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Is It Worth Fixing A Dishwasher When It Breaks Down?

With so many cheaper and efficient dishwashers in the market, it’s normal to ask yourself, is it worth fixing a dishwasher when it breaks down?

The answer to this question isn’t a yes or a no, but more of a decision-making answer. To decide whether to fix or replace the appliance, you need to consider several things such as:

The amount charged by the service provider

When your appliance breaks down, you hire a dishwasher repair professional to fix it. Different professionals charge different rates depending on their experience, location, and nature of the problem.

To decide whether to fix the appliance, compare the contractor’s fee and the cost of a new appliance. Of course, you shouldn’t pay for a repair when the fees are higher than the cost of a new appliance.

The appliance repair market is full of unscrupulous contractors, so be cautious when comparing prices.

Don’t approach one contractor and think that is the amount charged by all contractors. Get quotes from 3 to 5 contractors from different locations, then compare them.

Avoid uptown based companies as they charge higher fees. The high fees aren’t because the contractors provide the best services, rather because they pay higher rents there.

If you do your comparison and find that the average price is higher or close to the price of a new appliance, simply get a new unit.

On the flip side, if you find the repair price lower than the machine’s price, fix the dishwasher. For best results, work with an experienced technician that understands what they are doing.

Age of the appliance

How long has the appliance been around? If your appliance is 8, 9, or 10 years, don’t bother fixing it—simply replace it.

The reason for this is because most of the modern appliances are designed to last for only 10 years. This means the closer your appliance is to 10 years, the better it is to replace it.

The problem the appliance has

Minor dishwasher problems are easy and cheap to fix, so it makes sense to fix your appliance if it has a minor problem. If your appliance is missing a seal, pressure switch, latch, drain pump, fill valve, or any other easy-to-find part, simply fix it.

On the other hand, if the appliance has a serious problem such as a malfunctioning motor or circulation pump, it’s more economical to replace the dishwasher as the cost of a new part and installing it will be much higher than the cost of a new dishwasher.

Warranty

If you have had your dishwasher for 1-2 years, you most likely have a warranty. This means when the appliance breaks down, you simply take it to a factory-authorized shop and have it fixed at no cost to you.

Due to this, it’s better to have the dishwasher fixed regardless of the problem’s nature. After all, the cost isn’t transferred to you.

If you never bothered with the warranty at the time of purchase or your appliance is old, you aren’t covered by the warranty, so you have to shoulder all the costs.

If the problem is minor, you can get money from your pocket and pay for it, but you are better off replacing the unit if the issue is complex.

Buying a new dishwasher

If you don’t have a warranty, your dishwasher is old, and/or the appliance has a complex problem, you shouldn’t bother with fixing it. Instead, buy a new one.

When buying a new appliance, take your time and ensure you buy the right one. One of the things to look at when buying is the efficiency rating of the unit.

Of course, you want a highly energy-efficient dishwasher that will consume little energy and function efficiently for a long time.

The price is another factor to consider. While expensive dishwashers function better and last for a long time, avoid the luxurious ones as they have too many features that you probably won’t need.

Go for moderately priced units within your budget.

After buying the appliance, take good care of it, so it lasts for a long time, and avoid hiring appliance repair Northern VA professionals now and then.

Do I Need A Dishwasher? Dishwasher Repair Experts Answer

Many homeowners term dishwashers as the most expendable kitchen appliances as the act of cleaning dishes is a mere convenience. After all, you can clean the dishes with your hands, right?

According to dishwasher repair professionals, owning a dishwasher isn’t all about convenience—it comes with plenty of other benefits. If you are asking, do I need a dishwasher? Here are some of the reasons you should get one:

Dishwashers save time

The time you spend to load the dishes in the dishwasher and hit the start button is minuscule compared to washing and rinsing every bowl, plate, knife, or fork by hand.

Since you have more time in your hands when you clean the dishes with your dishwasher, you can spend the extra time engaging in other activities such as spending time with friends and family, reading, knitting, or tackling other house chores.

Dishwashers are more hygienic.

