Why is my dishwasher so rubbish?

Doozergirl

My dishwasher is a joke. If I want clean plates out of it then basically I need to put clean plates in and clean the filter before turning it on ie. wash up myself and clean the dishwasher as well :wall:

Virtually everything is coming out with tiny bits splattered all over it that I just don't recognise as having gone in there! I've had dishwashers in houses that have behaved perfectly without any kind of maintenance - ironically one was exactly the same as this one!

Is there anything I can do with it or am I consigning it to ebay?

bennybroadbean

How old is your dishwasher?

Maybe an idea to put a dishwasher cleaner through it - run it on the best cycle.

Kiran

I know its an obvious suggestion, but have you cleaned the arms/filters etc and then tried running it on the hottest wash that it can do with a bottle of dishwasher cleaner? Has this problem occured from new? Also are you sure the washing arm is free to rotate? I have had this problem before when trying to wash plates that were slightly oversized.

keith969

What make is it? Have you cleaned out the filter, checked the salt etc? And what dishwasher tablets / rinse aid do you use?

Doozergirl

What does the dishwasher cleaner actually clean? We've cleaned out every physical bit that we can see and I have run it several times on a hot wash with a tablet in it and I take the filter out and clean it whenever it's me loading the dishwasher. I will go out and buy some cleaner and give it a go anyway.

The dishwasher is a Smeg, about 5 years old but has only actually been used for about 18 months in that time, we've just started using it again. Admittedly it was always rubbish but this is beyond a joke I'm using Finish Quantum, Powerball, 12-in-1 or whatever is the highest number of things that a dishwasher tablet can do as I've never been convinced by the supermarket brands when it comes to tablets.

I don't think it has salt in it but I didn't think you needed it with the posh tablets

JimmyTheWig

We run ours through with limescale remover tablets (calgon, or cheap alternative usually) every now and again. This seems to help.

Oh, and ours works fine with Tesco Value dishwasher tablets!

keith969

Doozergirl wrote: »

I don't think it has salt in it but I didn't think you needed it with the posh tablets

Actually you do, unless you are in a very soft water area. Dishwashers contain an internal water softener and the salt is needed to recharge the softener. If the softener doesn't work through lack of salt, the hard water will clog the filter jets and give you dirty dishes!

Doozergirl

keith969 wrote: »

Actually you do, unless you are in a very soft water area. Dishwashers contain an internal water softener and the salt is needed to recharge the softener. If the softener doesn't work through lack of salt, the hard water will clog the filter jets and give you dirty dishes!

Ok! So I will put salt in it now - if the filter jets are clogged do I need to get someone out to look at it, can I sort it or will it sort itself out? I'm on the verge of throwing it out of the window at this point (if I could lift it - I had enough trouble with the bin bag this morning!)

keith969

Don't know about the jets - if you open the door when its on, and its spraying away merrily it should be OK.

Just make sure you put dishwasher salt in - don't use ordinary kitchen salt!

wallbash

Thousands of us think dishwashers are wonderful
Smeg are a good make . But you have not been too kind to it

Never ?? cleaned it and up to now deprived it of salt.
Rinse aid ??

Buy a finish dishwasher cleaner , add salt , check jets
And come to love your dishwasher .:beer:

Wetkitten

Hi there

Try just using basic Sainsburys dishwasher powder, and adding salt and rinse aid separately - then you know it is getting what it should need to work properly. The 5-1 tablets always cause me problems...

Yes dishwashers are great, but I bought a Smeg last year (for rental property) and it was not as great as I thought it would be - so much for expensive brands!