We got a new dishwasher in our apartment because the old one was spewing. . .sediment (?) all over our dishes. After any rinse cycle, we’d pull out the dishes and they would be covered in, honestly, what looked like sand and rust.
After they put in the new unit, we continued to have the same problem. The worker came in and said that, clearly, the problem was that we were using the little detergent tabs (the kind with the “power ball” in the middle)- those, he said, are AWFUL and don’t clean anything.
Naturally, I had just purchased a brand new, HUGE box of the bastards.
To be honest, I don’t believe the guy and here’s why: the new washer came with a pack of goodies- included was a sample of the exact kind of detergent ball thing I bought.
My husband does this, and it drives me crazy. Usually he just moves things from the left to the right, because he prefers certain plates/bowls in certain areas of the machine, even though the bottom rack is symmetric. This machine is only about 18 months old; it has no particular cleaning quirks, it’s just the way he likes it.
My father does something similar. His dishwasher motto is “load from the back”, again regardless of where things fit/symmetry in the racks. If the machine isn’t full but there’s something (anything!) near the front, he moves it to the back. It’s just weird.
I place utensils with the handles up, because I am terrified that I’ll cut myself on a knife otherwise. It’s a bit of a phobia of mine. I also don’t like the thought of having to grab freshly cleaned cutlery by the part we eat from in order to put them away (the basket is deep for our machine, you can’t really grab them below the tines/blade/bowl if they are top up). It just seems unhygienic.
My appliance guy told me not to use Electrasol when my dishwasher started leaking. Powdered Cascade only, and Jet Dry. Since then I haven’t had any problems.
Actually, in every dishwasher I’ve ever used, pots (generally) do go in the bottom.
Stuff that can melt goes in the top. Same with anything that can get knocked over easily. Leave enough space between items that water can get between them and wash the stuff off. Anything that can collect water (bowls, cups, pots) goes upside down so that it doesn’t collect water.
My dad always insisted that silverware goes handle down so that the water washed down the part you eat with, and my mom always insisted that the handles went up so that you didn’t stab yourself when you emptied the dishwasher.
Don’t block the flow of water. You can generally look at the dishwasher and tell “water will be spurting out there” Don’t cover “there” with dishes. And generally, if you can, having dishes face toward the water is a good idea.
I just ended 9 years without a dishwasher. I love mine. It’s wonderful. It may be loud and old, but it’s a great feeling knowing that i’m not doing dishes by hand anymore. Apparently, I should stop using my giant - nearly lifetime supply of Electrasol.
I’ve been told not to put steak knives (or any knives that you wish to remain sharp) in the dishwasher, as the washing action will rub them against the utensil basket and dull them. I’m not 100% sold on this, but hand-washing them maintains domestic bliss, so who am I to argue?
The way I solve that is to set the cycle options to NOT use heat drying, which is where the heating element comes on with no water in the tub. If any plastic utensil falls down, it will become liquid plastic if it lands on the element.
And everything dries just fine without the heat dry portion of the cycle. Turn it off and save some energy costs as well.
However, the water heat option might be a good idea, especially if the incoming water isn’t very hot or you want the ultimate in sanitizing temperatures.
Someone else here was having that same problem and it turned out to be back wash from the sink drain. Food particles were somehow backing into the dishwasher drain lines. The solution involved plumbing, IIRC, but I can’t remember the exact details.
Don’t put good sharp knives (like Heinkel) in the dishwasher – they will dull and scratch from the abrasive detergent. Same thing if you have good pots and pans like Calphalon. In fact, Calphalon will not honor its replacement guarantee if you put them in. (The good news is, they’re practically self-cleaning, so a swish or two in dishwater cleans them.)
I mix up spoons and forks in the handle up/handle down position. Knives (butter, or cheap paring knives) all go knife-down. I have seen an kid fall against a dishwasher and I’m not willing to risk it.