When cleaning the dishes by hand, you use old sponges that are usually hotbeds for Salmonella and E.coli known to cause food poisoning. Washing the dishes with a dishwasher is an entire ballgame. Since the appliances use hot water, they kill all the germs, which leave your dishes clean and sterilized.

Modern appliances even have the HygienePlus function that ensures maximum hygiene by killing 99.9% of germs. They achieve this by rinsing the dishes at temperatures of up to 70 degrees Celcius.

You can’t do this when cleaning dishes by hand, can you?

Dishwashers save you money.

You might think we are mad when we say dishwashers save money, but this is the case. According to the EPA, most faucets use 2.2 gallons of water per minute.

Dishwashers, on the other hand, use 3 gallons of water per normal wash cycle. So unless you have superpowers and you can clean all the dishes in under two minutes, the dishwasher has got you beat already.

You might argue that dishwashing machines use energy, so you save on your power bill, but a recent study showed that just 10 hand-washing sessions use more energy than needed to build a dishwasher.

Dishwashers save your skin.

The constant act of hand washing your dishes leaves your hands rough and dry, or even cracked and bleeding if you have a commercial kitchen. When using the dishwasher, the work is done by the machine—not you.

This is relieving, especially if you have a large kitchen or suffer from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.

When cleaning the dishes, you are at more risk of dropping your dish or knife, which not only increases the chances of breaking your precious and expensive dishes, it also increases your chances of getting hurt.

Dishwashers are stress reducers.

Many people hate doing dishes. I remember growing up and doing the dishes was the prominent bone of contention between my brother and I. We used to pile the plates up, and I know this is the case with most homeowners.

A recent study showed a direct link between the amount of clutter in the house and stress levels. As the mess piles up, the more stressed someone gets. So when you procrastinate on cleaning the dishes, and you let them pile up, you increase your stress levels.

With a dishwasher, you are less likely to put off cleaning the dishes as you only need to put the dishes in the dishwasher and press the start button.

Dishwasher tips

While dishwashers bring plenty of benefits to the table, you need to use them properly to get the most from them. Some of the tips to consider include:

Keep your dishwasher clean: A dirty dishwasher means dirty dishes, so work at keeping your dishwasher as clean as possible. Every few days, remove the screen and filter then clean your appliance.

Load the dishwasher properly: You need to load your appliance properly for it to clean the dishes properly. The cups should go in the top rack, plates, and bowls on the bottom rack, pots, pans, and baking dishes angled properly for water to reach the inside, and stagger the dishes, so they don’t nest together.

Always aim for a full load: When cleaning the dishes, always aim to run the dishwasher when you have a full load. According to appliance repair Fairfax professionals, this ensures you get the most of the water, energy, and detergent.

Is It Hard To Install A Dishwasher? Dishwasher Repair Experts Explain

Dishwasher Repair

You move to a new home and find there is no dishwasher, and you don’t want to wash the dishes with your hands. Is it hard to install a dishwasher? You wonder.

Dishwasher installation involves electrical, plumbing, and carpentry work. If there was already a dishwasher in place before, it’s plug and play, but if you are installing the appliance for the first time, there is a lot of work to be done and I wouldn’t recommend it to a newbie who has never done similar work before. Hire a dishwasher repair expert to help with the installation instead.

If you are a DIY ninja and don’t mind handling the dirty work, you should go ahead and do the work. To attain perfect results, follow these steps:

Turn off the water and electricity in the kitchen.

To avoid accidents, turn off water and electricity in your kitchen. Find the location of your home’s breaker box and turn off the electricity in your kitchen. You also should find the location of your home’s shutoff valve and turn it off too.

Determine how the dishwasher will drain

Even if you are installing the appliance in your home, you need to ensure it adheres to the local building codes and ordinances. Begin with figuring out how your dishwasher will drain. The common way the appliance drains is by plugging directly into the waste disposal system. The appliance can also drain directly to the water supply pipe under the sink.

If the house is old, contact a professional plumber and ask them to come out and ensure your setup adheres to your state’s requirements.

