish detergent film as well as mineral deposits because they were not getting rinsed off well. Our hard water (we tested it) is extreme. It says in the dish washer manual that water this hard willl never get really good results. We hand wash dishes and drink bottled water now because this water has ruined two dishwashers and is working on ruining a second washing machine as well as destroying clothing, pipes, toilets. I hate it! We need a water softener, but the cost of installation is prohibitive at this point. BTW, we recycle our water bottles and suffer from guilt for using them, but we do it anyway. I have no faith that this water is good for us. Just my intuition. When we move, we will definitely consider the water... look at the dishwasher and other fixtures to see if it is problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whisperlily Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 As someone else mentioned, have you cleaned out the filter? We had an old dishwasher in an apartment once, and it didn't seem to be working properly. The repairman came, and he pulled all kinds of things out from under the center post, that had been clogging the filter and drain. It kept the food particles, etc. from being rinsed away as they should have been. It was one of those dishwashers that required a good rinse before putting the dishes inside. After that, it worked fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 I think it's the hard water. Even if you clean out the dishwasher frequently with vinegar or other hard water remover, it does not clean inside the jets. Eventually the jets become clogged and suffer from low water pressure. Once this happens the dishes don't get clean or rinsed properly; it is impossible to fix. We had a dishwasher for a long time that worked poorly due to this. I finally bought a new one. I was amazed by my beautiful, clean dishes. However, it was less than a year and the same thing was happening (even though I cleaned it at least twice a month or more) - cloudy dishes that often did not seem clean. Finally I realized what was happening, and I now wonder how long my family ate off dishes that were covered in dish detergent film as well as mineral deposits because they were not getting rinsed off well.. I believe the hard water has something to do with it. Our dishes just aren't getting clean. As someone else mentioned, have you cleaned out the filter? We had an old dishwasher in an apartment once, and it didn't seem to be working properly. The repairman came, and he pulled all kinds of things out from under the center post, that had been clogging the filter and drain. It kept the food particles, etc. from being rinsed away as they should have been. It was one of those dishwashers that required a good rinse before putting the dishes inside. After that, it worked fine! We did take it all apart on Saturday and scrubbed everything. I haven't used it since. Dh did that at least once before, but I didn't help and was in denial because I didn't want to give up my dishwasher. But this time it was the last straw. I can't keep living with dishes like this! I may give it one more try though with the pre-rinsing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kah Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Our then-6 year old GE died on us about a year ago. It gradually drained less and less; at first if I started it again, and then quickly hit the "cancel" button, it would drain itself again, getting out most of the water. After awhile, though, that didn't do it anymore. Then, because the rinse water wasn't ever draining out all the way, and the wash water probably wasn't either, the dishes never really felt very clean after it was done. (I didn't realize they didn't feel clean until we replaced it and I had truly clean dishes again.) I joked that it would probably stop working when we had 10 people in the house for the weekend for DD's First Communion. Close. It didn't exactly stop working- it just drained all the water out the back, and under the carpet instead. So the moral of the story is that I would definitely check and make sure that yours is draining all the way, and washing out the yuck with each cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleinMN Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 It sounds like a hard water problem to me. We have the same trouble, and it is caused by the water. It may be that you need a water softener in order for your dishwasher to get and stay clean. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 You might need to use a different detergent, and make sure your water is hot enough (unless your dishwasher heats the water). I've been using Amway's auto dishwash since I got my first dishwasher in 1987, and have always had clean dishes and clean dishwasher interior. I've never had to use any special treatments. When dishes come out "cloudy," it's because the water is hard and the detergent isn't designed for hard water. Sometimes you can use an additive along with the dish detergent (never have had to do that with Amway stuff, though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I was having problems with my less than a year old LG and it turns out that because it is water efficient it was filling so fast that they water was not getting hot before the washer was done filling. So we were washing our dishes with lukewarm water at best. All detergents need at least 120 degrees to activate. Right now I am using the dishwasher only sporadically (when I just can't bear to stand there and handwash any more dishes today!) and I have to run a slow drip of hot water throughout the whole wash and rinse cycle. This is short term. The long term solution is that my husband is going to install a small water heater under my kitchen sink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 We have the same problem and I think it's the hard water, too. We have pretty hard water....I'm interested in testing it now. I didn't realize you could do that. We got a new dishwasher a year ago and it worked great for 6 months and now it will do the same thing you're talking about....the one thing I've found to help is Jet-Dry....as long as that stays full, most of the dishes will get clean; we can definitely tell when that is running low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I was having problems with my less than a year old LG and it turns out that because it is water efficient it was filling so fast that they water was not getting hot before the washer was done filling. So we were washing our dishes with lukewarm water at best. All detergents need at least 120 degrees to activate. Right now I am using the dishwasher only sporadically (when I just can't bear to stand there and handwash any more dishes today!) and I have to run a slow drip of hot water throughout the whole wash and rinse cycle. This is short term. The long term solution is that my husband is going to install a small water heater under my kitchen sink. Kelli, couldn't you just run the hot water at the sink until it reached the temperature you needed? Then, the hot water would be right there in the pipe, ready to wash the dishes. My mom used to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Kelli, couldn't you just run the hot water at the sink until it reached the temperature you needed? Then, the hot water would be right there in the pipe, ready to wash the dishes. My mom used to do that. I always do that same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I always do that same thing. In fact, the manual for my dishwasher says to do this. This will take care of your problem, Kelli. