Tag Archives: dishwashing

What Can Damage A Dishwasher?

Are you wondering what can damage a dishwasher? There are plenty of things that can do it. Some of these things as given by dishwasher repair professionals include:

Placing dirty dishes and plates in the dishwasher

The dishwasher is meant to clean the dishes, so you should put the dirty dishes here, right? While this is true, placing excessively dirty dishes here can clog the drain lines, pump assembly, and spray arms.

This provides a breeding ground for bacteria and prevents the dishes from getting cleaned properly.

To avoid this, make it a habit to scrape all the food off the plates and dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.

Some people say that you should rinse the dishes. No, you don’t have to. Scrape them off is enough as it leaves some residues on them that make the detergent work better.

Abusing the door

It’s fun to play with the dishwasher door at the end of a cycle and watch as the steam comes billowing out, but you shouldn’t as this weakens it.

You also should stop your kids and pets from playing with it.

You should only open the door when placing the plates inside and removing them. If you notice any issue with the door, get in touch with a professional and have it fixed as soon as possible.

Overloading the dishwasher

The other thing that will significantly damage your machine is overloading it. As much as you want to save some money by running a cycle with as many dishes as possible, overfilling the machine isn’t the way to go.

This is because it often leads to damage to the machine. The dishes also don’t clean as well as they should, and you might be forced to rinse them twice, which doesn’t save you time or money.

Overloading the machine also increases the chances of it leaking as the water inside the machine is diverted from the bottom of the tank and splashes out, under the door.

To avoid the dangers of overloading the machine, place just enough plates inside the dishwasher. Once full, close the door and run the cycle.

Using too much or wrong detergent

Did you know using too much detergent can damage your dishwasher? Using the wrong detergent builds up residue in the wash and rain pumps, clogging the appliance and creating a breeding ground for bacteria and other organisms.

To be on the safe side, be cautious about the detergent you use.

As a rule of thumb, use detergents specifically designed for your dishwasher. This means that handwashing dish detergent and other soaps shouldn’t find their way into your dishwasher.

When choosing the detergents, always go for powders instead of gels. This is because gels contain chlorine bleach known to dissolve gaskets and seals.

Gels don’t work well in hard water and clog the detergent dispenser, which can impede the appliance’s cleaning performance.

Even though you intend to clean the dishes, you shouldn’t use just any detergent—use a quality detergent that will give you excellent results. As a rule of thumb, avoid cheap, and no-name powders as chances are high they contain inferior cleansers that don’t clean the dishes as well as they should, and you are forced to run several cycles, which you can guess, leads to wastage of resources.

Other cheap cleaners contain sand, so they don’t offer any cleaning benefits.

To be safe, take time to research and find good quality cleaning products that will effectively clean your dishes and prevent the dishwasher from clogging up.

Hard water

Hard water causes the dishes to break and builds up mineral layers on the inside of the dishwasher and its pipes.

To prevent your dishwasher from getting damaged by hard water, soften the water using water filters, water softeners, water softening units, and conditioners.

Power surges

Rapid power fluctuations will also damage your dishwasher and other electrical items and appliances. To protect your appliances, get a surge protector.

Appliance repair Northern VA recommend that you go all the way out and invest in whole house surge protection that will protect your dishwasher and other appliances in the house.

Dishwasher Repair: 8 Tips To Keep The Dishwasher In Top Shape

dishwasher repair

For the dishwasher to last for long, you need to take good care of it. Dishwasher repair professionals observe that it’s the everyday tasks that make all the difference. Want to keep your appliance in tip-top shape? Here are tips on how to go about it:

Don’t overpack the appliance

A full dishwasher is indeed more energy-efficient, but when you overpack it, you end up running into problems. An overcrowded appliance doesn’t run efficiently. It doesn’t clean the dishes as well as it should. When you pack it too tightly, some of the dishes don’t get clean, and you have to re-wash them, which is double the work.

If you have a lot of dishes that need to be cleaned, run two loads so that everything gets clean. You can also hand wash a few dishes that aren’t too dirty.

Watch where you place the dishes

Where you place the utensils greatly determines the results you get. For optimum results, place the delicates on the top rack and the more durable dishes on the bottom shelf. The cooking utensils are best placed on the top rack—not in the cutlery bin.

Stagger the forks and spoons in the cutlery bin with some handles facing up and others down. This will allow water to get in between them so that they can be as clean as possible.

When placing the dishes in the dishwasher, find out the direction of the water sprayer. Place the soiled sides on the side of the water while taking care that you don’t block the sprayer with any large items.

Avoid placing sterling silver and silver-plated utensils in the dishwasher. Hand wash the dishes instead. If you have to wash them using the dishwasher, don’t put them in the same load as stainless steel. This is to avoid any reaction that might come about due to both metals.

Keep the dirtiest dishes together

When the dishes aren’t too dirty, you can get away with shorter, lighter cycles. This saves you energy and at the same time, reduces your energy bill. When you have dirty dishes, and you run a short cycle, the dishes will come out still dirty.

For you to have an easy time cleaning them, group the dirtiest dishes then run a longer cycle. You can even hand wash the dirtiest dishes.

Scrape excess foods—don’t rinse

When the dishes are too dirty, many homeowners rush to pre-rinse the dishes with the hope that the dishwasher will have an easy time. Don’t do this. Pre-rinsing not only leads to water wastage, but it also worsens the performance of the detergents.

There is no harm in removing the excess food before you put them in the dishwasher, but you shouldn’t rinse the dishes—scrape them instead.

Clean the door seals

Regular use of the dishwasher increases the chances of gunk building up around the appliance door and even around the soap drawer. The build-up is not only ugly to look at, but it also affects the strength of the seal and at the same time provides a breeding ground for mold.

To avoid this, clean the dishwasher seals with a damp piece of cloth or mild detergent.

Watch the soap

For you to get cleaner dishes, you might be tempted to add a lot of soap to the dishwasher. This is wrong. A lot of soap clogs up the dishwasher preventing it from running as efficiently as it should.

Different dishwashers have different soap requirements. If you aren’t sure of the right amount of soap you should use, check the recommendations of the manufacturer.

Soften the water

If you live in areas that have hard water, consider softening it before you allow it into the dishwasher. Hard water leads to breaks and marks on the dishes; therefore, you should strive to soften it before it reaches the appliance.

If you can’t control the natural hardness of water, use a teaspoon of vinegar in the rinse cycle, and this will go a long way at keeping the unit running efficiently.

Undertake regular dishwasher inspections

Even when you are taking optimum care of the dishwasher, it’s common for problems to come about. To protect yourself, hire an appliance repair Northern VA professional at least once a year to inspect the unit and fix any issues that might be there.