Evaluate your current setup

You should connect dishwashers to a grounded branch circuit. This means they should be permanently grounded, or they should come with a grounding power cord. You can sometimes wire the dishwasher directly to the wall instead of plugging into an outlet. While in other cases, you can’t.

Before you install the appliance, you need to know how to connect it according to the state’s ordinances.

Working with electrical wires is no walk in the park, so if you aren’t confident in your electrical skills, let an experienced and certified electrician handle the work.

Read the instruction manual.

If everything is still okay, now it’s time to read the instruction manual. The manual will tell you everything you need to know to set up the dishwasher and get it going properly. After reading the instructions, lay the dishwasher on its side, then connect the drain hose to the drain port and secure it with a hose clamp.

You should then connect the water supply line to the water inlet and tighten the connection with an adjustable wrench and locking pliers. Once you are done, connect the power cord on the electrical terminus then tighten all the lugs.

Move the dishwasher into position.

To place the appliance into the alcove, you need to turn the dishwasher upright and slide it towards the alcove while you feed the drain hose, water line, and power cord. You should pull the hoses and cords through as you gradually slide the dishwasher fully into the alcove. If the dishwasher is large, you might need someone to help you put it into place.

Once the appliance is in place, open the door, place a level on the floor and adjust the front feet to level your appliance. Once level, screw it to the underside of your countertop.

Connect the drain hose

Here you need to fit a hose onto the inlet port and secure it with a hose clamp. If your dishwasher doesn’t have an air gap, secure the drain hose to the underside of the countertop with a hose bracket before connecting it to the disposal or tailpiece.

Hook up the water and connect the power

Once everything is in place, screw the water hose to the free port and tighten the connection with an adjustable wrench or locking pliers. You should then turn on the shutoff valve and check for leaks.

You should then connect the circuit wire to the wires inside the dishwasher’s electrical box following the manufacturer’s wiring diagram. Make the connections with wire nuts.

It’s up to you

As you can see, it’s not an easy feat to properly install a dishwasher. If you feel you can handle all the work, hire a reputable appliance repair Northern VA expert to do the work.

Dishwasher Repair: Factors To Consider When Installing A Dishwasher

appliance repiar

Are you looking to install a dishwasher in your home or place of work? There are plenty of factors you should consider to install it properly. Some of these things, as given by dishwasher repair professionals, include:

Water supply

For the dishwasher to function optimally, it needs hot water. The closest source of water is under the sink. Replace the shutoff valve with a new one that connects both the sink and dishwasher to the hot water line.

The new valve, also known as angle stop, will have a vertical outlet supplying hot water to the dishwasher. You should use a long braided wire hose for connection. You can find the hose from hardware stores, supply homes, or home centers.

Remember, you may have to drill a hole in the side of the cabinet to route the hose from the shutoff valve to the dishwasher opening.

Drain line

Most dishwashers come with a hose used to connect them to the drain under the sink. Usually, the hose is connected to an inlet in the garbage disposal. Since you don’t have one and don’t want one, you will need to do simple plumbing.

Water empties from the sink through a strainer and into a tailpiece connected to a p-trap and then into a waste line. To connect the drainpipe hose, replace the straight tailpiece with a tailpiece that resembles a “Y.” Secure the drainage hose to the “Y” with a hose clamp.

Depending on the local plumbing code, you may have to install an air gap in the countertop. This will require you to cut a hole in the tile with a diamond-tipped hole saw that is attached to a drill.

If you don’t have an air gap, you can accomplish the same by securing the drain line with a clamp at the top of the sink cabinet.

Cabinet space

Standard under-counter dishwashers are 24 inches wide, 35 inches high, and 24 inches deep, and they often come with adjustable legs. You need to ensure you have enough cabinet space to fit your appliance. Before you head to the stores, take accurate measurements of the available space, and buy the appropriate appliance.

Power

Local codes require a dishwasher to be on a separate circuit that may be shared with garbage disposal. The size of the wire and circuit breaker depends on the load the dishwasher draws.

To be safe, use a 12-gauge wire run to a duplex plug and protect it with a 20-amp circuit breaker. If the electrical box is mounted on the surface, use armored cable to run the line.