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMA Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Apparently I don't get it. Yesterday dh and I took ours apart and scrubbed it out....eeewwwww. Major yucko. I have been washing dishes by hand ever since. There was stuff GROWING in there. I just can't handle that. Ok, so we haven't been rinsing any dishes. I do all the pots and pans and big things by hand. We run the dishwasher once a day. We have hard water. I use powdered detergent (probably too much of it sometimes, esp when dh and the dc fill it). About once a month I run it empty with citric acid, baking soda, and vinegar. That used to get it nice and clean, but lately it hasn't done the job. Also there are always a few cups that don't get clean but have some gunk in them, like it wasn't rinsing well enough or something. WHAT is wrong? I HATE scrubbing goop off the walls, parts, etc. It is just...too much. Is this a normal part of dishwasher life? Are my expectations too high? Enlighten me! (Thank you!) If there is stuff growing in your dishwasher, then it could be that your dishwasher motor is not pumping the water hard enough. We had this with one dishwasher and it didn't clean anything on the top rack. It was basically dying. Check that your spray arms are working and that the sprays are working. Also, do you use something like Electrosol or Cascade and a rinse aid? Check for blockages in the motor and the arms also. Louise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in NE Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 We had terribly hard water at our last place. The hard water particles would calcify and then plug all the little holes in the arm of the upper part of the dishwasher. It would also build up in layers on the racks of the dishwasher and on the arm, until the balance was messed up and the arm wouldn't turn anymore. That's when it quit getting things clean. The most wonderful thing I found for hard water is called "Lemi-shine". It's citrus-based.... a natural product. You can buy it at Wal Mart (at least you could a few years ago). This stuff is like magic on hard water stains, build-up, and spots. I would just run about a tblsp in the dishwasher as a rinsing agent every time I ran it. The calcified hard water build-up started coming off in chunks!! Really weird, but way cool because I thought I was going to have to buy a new dishwasher, but getting all the hard water stuff cleaned out, just solved all my problems. I started using it with all my cleaning..... (And now I sound like a commercial) Oh, and I also always rinse my dishes. My mother had me so well-trained.... I just couldn't conceive of putting gunky dishes in in the dishwasher! :001_smile: Good luck, jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Kelli, couldn't you just run the hot water at the sink until it reached the temperature you needed? Then, the hot water would be right there in the pipe, ready to wash the dishes. My mom used to do that. I always do that same thing. In fact, the manual for my dishwasher says to do this. This will take care of your problem, Kelli. If only it were that simple. The way the repairman explained it to me was that, yes, if I run the hot water that first fill of the dishwasher will be hot enough. The dishwasher will use that water for a bit and then drain it and refill. That refill will be cold because of the distance from the dishwasher to our water heater. Our water heater is at the other end of our house, the water in the pipes cools off between times that the dishwasher is drawing water in, and so the refill is always cold to lukewarm. This problem is worse in the winter obviously, since the pipes are under the house and the water in the pipes is getting cold faster. This has been quite a saga of back and forth with LG and their local repairman. LG even supplied a booster for the dishwasher in hopes that it would help, but it did not. Our old dishwasher used a lot more water to fill and so it also started out cold, but by the time it filled completely enough hot water was going in to make it work. The LG uses so little water that it has got to all be hot water. They even timed how long it took my sink water to go from cold to hot and calculated that enough water had gone down the drain at the point to fill the LG twice. So, undersink water heater is the only way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abreakfromlife Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Oh wow, that Lemi-Shine stuff looks awesome! It says it's sold at Target and Wal-Mart. I am picking some up next time I go....thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 Wow...lots to consider. Who knew it could be so complicated? Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. Will definately look for the Lemi-Shine next time I'm in town. How does one check that the spray arms and sprays are working?:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Oh, Kelli...thank you. This explains a lot of what was going on here. I need an old, inefficient dishwasher. LoL...No really, I may look for an old model that uses lots of hot water. Our repair man mentioned something comparable to what yours said. Our hot-water heater is in the basement. Thank you, Tammy aka The woman with dishpan hands. But...my dishes are done now with way less of my time and apparently money. I was having problems with my less than a year old LG and it turns out that because it is water efficient it was filling so fast that they water was not getting hot before the washer was done filling. So we were washing our dishes with lukewarm water at best. All detergents need at least 120 degrees to activate. Right now I am using the dishwasher only sporadically (when I just can't bear to stand there and handwash any more dishes today!) and I have to run a slow drip of hot water throughout the whole wash and rinse cycle. This is short term. The long term solution is that my husband is going to install a small water heater under my kitchen sink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I haven't read all of the posts... but wanted to share my dishwasher story. The previous owners decided to wash water bottles in the dishwasher. Clogged up the jets. We fixed that... and the realized that a hose had been worn through. We need to replace the hose before the water can flow properly. Also, we have very hard water. We have a water filter at the main line to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen FL Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thanks so much for this thread. Our dishwasher has been performing very badly. We are in a hard water city. I looked at all of the parts at the bottom and just started pulling and unsnapping things. There was a lot of nasty food and slime. I've wondered in the past how I could get that filter off. I also discovered that some water didn't drain out and was sitting underneath the circle under the filter. :( We had a terrible time getting the filter back on. I started praying really hard and then it finally snapped back on. I just put one cup of vinegar in the dishwasher and I'm running it through a cycle now. I hope we get some better peformance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st_claire Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 If you don't rinse, make sure your dishwasher has a hard food disolver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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