If you end up with film on your dishes, it could be the water in your area. Ours were practically opaque and I WAS using Jet Dry AND vinegar. The repair man said there were other products. Shoot I’m not at home, or I’d tell you the name, but it’s a product made by Cascade that you add to the bottom of the dishwasher in addition to the regular Cascade. (No cheapo brands ever. From the Queen of Generic, I’m telling you it does make a difference.) Also there is a product to clean the inside of the dishwasher itself. Mine is stainless steel and it was beginning to look like ceramic. Presto, the stuff cleaned it right off.
I can’t find the names of the products on Cascade’s web site, so I’ll have to look at home.
But I did find one tip that I remember reading in the owner’s manual.
Run your kitchen's hot-water tap for a few minutes before starting the dishwasher to make sure the first water fill is hot.
A friend of mine, a dietician, used to work for the state and inspected public kitchens. One common violation she told me about was the water in the dishwashers not being hot enough. Consequently I’m paranoid about it.
Not necessary if the water heater is close to the dishwasher or if you enable the water heat option in the dishwasher. AFAIK, all models have that option except perhaps the el-cheapo ones.
I’m sure that’s the case for most dishwasher owners. But you might also consider how your hot water heater heats: does it use gas or propane or electricity, and which of those is cheapest? I mean, it’s probably a matter of a few cents either way, but if you’re like my mom and run the thing twice a day, it could add up pretty quickly using the electricity option.
One more piece of advice, which strikes in our home all too often: make sure that you don’t put something too tall on the side with the detergent dispenser, where it may rest against it and prevent it from opening. You’ll end up with dishes that aren’t quite clean, because they didn’t get enough detergent, plus you’ll have a hardened clump of detergent that you’ll have to chisel out with a butter knife.
Also, if the inside of your dishwasher is plastic instead of stainless (as most are), you’ll want to rinse off any tomato-based residue from plates and pots before you put them in. Tomatoes will stain the inside of your dishwasher a faint pinkish red, and it’ll never come off.
If you’ve made anything like cookies with crisco, I suggest hand washing as the other way around leaves film on the utensils. I found this out after I stuffed the mixer blades and other things into the dishwasher. I ended up washing them by hand as the second go around after I saw the film. Ish.
I also don’t use the electric heat option and just open the dishwasher to let it all air dry. This saves a good bit of electricity, which is nice.
And I always hand wash things like the good wineglasses and knives.
Holy Crap - something I know about for once. I work for an internationtional appliance manufacturer and write the manuals for their dishwashers. Here is the straight dope. LOTS of highly educated engineers spend LOTS of time and energy testing what works and what does not. Lab testing proves that powdered detergent is most effective. That does not mean that if a detergent manufacturer will pay the company $2 / dishwasher to free sample their little powerball tab that they won’t do it knowing something else is more effective.
You do not have to rinse, but merely scrape, or use the afforementioned “did it fall off the plate over the trash can” method. The soap does need something to act on or it will act on your glassware and cloud it.
Regarding loading patterns: often your manual will suggest how to load the unit. This info is not meant for you, but for the Consumers Union that performs the tests that rank dishwashers in their consumer reports. Manufacturers are familiar with their testing practices and actually design the appliance to do well in the test, not neccessarily in your home. They also may suggest you load the silverware sharp side down to avoid a lawsuit in case junior impales himself on a fork and they get sued, not because it is the best way to get it clean. Just try to make sure water will splash on the dirty bits. Beyond that - throw the shit in willy nilly.
Due to its inherent properties, plastic seldom comes out of the dishwasher completely dry. So what. Jet dry does aid the drying process. I think I’m going to ask some experts to test the vinegar idea. It might spoil their marketing deal with Proctor and Gamble, though.
Even cheapo dishwashers usually get dishes clean. When you spend the big bux, it is mostly for the quietude.
How sad is it when the only “Ask The” thread you could start has to do with a kitchen appliance…
One more thing. Tests show that you waste lots more energy pre-rinsing or hand-washing dishes than running a typical wash cycle in a fairly energy-efficient dishwasher (basically anything manufactured in about the last 5 years).