Tips to consider when installing the dishwasher

For you to get the most from the dishwasher, you need to consider several tips. Some of these tips include:

Have the necessary tools

You can’t properly install the dishwasher if you don’t have the right tools, right? Some of the tools you need include: screwdrivers, pipe joint compound, electric appliance cord, wire connectors, and dishwasher connector kit.

Prepare the new dishwasher.

You can’t install the new dishwasher without first preparing it. Begin with screwing on the water valve. This calls for you to wrap the 90-degree fitting twice with Teflon tape and screw it into the new water valve.

You should then tighten it, aiming the elbow as on the old machine.

You should then attach the drain line by threading the new dishwasher drain line into the sink base cabinet. You should loop the line higher than the inlet arm on the sink drain or garbage disposer, then slip it on and tighten the clamp.

Once you are done, adjust the feet of the dishwasher. Lay the dishwasher water supply line, drain, and electrical line flat on the floor then measure the height of the opening. You should then adjust the wheels and feet according to the manual.

Properly hook up the dishwasher and reconnect it.

After setting the dishwasher, slide it in by grasping the sides of it and lifting it slightly and roll it into the opening. To avoid damaging the floor, protect it with tarp or cardboard. Once in place, align it, so it’s flush to the cabinet. Appliance repair Alexandria professionals advise you also level it with a wrench until the appliance is level and plump.

How Long Does A Dishwasher Last? Dishwasher Repair Experts Give Their Input

dishwasher repair

One of the mistakes homeowners make is hiring dishwasher repair professionals to repair an appliance that has passed its lifespan.

It’s pointless to keep on repairing an aged appliance as you will be wasting your money, and it will never work efficiently. If you are wondering how long does a dishwasher last, you should expect it to last for 9-11 years.

Things that affect the lifespan of the dishwasher

The lifespan of the appliance will be heavily influenced by these factors:

Frequency of use: How often do you use the unit? In an average home, the dishwasher is cycled five times a week. If you use your appliance more than this, it will most likely have a shorter lifespan and vice versa.

Quality: Reputable brands make high-quality appliances that last for years, so if you have a high-quality appliance from a reputable company, it’s bound to have a long lifespan. A machine from a reputable company also tends to develop fewer problems during its lifespan.

Maintenance: Periodic maintenance, such as cleaning, can significantly affect the lifespan of your unit. If you properly maintain your unit, it will have a longer lifespan and vice versa.

Price: Although, the price of the unit isn’t a very reliable factor, it can guide you on how long it will last. A poor quality appliance goes for a much lower price, so you can expect it to have a shorter lifespan than an expensive one.

Tricks on how to extend the life of your dishwasher

To avoid having to replace your dishwasher after a few years, you need to take good care of it so that it lasts for a long time. Some of the things you can do include:

Keep it clean: Everything begins here. Just as your car won’t last for long if you keep it dirty, your dishwasher also won’t last for long if you don’t clean it often. Routinely wipe down the door seals using warm water, mild soap, and a soft cloth.

If you notice any foul smells in your appliance, work at getting rid of them as much as possible.

You also should regularly clean the filters that capture food particles. When cleaning, also inspect the filters and ensure they aren’t damaged such that they are allowing food to pass into the internal parts.

It’s normal for the sprayer arms to clog up when you don’t clean them as often as you should. To improve the washing experience, get rid of all the debris from them.

Be on the lookout for hard water residues: If you live in an area with hard water, thin films of hard minerals settle on the inside of the machine causing discoloration. This not only gives the dishwasher a cheap look, but it also significantly reduces its efficiency.

You should clean the dishwasher using a citric-based cleaning solution to get rid of the film. Also, consider adding regeneration salt to the water softening system to prevent the hard water from clouding, spotting, or minerals building up.

Use hot water: When cleaning the dishes, avoid using cold water—use hot water instead. The water not only makes the detergent more efficient, but it also kills germs, odors, and bacteria.

Don’t overload: On the verge of saving time, some homeowners stock the dishwasher more than it should. Don’t do this as it results in poor cleaning of the dishes. It can also cause undue strain on the dishwasher; hence it doesn’t function efficiently.

