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I haven't run my dishwasher in years; help
Calica
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
My apartment has a small dishwasher. I have mostly ignored it because 1) I grew up without a dishwasher and 2) when I used it, it performed... less than satisfactorily.
I have recently learned that I was Doing Dishwasher Wrong, and I'd like to at least give it a fair shot. However, I've heard that the seals/gaskets on dishwashers are notorious for failing when you don't run the thing for an extended period of time. What's the best course of action here:
edit: paragraph spacing. It doesn't matter but it was bothering me
I have recently learned that I was Doing Dishwasher Wrong, and I'd like to at least give it a fair shot. However, I've heard that the seals/gaskets on dishwashers are notorious for failing when you don't run the thing for an extended period of time. What's the best course of action here:
- Replace seals and/or gaskets, just to be safe (which seals and/or gaskets? where are they located? results of google search are frustratingly vague on these points)
- Just run the thing and see if it leaks (what if it leaks into or through the floor where I can't see it? is that a thing that can happen?)
edit: paragraph spacing. It doesn't matter but it was bothering me
Calica on
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What were you doing wrong with the dishwasher before?
but they're listening to every word I say
The pods aren't necessarily bad. Moreso that they are expensive and you get similar results from powder, if you don't overload and make sure all the nozzles aren't blocked.
The short version is that you get better results when you run hot water in your sink faucet first so that the water is actually fully hot as soon as the dishwasher starts (because most people's hot water takes a minute or so, or sometimes significantly more, to fully heat up, and dish washers are more effective with really hot water), and that pods don't provide any detergent during the prewash part of the dishwasher cycle and you want detergent during that phase for better results. I think he said that if you use pods you also want to have some powder on hand to add to the prewash detergent compartment/area. I've never watched the videos in full though, just bits of them, so it would be great if someone could provide actual links for interested folks.
But yeah I second the shoving a towel underneath as best you can and under the door, and checking if they are getting wet as you test run it. Also figure out how to stop the dishwasher and cancel the cycle midway through so it drains itself, in case it does leak.
e: ok google says I'm wrong, only modern dishwashers heat their own water, older ones do need to use the house hot water, and modern ones probably work better with a hot water connection. We may have installed ours wrong but it still works pretty well so.
I learned about dishwashers from this guy, and he generally says the same thing about detergent (re: the pre cycle) but it's a Friday and I'm at work.
(This is long but good)
he also had one follow-up video about detergent
they are both pretty long videos but I enjoy his video essay style.
but they're listening to every word I say
Current bitch session: electrical panels are never labeled properly!
https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/249530/house-homeowner-thread-how-much-money
And if your dishes are REALLY dirty and don't come out clean the first cycle, you're allowed to run them through again. Even 2 cycles in a dishwasher should be more efficient than 1 round of handwashing. Especially if you air dry your dishes instead of heat drying them.
I haven't gotten around to actually running it, but I'll be sure to update the thread when I do
The landlord hires folks to do stuff as necessary, but response times are slow unless it's an actual emergency (my fridge/freezer was leaking water for months before it got looked at). For small, non-invasive repairs it's just faster and easier to do it myself.
Always a thrill as a kid to open the oven to get my fruity pebbles when we visited.
Also replacing anything on a dishwasher is a bit of a pain in the ass. I don’t have huge hands but I’ve had to replace a couple small things and I always bang up my hands a bit with dishwasher stuff.
Good to know!