We cannot deny that dishwashers save much time in dishwashing, decreasing lower back pain problems and ensuring kitchen tidiness. Dishwashers are common in most homes, but they can sometimes be unpredictable. So you must repair dishwashers. If you’re experiencing issues with your dishwasher, don’t worry – you’re not alone; below, we have discussed some common dishwasher problems.
5 Common Dishwasher Problems
Here are five common dishwasher problems homeowners experience:
Food Residues
Before putting your dishes into the dishwasher, ensure no scrapes or sticky food leftovers. These residues will bring problems to the dishwasher as they will make the cleaning process much more difficult, especially when you have left the scrape of foods for quite some time. The residues might also cause further problems in the dishwasher machine, such as clogging or waste buildups.
Also, your dishwasher is leaving food residues inside, which should definitely be avoided. Here are some causes of food residue buildups in your dishwasher.
- Clogged drain pumps
- The drain hose is bent
- Cold water temperature
- Insufficient water supply
- Uneven loading of dishes
- Unclean dishwasher
Even though the dishwasher is responsible for cleaning your dishes, its maintenance and cleaning are still necessary like other kitchenware.
Uncontrolled water temperature and hardness
A dishwasher that is not properly calibrated can result in dishes coming out either too hot or too cold or with spots that are still dirty. Additionally, hard water can cause a buildup of limescale inside the dishwasher, which will eventually cause it to stop working.
You can do several things to try to fix these problems. For instance, if your dishwasher is not calibrated correctly, you can adjust the temperature using the manual override button. You can also try using a descaler to eliminate any limescale buildup.
Overloading or Overlapping Problems
This is a common mistake some homeowners make when putting their dishes in the dishwasher machine. Overloading increases the risk of dirty dishes, causing you to rewash the dishes. Always avoid overloading and overlapping habits to ensure that every inch of your dishes will be thoroughly clean with water and detergent.
Make sure to expose the dishes’ surfaces so that water can reach them properly. Avoid jamming the dishes inside the dishwasher. Instead, put them so that all dishes will be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed.
Using Cheap Detergents
Detergent quality is a contributing factor to dishwasher problems. You must remember that whatever you put into your dishwashing machine will affect its entire performance. So make sure to buy the best quality detergent on the market. Use detergents that are mainly for dishwashing purposes. Avoid using hand washing or soap detergents that are not meant for dishwashing because they will create clouds of foams that are too much for dishwasher machines to handle.
Use powder detergents than gel detergents since they are more dishwasher friendly. Gel detergents will clog the detergent dispenser and can compromise the cleaning cycle. The last tip is to stay away from cheap detergents since some of them contain low-quality cleaners that won’t guarantee a deep and thorough clean.
Uncleaned or Damaged Dishes
Remember that some kitchen utensils are not dishwasher-safe and need further hand washing services. If you have experience washing your silverplate and it turns out to be discolored, then that means that it must be hand washed. Same case for aluminum pots that have turned black after dishwashing.
Here are ten kitchen wares you must consider as non-dishwasher safe items.
- Wooden kitchen utensils such as cutting boards, spoons, and forks
- Cast Iron Pans and Aluminum Pots
- Gold Trim Plates
- Good Knives
- Kitchen Utensils with Hallowed Handles
- Travel Mugs and Cups
- Takeout Containers
- Labeled Containers
- Copper Utensils
- Crystal and hand-blown glasses
How to Prevent Dishwasher Problems?
Since you know the various dishwasher problems that homeowners commonly experience, you must next learn the different solutions to these existing problems. Good thing a professional dishwasher company like Man With Wrench is all you need. There are also numerous methods to avoid complications and malfunctions in your dishwasher in the first place.
- Avoid overloading or jamming dishes into your dishwasher rack. Make sure that the dishes are evenly settled into the dishwasher so that the entire surface of the dish will be deeply cleaned.
- Clean your dishwasher regularly. This includes cleaning the dishwasher filters and drain holes. In addition to that, clearing possible clogs or food residues in the dishwasher’s spray arms is also an important task. To clean your dishwasher, use two cups of white vinegar and run the cleaning operation on a normal wash cycle. Wipe the interior walls of the dishwasher and the racks with white vinegar and baking soda. With this, you can easily remove and clean deep stains. Don’t forget to rinse it properly without leaving any untouched area.
- Avoid washing non-dishwasher-safe items in your dishwasher. Instead, do handwashing for these utensils such as silver plates, wooden materials, and aluminum pots.
- Ensure you use proper and appropriate wash cycle selection for specific dishes. With a heavy-duty wash cycle, you can be apply to hard-to-wash dishes like pots and pans. But for fragile dishes like fine plates and glasses, you can use a lighter wash cycle. Review your owner’s manual to avoid problems and learn the different cycle options on various dishes.
Preventing dishwasher problems is a smart practice that can save you from unexpected maintenance and repair expenditures. With the above contents about dishwashers, may this blog guide you in managing your dishwasher machine. However, you can check this out on how to troubleshoot and repair the dishwasher.
If you are still unsure what to do with your dishwasher and find it hard to fix dishwasher problems, let our team at Man With Wrench help make dishwashing repair a lot easier. No job is too big or too small; we do them all! We provide expert services worthy of your trust.
Our expert technicians and customer service staff are ready for urgent or on-call services. We can help diagnose and fix the issue quickly so that your dishes are clean and sparkling again in no time. Call us now!