When placing the dishes, don’t stuff them in. Carefully load them in their correct areas. If any dishes are out of place, don’t force them. Simply leave them for another cycle.

Conclusion

A properly maintained dishwasher should last at least ten years. You can make your unit last longer than this by putting the above tips into action. When the unit develops problems, don’t hire just any contractor to repair it.

Take your time and find a reputable and certified appliance repair Springfield professional to do it. You can verify they are reputable by taking a look at their experience and track record. Also, confirm with the regulatory bodies and confirm they are allowed to offer their services in your local area.

Dishwasher Repair: 5 Tricks To Get Cleaner Dishes From Your Dishwasher

The reason you invested in a dishwasher is that you want to have an easy time cleaning your dishes. There is nothing more aggravating than opening the dishwasher door after a cleaning cycle and find the dishes still dirty. This happens when you improperly clean the dishes. Do you want to have cleaner dishes after every cycle? Here are tips to follow as given by dishwasher repair experts:

Keep the dishwasher clean

There is no way you are going to have clean dishes if the dishwasher is dirty. At least once a week, inspect the dishwasher for dirt and clean it if dirty. Start with examining the drain filters as the dirt and grime from the dishes goes here.

When you go for a long time without cleaning the filters, they can clog up, preventing the dishwasher from cleaning as well as it should.

You also should pay attention to the spray arms. Use a cable, steel wire, or wire hanger to poke the arms and remove any gunk that might be there.

Over time, it’s common for gunk to build up around the interior of the doors. Clean the door seals by wiping them down with a damp piece of cloth or paper towel.

Run the right cycle

Dishwashers come with a variety of cycles that allow you to adjust the washing levels depending on what you are washing and the amount of washing you need:

  • Rinse cycle: Appropriate for light cleaning
  • Quick cycle: The cleaning ranges vary from half an hour to an hour. They are made to tackle light cleaning jobs.
  • Normal cycles: These are the most ideal for day-to-day cleaning of the dishes.
  • Pots and pans cycle: Ideal for large and more heavily soiled cookware.

Some dishwasher models have more specialized cycles, such as anti-bacterial and semi-rinse. For you to choose the right cycle, use the care manual as the guide. If you have lightly soiled dishes, a normal or quick wash will be perfect for you. On the other hand, if you have stuff that has baked or dried on the plates after a normal meal, go for the auto cycle.

Do you have baked-on stuff or cookware? Go for the pots and pans cycle. Choosing the right cleaning cycle is vital as a failure to do it will lead to dirty dishes at the end of the cycle.

Use the right temperature

For the best dishwashing results, the temperature of the water should be 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Water that is hot enough easily dissolves and activates the dishwashing detergents. It also dissolves grease leaving the dishes spot-free.

If the temperature is too low, the dishwasher doesn’t clean the dishes thoroughly. On the other hand, if the water is too hot, the ingredients in the detergent don’t function properly. Some of the soils might also fail to get adequately removed.

To check the temperature of the dishwasher, turn on the faucet nearest to the dishwasher. Place a thermometer in a cup under the faucet and let the water run into the cup. If the temperature isn’t around 120 degrees Fahrenheit,  adjust the water heater.

Load the dishwasher properly

How you load the dishwasher not only determines how efficiently the dishwasher functions, it also determines how clean the dishes get. Before loading the machine, scrape off as many excess foods from the dishes as much as you can.

Some homeowners go to the extent of rinsing the dishes, but you don’t have to. If there are bits of food that have crusted over and stuck on the dishes, don’t worry about them as the dishwasher will get rid of them when you run the appropriate cycle.

When arranging the dishes, do it by how dirty they are. Group the ones that need a heavy wash together and those that require light or standard cleaning by themselves. Doing this prevents you from having some of the dishes cleaner than others. It also prevents you from running two heavy cycles.

Keep the dishwasher in top shape

Cleaning the dishwasher isn’t enough. You also need to repair it regularly to keep it in top shape. When you notice a problem with the unit, ask an appliance repair Springfield professional to give it a look and fix the problem.