I just moved to a new apartment with a KitchenAid dishwasher (not sure of it’s age, may 5 years old?). After using the machine once or twice, I noticed the following:
The soap-dispensing mechanism is not working properly (it’s either not opening at all or at the right time).
On one occasion, I noticed the rinse aid dispenser cap was freshly burned/melted, see http://imgur.com/JH2IOZt.png
I have no idea if these things are related, but I am particularly concerned by #2. The cap was screwed in place when it was melted (so zero chance it fell and contacted the heating element). What could of caused this melting and how concerned should I be?
1)The first thing I’d check is that you don’t have anything leaning against the soap door. That would keep it from opening properly. Next, check around the latch, make sure it’s not full of gunk that’s preventing it from releasing and make sure that the spring is nice and strong (there’s some pressure trying to flip the door open when you close it). I assume this dishwasher has digital controls. Otherwise the next thing to do would be to replace the dial.
If it was my dishwasher, based on what you’re saying, I’d make sure all the moving parts were clean, then probably replace the latch mechanism. After that, things get more expensive because (assuming it’s not a wiring issue), you’re looking at control boards. I assume your landlord takes care of this?
2)You’re 100% sure that cap wasn’t burned before, right? That’s a really nasty burn. The thing is, my first thought was that maybe you put a hot pan or something in there, but it’s not melted, it’s burned, charred. Anything hot enough to do that would have also melted the rack. Furthermore, it didn’t do any damage at all to the surrounding plastic.
Unless you’re absolutely totally positive that the cap wasn’t burned, you ran the dishwasher, then it looked like this. To me, it looks like it fell off, was burned by the element, and then reinstalled. Look at it, it has a line right across it. I’m not saying you did it, I’m thinking that you just noticed it.
I just can’t think of any other way for something to scorch the cap that badly (and that specifically) and not do any damage to anything else nearby.
I am 100% certain that I opened the dishwasher and found the burned cap attached exactly as pictured. You’ll note the small specks of burnt plastic around the cap, those were exactly as found as well. The bizarreness of this scenario is precisely why I think it’s such a detective mystery.
One final clue: On the occasion when the burnt cap was discovered, the dishwasher detergent pod had been released into the machine but was just laying on the floor of the machine (it had not dissolved). The dishes did seem relatively clean though (so it seems like hot water was sprayed on them etc).
I did notice the specs, I just assumed you had touched it and that’s why they were there. I also noticed that it’s not in the fully locked position.
Also, I’m now noticing something else. If it was in the fully locked position, there’s an additional burn that would line up with the cap, on the dishwasher itself.
Did you happen to set something hot on it? Like, really, really hot? Like a pot or pan that came right off the stove?
Is it possible that this happened not during the last wash, but since the last wash? Those little charred specs, I assume, are just sitting there loose, right? Like if you ran the dishwasher they should get washed away pretty easily. Even gravity from having the door vertical, I’d think, would knock them out of place.
Certainly I did not set anything hot directly on the dishwasher door, and 99% sure I didn’t stick anything hot in the dishwasher either (and even if I did, it makes no sense that it would affect that cap and nothing else).
It is possible but also highly unlikely that the burn went unnoticed (but that seems weird because I obviously put detergent in before every use so while doing so I’m very likely to notice the burned cap adjacent to the detergent dispenser.
I don’t know how that cap got burned, but obviously you have a dishwasher that doesn’t work. I would get a repairman in there and try to get the landlord to pay for it.
If we can’t explain how this happened on its own, then what about someone else opened your dishwasher when it was running (thus interrupting the wash cycle and preventing the pod from dissolving) and placed the cap this way?
Scenario 1: your cap has fallen on the heating element, someone came, took it and replaced it.
Scenario 2: it is the neighbor who melted his cap, he insists to the landlord that the cap should be replaced, the landlord just comes and takes your cap, replacing it by the melted one.
Not sure about #2, but for #1, if your using powdered or “tablet” detergent, make sure that the detergent compartment is mostly dry before placing in your detergent. I found that in the process of doing the dishes, water would build up in the compartment. Putting in dry detergent formed a thick gunk which impaired the opening of the door. Now, before I start a load, I flip the door closed so the water drains out of the compartment, before placing in the detergent.
My post wasn’t very well formulated, so let me do it again:
Possibility A: this cap burned while it was screwed in place in your dishwasher.
Possibility B: this cap burned while somewhere else.
Obviously it is either A or B, there are no alternatives. So we have a nice Sherlock Holmes situation that if A an be proven to be wrong, then B has to be true no matter how unlikely is appears.
Now A appears to be impossible since there isn’t any strong source of heat in the vicinity of the cap and nothing is even lightly burned in the surrounding.
So the alternative is B. The cap was somewhere else when it burned. And since it didn’t screw itself back in place, then someone else must have done it. And for all we know, if might not even be your original cap.
And this can explain the flakes of charred plastic and the fact that it is not screwed all the way in. And if someone else opened your dishwasher while it was running (maybe between the rinse and wash cycle), this can explain why your dishes appeared cleaned but the detergent didn’t dissolve.
So today I noticed there is a brand new burn (see here and here) inside the detergent dispenser box. This evidence (along with the fact I am sure I never picked-up the previously burnt/now-replaced cap) proves that it’s not related to the heating element.
Are you ready to hear something even stranger? I just discovered a post from someone (one year ago) with the same brand of dishwasher and IDENTICAL issues (their soap dispenser wasn’t opening AND they had a badly-melted rinse-aid cap.
The detergent dispenser on my old dishwasher stopped opening. I discovered that the door is operated by melting wax - when the water gets hot enough for long enough (ie after the first cold rinse cycle) the wax melts and the door flips open. The solution was to use solid detergent tablets and just put them in the cutlery basket.
Now I have a nice new Miele washer and I note that the detergent dispenser is, visually at least,identical to the old one.
Quit using it immediately. I see that you are renting. If that’s the case, contact your landlord and have the dishwasher repaired or replaced. And here’s why:
My dishwasher started smoking one day. Fortunately I was standing beside it washing dishes by hand when I smelled smoke. I looked down and saw smoke coming out of the vent beside the control panel. I quickly shut it off and also shut off the breaker.
It was a KitchenAid, but unfortunately I disposed of it before I heard about the lawsuit and the settlement.
Just Google “dishwasher fires” and find out how many fires there have been.
For a while my new dishwasher soap dispenser opened erratically - not at all, or the soap pod was on the bottom undissolved or partially dissolved, etc.
Eventually I figured out that a plastic cutting board was partially or fully blocking the door, because that’s where I would load the thing, at the edge of the bottom tray. Made a point to push it back away from the door, no problem since.
My best guess with the melt is that you had some metal kitchen utensil leaning against the door and it conducted the heat from the drying cycle far too well.
