Tag Archives: dishwasher troubleshooting

7 Appliance Myths Debunked

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Appliance myths waste consumers’ time, energy and money, which is why we are here to debunk them!

1. MYTH: Cold water won’t properly wash your clothes

FACT: Modern washers are designed to clean in cold water and 90 percent of a washer’s energy goes toward the water heating. So by washing with hot water, you’re pouring money down the drain.

2. MYTH: You must rinse your dishes before they run in the dishwasher

FACT: Dishwashers and detergent clean best when starting with dirty dishes. The detergent needs food to activate. Many dishwashers use sensors to determine the “turbidity” level of the water, so if the dishwasher thinks the dishes are already clean, it will run shorter and colder.

Today, an Energy Star dishwasher uses only 4 gallons of water or less, and some estimates say you’ll use 20 gallons of water from your faucet pre-rinsing dishes. So it’s better to run the dishes through 4 times than to put them in rinsed.

3. MYTH: More soap = more clean

FACT: Just because dishwashers and washers now require less water to clean properly doesn’t mean that everyone has gotten the message to reduce our detergent use in conjunction. Too much dishwasher detergent can leave a white film on dishes.

When it comes to washers, too much laundry detergent can cause oversudsing, reducing the performance and lifespan, and leaving soap residue on your clothes.

4. MYTH: Using an old refrigerator as a second beverage refrigerator saves money

FACT: The electricity to power an old refrigerator over several years will cost more than an energy efficient replacement…and then some! Energy Star’s website cleverly offers a Refrigerator Retirement Savings calculator.

The cost to a homeowner of a 20 year old top-freezer fridge (probably 18 cu ft) would be $620 over 5 years. A new Energy Star model costs about $40/year to run vs. $125/yr. PLUS, many local utilities will actually pay you $35 or more to let them haul away your second refrigerator.

5. MYTH: Buying a more powerful A/C will cool down your space faster

FACT: The A/C will just cycle off more frequently when it reaches the temperature in the room, reducing efficiency, lifespan and causing uncomfortable temperature fluctuations. Buy a window air conditioner or room air conditioner that’s just right for your space.

6. MYTH: When the oven’s preheating chime sounds, it’s fully reached temperature

FACT: Some preheat chimes are on a timer so it shouldn’t be trusted for finicky bakers, who should test the temperature with a thermometer. For your everyday pizzas and casseroles, you’d be fine however.

7. MYTH: You don’t need to turn on your ventilation until there’s smoke

FACT: You should start running your ventilation 10 minutes before you start cooking to create an airflow and leave it running 5 minutes after you’re done for best results.

Featured image via Whirlpool

How Much Dishwasher Detergent Should I Use?

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When determining how much dishwasher soap to use, ignore the size of the dispenser in your dishwasher, and whatever you do, ignore the suggestions made by the detergent-makers, whose interest it is to get you to overuse soap.

You probably only need a fraction of what detergent-makers want you to use. If that sounds fishy to you, consider that since modern dishwashers use far less water than their ancestors, they also require less soap to do the job.

Back in the late ’70s, the average dishwasher cycle burned through 11 to 15 gallons. This decreased to an average six to 10 gallons per normal cycle in 2000. These days, dishwashers use as little as 2 gallons of water; they simply use it better.

What Is the Proper Dishwasher Detergent Amount?

So, the answer to the $64,000 question?

KitchenAid says to use anywhere from 2 teaspoons to 3 tablespoons, depending on how dirty your dishes are and how hard your water is. If using a dishwasher pac or pod, use only one. 

Should You Prerinse Your Dishes?

dirty dishes in Whirlpool dishwasher
Photo courtesy of Whirlpool

It doesn’t matter how much or how little soap you use, if you prewash your dishes, they won’t get as clean. Sounds counterintuitive, right?

But dishwasher detergent needs a little bit of grime to activate. And some dishwashers are equipped with a “turbidity sensor,” which monitors how clean the water in the dishwasher is and adjust accordingly, eliminating cycles and not fully heating the water if the dishwasher doesn’t sense that it needs to.

Scrape, don’t rinse and try using less soap. Bring a water sample to any Warners’ Stellian store to test its hardness and consider installing a water softener, as that can also be a giant leap toward clean dishes.

Do you have any dishwasher questions? Ask them in the comments below! Our Dishwasher Whisperer will be sure to answer.

Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? Try This

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You open the dishwasher and the dishes are still wet. Who has time for that? If your dishwasher is not drying dishes, put the towel down and try this.

Rinse Aid for Drying Dishes

Woman Loading Dishes in Beko Dishwasher
Photo courtesy of Amanda Paa

Don’t write off rinse aid because you think it’s just made to prevent water spots on your dishes.

