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Ok - I decided to give CLR a chance. I am on cycle number 3 - there is still a lot of grit in the bottom of the dishwasher when the cycle is over.
Does CLR have a lot of suds? I opened the door mid cycle because the dishwasher was making an odd noise and there was a heck of alot of suds. Doesn't seem right to me. What do you think?
The suds are probably old detergent that was chemically bound by the hard water going back into solution.
What is the grit you are describing? Is your well "making" sand? Gather up some of it and put it in a pot on the stove, heat to boiling - does it dissolve? If so it's probably dishwasher detergent that's not being fully dissolved.
Are you certain the dishwasher water is getting hot enough? The temp. sensor may be faulty and letting the cycle stop before the self-heating gets the job done.
Have you had your water tested, what are the hardness ions and how much?
The suds are probably old detergent that was chemically bound by the hard water going back into solution.
What is the grit you are describing? Is your well "making" sand? Gather up some of it and put it in a pot on the stove, heat to boiling - does it dissolve? If so it's probably dishwasher detergent that's not being fully dissolved.
Are you certain the dishwasher water is getting hot enough? The temp. sensor may be faulty and letting the cycle stop before the self-heating gets the job done.
Have you had your water tested, what are the hardness ions and how much?
I did gather some in put it in a pot, heating to boiling. Probably boiled for 2-3 minutes. The stuff looks the same as when I put it in the pot. Limescale maybe? I just love these science experiments, now if I had clean dishes...
Thanks for your suggestions!!
Well at least you now know it's not un-dissolved dishwasher detergent.
If it's lime scale, if you mix it with the CLR it should fizz up.
Have you tried a liquid detergent? This AM on GMA they had someone from Consumer Reports talking about home cleaning products, they specifically recommended Cascade Liquid.
That said I think some detergents work better in some specific water than others.
To sort of repeat myself, if your water is hard enough, I don't think you will ever get good performance from your dishwasher without a softener.
This problem just hit me now in NJ. I also have very hard water, but I always used vinegar and monthly dishwasher cleaning agents. Not sure if it is the New Dishwasher or because of the detergent. Repairman said dishwasher is working fine. Thank you for this post, I will start to trouble shoot immediately, only have another couple weeks left before I can return my dishwasher. The first most important problem is No Phosphates in the detergent. It has been banned from dishwasher detergent and it would just be a coincidence as to why I am having this problem. What I did find out that Trisodium phosphate powder that is no longer added to our dishwasher detergents can be purchased separately and added back in. On my way to the Hardware store to buy a bucket. Will keep you advised. Also will compare motor pump HP to old machine. I also will start using table salt, no other due to non cacking agents, helps tremendously. I will be looking for the easy methods that can be done ahead of time at once, not like filling a cup of vinegar every time... Will keep ya posted.
Last edited by Appliance Queen (love em); 11-15-2011 at 01:04 PM..
Reason: correction
I have hard water too and have been adding a package of unsweetened lemonade mix to the detergent cup, works wonders everything comes out clean with no scale. I would use plain old citric acid but no one sells it up where I am.
We followed CR to BOSCH. It was a terrible mistake. The thing breaks constantly. The only Bosch repairman is 40 miles away. The parts are expensive and often have to be ordered. The repairman said that they are prone to breaking. Looking online, reviews indicate that they are prone to breaking. Also do not clean super well and do not dry dishes worth a darn.
So why are they so highly rated? They use little water, they are quiet, stainless steel and have adjustable baskets. I woudl gladly trade for a noisy water hog that works well and does not break, or at least does nto cost an arm and a leg to repair. (I no longer trust CR at all as a result of this and several other top rated items they convinced us to buy).
Our repairman recommended Kitchen Aid. However he said that he would be really happy if we bought another Bosch. He might even open a repair shop nearby since he visits so often.
Kenmore dish wahshers are just rebranded whirlpool, Bosch, Kitchen Aid and other brands. You need to know what you are getting. There is always a brand model that is the equivalent of each Kenmore. Sometimes Kenmore adds some feature, but usually they just change the name on the front.
By the way, a dishwahser with a built in water softener sounds like a really bad idea. More things to break. Besides, if it does nto have tanks and use salt, it cannot possibly work well.
You can get softeners that use less salt. They have two tanks and use soft water to rinse and recharge the noodles. You can also use potassium instead of salt. This is a health risk for certain people. Less of a health risk for others.
We followed CR to BOSCH. It was a terrible mistake. The thing breaks constantly. The only Bosch repairman is 40 miles away. The parts are expensive and often have to be ordered. The repairman said that they are prone to breaking. Looking online, reviews indicate that they are prone to breaking. Also do not clean super well and do not dry dishes worth a darn.
So why are they so highly rated? They use little water, they are quiet, stainless steel and have adjustable baskets. I woudl gladly trade for a noisy water hog that works well and does not break, or at least does nto cost an arm and a leg to repair. (I no longer trust CR at all as a result of this and several other top rated items they convinced us to buy).
Our repairman recommended Kitchen Aid. However he said that he would be really happy if we bought another Bosch. He might even open a repair shop nearby since he visits so often.
Kenmore dish wahshers are just rebranded whirlpool, Bosch, Kitchen Aid and other brands. You need to know what you are getting. There is always a brand model that is the equivalent of each Kenmore. Sometimes Kenmore adds some feature, but usually they just change the name on the front.
By the way, a dishwahser with a built in water softener sounds like a really bad idea. More things to break. Besides, if it does nto have tanks and use salt, it cannot possibly work well.
You can get softeners that use less salt. They have two tanks and use soft water to rinse and recharge the noodles. You can also use potassium instead of salt. This is a health risk for certain people. Less of a health risk for others.
I would love a noisy water hog that just CLEANS! Is that so much to ask? I have been adding Lemoncid (sp?) to the prewash cup to every load and that seems to help...for now. I have come to the conclusion that as long as I live in a hard water area, I will have to replace the dishwasher about every 4 years. We have lived here for 15 years and I am on dishwasher #4.
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