[blparent] Further Dishwasher Questions

[Steve Jacobson]

Elizabeth,

This is one of those topics that is probably borderline but doesn't seem out of line if it doesn't go on forever and evolve into a debate about which dishwasher is best.  <smile>

Having said that, here is my two cents worth.  Some dishwashers have filters or screens in the bottom that need to be occasionally cleaned.  be sure that isn't the case.

There are certain foods that if not completely rinsed off will just get recirculated to everything.  Peanutbutter is one such food but some other starchy foods can cause the same thing to happen.  Egg yoke is 
also a problem sometimes.  

If the water is hard, containing a lot of minerals and such, you will need something to counteract that.  Most dishwashers have a place to put a rinsing agent to prevent spots.  Sometimes there is even a control 
that determines how much is added as the amount that is needed depends upon the water quality.

You might also experiment with different soaps.  Different soaps have different strengths and weaknesses.  

Make sure you hear the arms turning.  You should be able to here the spray hitting the door in a rhythm.  If it is real slow, for example, say less than once per second, it could mean the arms are not turning 
because there is a mechanical problem or because your dishwasher is not filling as far as it should.  If a dishwasher fills too slow, the filling cycle may turn off before it is full.  If the dishwasher is only partly full, it 
can cause the arms to not rotate properly and the concentration of food from the dishes in the water may be too high.

Finally, make sure your water is hot enough.  Some dishwashers have the ability to heat up the water but this is optional as an energy saver, or it may be called a sani-cycle or something like that.  If you control 
the water heater, you might try turning up the temperature a little, but if you don't you may need to use the dishwasher's ability to heat up the water even if it means using more energy.  Of course, turning up the 
water heater might use more energy than would turning off the energy saving feature of the dishwasher.  It is probably a topic for another list, but some energy saving schemes don't end up saving you energy.  
I'll stop at that while adding quickly that I am not opposed to saving energy.  <smile>

I personally think you are smart to worry about these spots.  Even if you can't see them much, you won't be able to tell the spots that can't be seen from the ones you can see, and even if they are not real 
visible, people will probably be grossed out if they see them in their cup as they sip on coffee.  

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Tue, 5 Jun 2012 19:41:07 -0600, Jo Elizabeth Pinto wrote:

>Hi.  A week or two ago--sometimes it feels like a year ago--I asked about how to clean out my dishwasher.  I got some great ideas and tried vinegar first, then bleach, and finally CLR, which is a compound 
especially made for getting dishwashers clean.  My dishwasher is doing a lot better, but on the load I just took out, there were a couple of glasses and bowls that still had spots on them.  Anyway, I could feel 
little specks.  I showed Gerald and he said he could hardly see them, but that yes, there were tiny spots in the places I pointed out.  He said to just leave the dishes that way because it was barely noticeable 
and who cared.  Maybe I'm too obsessive, but I couldn't leave them like that, so I washed them off by hand.

>You have to understand, I've only ever had two dishwashers in my life, the one I had in my last apartment and this one that I bought with my condo.  The one I had in my apartment never did work right, so I 
didn't use it.  I don't have much to compare this one to.  My question is, am I expecting too much?  For those of you who have dishwashers, do your glasses and bols and plates come out with specks on them 
that you can feel?  Or is my dishwasher just headed for the landfill?  Should I quit using it and go back to old-fashioned elbow grease and a sponge?

>Sorry I've gone on so long.  Hyper kids on summer vacation have given me brain cramps today.  If this message is off topic, feel free to write to me privately.

>Jo Elizabeth

>"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."  Maya Angelou
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