Dishwashers are actually designed to use the rinse aid to sheet off the water on dishes to assist in the drying process. So without it, you’re handicapping your dishwasher’s drying performance.

Buy a bottle of rinse aid, and keep your reservoir full, checking it every few weeks.  Your (dry) dish towels will thank you.

Dishwasher Drying Tips

  • If you have a new, plastic tub dishwasher, be patient. Its drying performance will improve over time as the tub “seasons.” Don’t prewash your dishes, as this impedes the seasoning process, manufacturers say.
  • Run the tap next to your dishwasher until the water is hot, ensuring that the water entering the dishwasher can get as hot as possible. 
  • Limit the amount of plastic items. Plastic doesn’t retain heat as well as say, ceramic, which is why you’ll notice that it’s generally the wettest of all your wet dishes. Because it doesn’t retain heat, it doesn’t condensate the water.
  • Load your dishwasher properly. Load items, especially plastic, at an angle so water can sheet off.

What tips do you have for when the dishwasher isn’t drying dishes? Share them in the comments!

Dishwasher troubleshooting: Dishwasher drying tips

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If your dishes come out of the dishwasher looking like this...

If your dishwasher isn’t drying, just know that your dishwasher drying problems might be completely fixable.

The No. 1 cause of wet dishes is lack of rinse aid, or drying aid as I like to call it.

Most think of rinse aid’s aesthetic benefits, because it helps water “sheet” off dishes rather than forming water droplets that cling and leave icky  spots.

But modern dishwashers are designed to use rinse aid for drying, so without it, your dishes and dishwasher interior will have excessive moisture. Also, the heated dry option will not perform as well without rinse aid.  (Now is a good time to check if your dishwasher includes a Heated Dry – or Extra Dry – option you might not be using.)

Once you fill your rinse aid dispenser, don’t forget to refill it. A full dispenser will last about a month, but I top mine off every couple weeks.

Proper loading also ensures good drying performance. Load items, especially plastic, at an angle so water can sheet off. Plastics have a porous surface and tend to collect droplets, so they take longer to dry and might not dry completely in a normal dry cycle.

For best results, the water should be 120 degrees F as it enters the dishwasher – not lower or higher by much. If your water heater is located far from the dishwasher, it may be necessary to run the hot water at the faucet closest to the dishwasher to minimize the amount of cold water in the water line.

Help! Dishwasher Not Cleaning Dishes

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Gloria Steinem said that the truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.

Well, here’s some truth if you find your dishwasher is not cleaning the dishes properly. A lot of your problems don’t have anything to do with your appliance – they have to do with you.

No other appliance operates with so many variables, many of which you can affect:

  • the amount of dishes
  • how dirty they are
  • the amount of detergent and rinse aid
  • dish placement

Dishwasher Problem: Water Isn’t Hot Enough

Before you get all huffy because you spent X-hundred amount of dollars on the darn thing, understand that little, tiny changes to the way you do things will improve the cleaning results of your dishwasher immensely.

If you do nothing else differently,try this hack: just before you turn on your dishwasher, run your faucet until the water is steaming hot.

Otherwise, the water pumped into your dishwasher will be cold from sitting in your copper pipes. This way, you start with steamy water that has the best chance of reaching the high temperatures necessary for cleaning and drying completely. Water needs to be heated to 140-degrees Fahrenheit to dissolve food messes and disinfect dishes.

Dishwasher Problem: Too Much Soap

Despite what you might think, too much soap can actually prevent your dishes from getting clean — especially on the top rack.

Use only half the amount of detergent recommended on the package. And if you have a water softener, you need only 1-2 teaspoons of powder — even less if you use liquid.

I think these people may have used too much detergent.

Too much soap causes over-sudsing. The dishwasher tries to drain as much of the soap suds and food residue as it can, but is unable to drain it all in the time allowed.

Then the soap bubbles pop inside, redepositing tiny food particles back onto the dishes, which show up most on glassware and silverware.

How do you know if you’re over-sudsing? Run a cycle without any soap. If suds are left at the bottom of the tub, you’re over-sudsing.

To remedy, we suggest a vinegar cycle:

  • First, empty any dishes and shut soap door, without adding any detergent
  • Run dishwasher until it gets to the wash cycle
  • Then, open the door and check if the dispenser flap has opened
    • If it hasn’t, run for another minute or so until the flap opens
    • If the flap has opened, add  1 cup vinegar and run through the full cycle

You might have to repeat the process two or three times to ensure you’ve eliminated the buildup of soap.

And don’t forget the rinse aid if your dishwasher isn’t drying!

Featured image via Cove