Caring for your dishwasher is an important part of keeping your home running well, as your dish washing machine streamlines the cleanup after your meals. While you can always go back to washing dishes the old fashioned way, you will find that it is so much easier just to take a few simple precautions to keep your dishwasher running well.

One of the best ways to ensure that your dishwasher keeps on running is by letting the machine run with a liter of vinegar added to the tank. You will need to do this wash without any dishes in the machine, as the vinegar will dirty the dishes. Don’t use detergent for this wash, but simply let the machine run with the vinegar inside. The vinegar acid in the vinegar will kill the germs, and will have no adverse effects on your dishwasher.

Doing these few things will be enough to keep your dishwasher clean, running well, and making your life a whole lot easier by saving you from having to wash the dishes yourself.

  • If the dishes are not getting clean:
    1. Make sure the water is hot enough – it should be at least 140 degrees, which is hot enough to burn you (very hot!) – If it is not hot enough, turn the hot water heater thermostat up to a higher setting.
    2. Make sure the lower spray arm is unobstructed and is “free turning”.
    3. Make sure the bottom inside of the dishwasher is clean and free of debris.
    4. Make sure you are following the proper loading procedures.
    5. Use the proper amount of detergent and make sure the detergent is fresh (check expiration or “best if used by” date.)
  • If the door isn’t closing:
    1. Make sure the latch assembly is unrestricted and latching properly.
    2. Make sure nothing is blocking the door from opening and closing properly.
  • If the unit is leaking:
    1. Make sure you are following the proper loading procedures, including proper type and amounts of detergents (run unit through cycle empty, if it doesn’t leak it is probably a loading problem).
    2. Make sure the racks are positioned properly.
    3. Make sure the door is unrestricted around the opening.
    4. Make sure it is sitting level in the opening. Look at the space along both sides and across the top. This is normally more of a problem if the dishwasher was recently installed.

Hard Water and Mineral Deposits

You may see a film build up on the inside of your dishwasher due to grease, residue, lime scale, and mineral deposits from the water supply; particularly if you have hard water. You may also see yellow, brown, or rust-colored staining on the inside of your dishwasher caused by the iron in your water. This filming and staining can be removed from the interior of the dishwasher and the nozzles in the spray arms by using FINISH JET-DRY Dishwasher Cleaner once a month.

If these suggested tips do not solve the problem, call Advanced Appliance Services (912) 756-4474 for fast professional appliance repair.

Cited: Fleet Appliance Corp., Bob Dougherty, Landers Appliance site, Finish site, 4/2012