Greg Phillips, Sears technician, came over to address the problems we were having with our new Kenmore deep tub dishwasher. We got it to replace a 10+ year old machine that was loud as all get-out. The Kenmore 13842 came very-highly rated, but we were getting lousy results: dingy glasses, streaks on everything. Greg says that the machine is fine, but need to do the following:
- Make sure the hot water coming in is at least 120º from the faucet, and 130º is better (since the stainless steel tub will cool the water. Older models used more water, and the new ones use water that is just in the supply line, so it never gets hot. Run the water in the sink until it gets nice and hot, then start the dishwasher.
- Use powder soap, instead of the liquid based detergents, which are wax-based. Tablets are best, but you can’t measure more or less.
- Do not open the door during the wash cycle, because it interrupts the heating of the water, and will cause it to go into a default (clean light will flash seven times). To secure that, push normal-dry-normal-dry-normal-dry.
- Rinse dishes off: it doesn’t dispose of food as it says it does. Otherwise, you get to buy a new motor.
- Make sure to use Jet-Dry; it really helps with drying (it reduces the surface tension of the water, helping it to sheet off the dishes; also, in new dishwashers the heating elements are lower wattage than older units).
- See Low-flow toilet for comparison of “energy savings”. 😉
Our Kenmore hasn’t given us a lick of trouble since Day One. Jet-Dry is your friend. I also like to turn off Heated Dry because I wash my dishes late at night (lower kWh charges) and they can be dry of their own accord by the morning.
Leaving peanut butter on spoons is a quick way to test your spouse’s powers of observation, and also a neat calibration method for Sounding The Heavy Artillery. It also is good when you really want to sleep on the couch but need an excuse.
Our Bosch Evolution 800 Series (SHE58) is energy efficient, gets all the dishes clean, and is whisper-quiet.
It checks the incoming water temperature and adjusts as necessary, and it rinses with hot water instead of having a drying cycle.
We scrape food off the dishes, but don’t rinse them. Rinsing the dishwasher filter once a week takes care of anything that didn’t dissolve.
Powdered detergents: check.
Jet Dry: check.
Get rid of high-end Kitchen Aid that never worked right: check.