Monday, August 31, 2015

A Spring Cleaning Tip...On the Last Day of August

Using a dishwasher in Southern California is somewhat of a catch 22.   While the dishwasher can save a lot of time, due to our very hard water, it can also make extra work when washing dishes.  Often, the hard water leaves spots and rings on the dishes that end up having to be washed and/or dried again.  Most of the time, it is easier for me to wash and dry the used dishes as they're used and just put them away.  But there are weeks that I get busy and turn to the dishwasher.  The start of the new school year was one of those times, and I noticed that my dishes were coming out exceptionally grungier than before.  I was faced with not just spots or rings but also actual pieces of what looked to be soap or even chalky lime build up.  It didn't seem the Jet Dry was doing its job, and when I tried the Lemi-Shine which is supposed to clear up issues of hard water in the dishwasher AND on the dishes, nothing really changed.  I'm already in the market for a new washer and dryer as mine are on their last legs, so I wondered if a dishwasher would need to be added to the list of needed appliances.
While killing time at a meeting last week, I scrolled through the Holy Grail of Ideas my Pinterest account and decided to search my dishwasher issue.  Now that was eye opening!  So, apparently dishwashers have a filter.  I had no idea!  Now some have garbage disposals built in and others don't.  Mine doesn't, so this info is based on one without as I don't know if it applies to those with disposals. Anyhow, almost everything I read said that if dishes were coming up covered in grunge, cleaning the filter was the first step.  Having no idea where my dishwasher filter nor my dishwasher user manual were, I YouTubed it and found a good video.
This is not my Frigidaire, but it gave me the gist.  And it was THAT easy to find it.  Once I found it and pulled all the pieces out I WAS SHOCKED and had to pull on some rubber gloves to not touch the grossness inside.  I decided against taking any pictures because I didn't think about it it was just too gross - food, dust, dog hair, paper, who knows what, it was all inside my dishwasher filter!  According to my research, all of this debris can keep the water from cleaning off the dishes and therefore leaving gunk all over them.  After dumping out what I could of the above into the trash, the sink was filled up with hot water and dish soap, and all the pieces were left to soak overnight.
The next morning, after pulling the gloves back on, I grabbed my scrub brush and loosened all the nasty bits that were left in the pieces.  Once they were clean, I filled up the sink with water again and a cup of white vinegar and let them soak again for about 20 minutes.  The vinegar is supposed to deodorize the pieces.  I didn't smell them before or after, but figured that step couldn't hurt.
After watching the second part of the video, the pieces were successfully put back into place, the dishes loaded back into the dishwasher, and the cleaning cycle was started.
Even before the load finished I was already thrilled!  About 6 months ago a friend of mine came over and replaced the garbage disposal in my sink because it had stopped working.  The first time I ran the dishwasher after he left, water poured out of the air gap piece into the sink.  When I inquired, he told me that always happens.  Funnily enough, it wasn't happening BEFORE the disposal repair, but beggars can't be choosers.  So I resealed the sink to keep the water that was pouring out from pouring into the cupboard under my sink.
But I digress, absolutely NO WATER came out of the air gap piece during this first wash after cleaning the dishwasher filter.  Already a success!
The success continued when cleaning out the dishwasher after the cycle, things were as clean as a whistle.  There was still a spot or two, but nothing like I was getting over the last couple of months.  Truly a successful DIY!!!
I sent the info to my closest friends and family as a tip.  Each and every person responded with surprise.  No one else had ever heard of such a tip either.  Use as you wish!

10 comments:

  1. Well isn't this an eye-opener! I think I need to do a little research on my dishwasher. I actually do have the manual since there's a drawer in the filing cabinet for such stuff. (that probably needs cleaning out as much as the filter on the DW)

    I'm glad you had such success!

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    1. It was very eye opening. A very easy fix for a pretty irritating problem. Yes, I'm sure the manual is somewhere in this house, maybe even in the filing cabinet that everything gets shoved in, so checking on youtube was just as easy. It's funny though, if you search dishwasher filter, very little comes up. It's almost as if "they" don't want you to know about it...I was preparing myself to buy a new one, so maybe that's their evil plan. :)

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  2. Nice tips. We do spring cleaning all year round. Helps keep the house a little nicer and less to do when spring really comes along.

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    1. I agree! A little all year long is better than a lot in a short period of time. School breaks are when I get the "spring" cleaning done. I have the time to take on more than the regular chores then. This was a fluke though, just stumbling on it. If kept up with, even once a year, it'll just take minutes. It hadn't been done since I've had the machine new (maybe 7 years ago) and it was still really easy.

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  3. Good on ya.
    A big girl pants time ?. Or just a gritting of the teeth and a stubborn set of the chin ?.

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    1. Not at all big-girl pants time - nothing like a dead headless rabbit in the backyard. It was actually more the thought of if being there in the same place where the dishes are supposed to get clean. I definitely didn't want to touch it, but it didn't make me gag or anything.

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    2. Oh my, if that last sentence was read out of context, it'd be pretty funny. :)

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    3. Chuckle.

      I wouldn't over worry about the cleanliness of the dishes as long as the thing cleaned the detritus. The drying air gets to scalding temps. You've opened it near the end and had to step away, such is the blast of heat.

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    4. Yes, the heat is high, probably killing anything inside. Even so, knowing the gunk is gone eases my mind.
      Tonight is the first night in maybe two weeks that it's cooled off enough to open a window. It's very pleasant with the ac turned off and a slight cross breeze.

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  4. I had no idea. I should do that this afternoon.

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