I had grand plans for yesterday. I was going to get a head start on Thanksgiving cooking and cleaning. Until, I opened my dishwasher to discover that it hadn't exactly cleaned our dishes from yesterday. I'm not sure what it did, but the dishes were not clean. And the tab didn't dissolve. So I ran the load again, same thing. And then I called Doug at work and had a mini break down.
See I do Thanksgiving for a lot of people with china, and silver, and crystal. Now my dishwasher isn't working. Yeah, not so happy.
The thing is this dishwasher is a little over a year old. And the one we replaced was only 5 years old when it died. And we just replaced a not even 5 year old oven. We have already replaced the starter in our not very old fridge. But the washer and dryer, the ORIGINAL WASHER AND DRYER to my house, from 1963, those are NEVER GOING TO DIE. And Doug has this theory that we will only replace things as they die. So I have a washer that holds a towel and it takes me about a million loads of laundry to do laundry for 3 people.
Dishwasher tips? I've googled. I've turned the hot water heater up. I've done a vinegar rinse. But the dishes are still only coming out 50% clean and I don't have time for a dishwasher repair man, especially since this thing is still under warranty and Kitchen Aid can't send someone out for a week.
This may be my first Thanksgiving with paper plates. I'm kind of liking that idea.
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Recently my 2-year old dishwasher stopped dissolving the tabs. I was lazy and cheap, so I didn’t get it fixed . . . I just stopped using tabs and switched to the gel Cascade. Dishes are clean!
And . . . I ALWAYS use paper plates for Thanksgiving. According to my mother, the holiday is about family and friends, not about spending all your time in the kitchen. So get some cute plates at Party City, enjoy your meal and the holiday, and when everyone has eaten, grab a big black trash bag and be done with it!
Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!
Last year, my SIL’s dishwasher died right AFTER Thanksgiving dinner. It was loaded up to the gills, filled itself with water and then croaked. We had to shop-vac the water and wash all the dishes by hand. In my experience, the cheap, bottom of the line appliances never die and the pricey, nice looking ones never work right.
You’ve GOT to be able to find a repair man who might charge you a premium, but will save you, right? Do you have a neighborhood listserve? Angie’s List?
I have the Time Life Fix It Yourself manual that has some suggestions. Let me know if you want me to fax it to you.
My Dishwasher is only 2 years old, was really nice when we bought it, and we’ve had the same issue. We have to use gel to get anything cleaned, and I use the highest wash setting and I don’t completely fill it because it never works then. It sucks, but it works okay… have you looked to see if the trap is full? I have no idea where or what that means, but that’s what my husband always says to me “well, the trap is clean”.
Did you check the manual? Some of them have a bottom trap sort of thing that might be blocked with debris. Or one of the sprayers could be blocked. Or it might be some connection in the back – that happened to us. We either needed a plumber or an appliance repair person, and of course, we called the wrong one at first, and then had to call the other one. Also, FWIW, we love ABW-Appliance Builders Warehouse in Silver Spring – first class products & service.
We have a brand-new dishwasher and we’re still using paper plates. I can cook or I can clean, but I ain’t doin’ both!
Something similar happened to me a couple of weeks ago. The dishes kept coming out wet and dirty. After I complained to my husband (who thought I was just lobbying for a new appliance), I looked in the bottom of the dishwasher and saw that the heating element was in 2 pieces. I think it had been going out for a while and finally broke. Worth checking, but I’m sure you’ve already looked for obvious damage. Good luck!
In my family, the ones who cook the dinner are the ones who go sit on their butts and watch football while the others do the dishes. Is that a possibility for you? At least either way you will have a Thanksgiving in a gorge new dining room!
I say go with paper plates and don’t stress about the broken dishwasher right now.
Of course, easy for me to say, I’ve never had a dishwasher in my entire life, NEVER, how wrong is that???
Yeah, been there. My dishwasher sucks ass but it was really expensive and supposed to be quiet, so I am pissed that it breaks the sound barrier.
I also have a hard time with ovens. My theory is that the self clean option fries the LCD panel, when then renders the thing useless. Flashing F4 error code – Another $1200.
I am on the list for a new AC unit at the moment. Now, we are in Texas and sadly, on any day are not out of the woods on NEEDING AC. I am so pissed about that I want to prostitute myself. I am just not sure how…….
Now, my first washer and dryer I bought as a single girl, when there was a rapist running around all the apt complex laundries lasted a good 15 years.
I guess you win some and lose some. But yeah, there are some way cute paper prods out there!
HHdays!
I joked for a while that we lived in some kind of Bermuda triangle as far as our appliances were concerned. 4 out of 5 had kicked it within 3 months of moving into our house. Definitely try a different dish detergent, but if all else fails, paper plates are the way to go. Good luck!
The most important things at Thanksgiving are good food and good company. Nice table settings are a plus too, but don’t make or break the evening. Bring on the disposable goods! And some good wine too.
My experience with testy appliances is that they are built to last 10 years max these days. I never remember seeing an appliance repairman in my life as a kid, but have had at least 5 visits from them at my current house in the past 5 years.