Let’s face it, your dishwasher is one of your most trusted friends. It’s tireless work leaves you free to enjoy your evenings without having to bother about the dreaded chore of doing the dishes. What do you do when a friend is feeling under the weather? You try to find out what’s wrong and offer to help.
In this article we’ll be looking at the main signs indicating that your dishwasher has a problem and you should contact reliable appliance repair professionals to put it back in working order.
Water won’t pump in
When you’ve loaded the dishwasher and pressed the button you wait for the familiar sound of water rushing in. Sign that your appliance is on the job and you can go watch TV. When you don’t hear the sound of water pumping into the dishwasher, don’t just stand there waiting for miracles. It’s not like it’s going to start working in five or ten minutes. If the water’s not pumping in, just stop the machine already. Letting it run without water can completely destroy the appliance.
In most cases it’s either a problem with the pump itself or with the sensor that tells the appliance when to pump water in or out. Both problems are fixable, but only by professionals as the appliance needs to be taken apart.
Water won’t pump out
That’s equally frustrating and, once again, the sensor might be broken. The problem might also be caused by a broken drain pump or a clogged drain. You may want to check if the drain at the bottom of the appliance is clogged and try to remove the residues blocking it. Don’t use force if you don’t want to cause major damage and make your dishwasher beyond repair.
Dishes don’t come out clean
That’s a major breach of trust between you and your dishwasher. If you wanted dirty dishes you wouldn’t have bought a dishwasher. Most often this problem appears when there are food residues stuck at the bottom of your appliance. This is caused by clogged drains that do not allow the elimination of all food particles at the end of one cycle. During the next cycle, those residues are blown around by water and they stick to the dishes.
Sometimes dishes do not come out clean because of limescales. In order to only clean the dishes well but also to function properly for a long time, you need to take care of your dishwasher. First of all, you should read the instructions and follow the recommendations given in them. You should also remember to regularly clean the filters and evaluate the hardness of the water. In the case of hard water, it is important to use salt to soften the water. The latter aspect is relevant even when using tablets for dishwashers. If water is hard, the tablets do not always provide good washing and rinsing results, so it is recommended to use additional measures, for instance, dishwasher salt. Always determine tablets and salt dosage accordingly to recommendations. In general, the dishwasher should be degreased and descaled several times a year. Additional descaling agents prevent limescale from accumulating in the nozzles and on the heating element.
In both situations, you can try to clean the drains yourself, but if you still encounter this problem the next day you’d better call a professional.
Dishes come out cold or too hot
These malfunctions of dishwashers are closely related to the heating of water. In some cases, the liquid does not heat up to the set temperature, in other cases it becomes too hot. During washing, the water can overheat, and after washing – the dishes are very hot, it is impossible to take them out. If you consider overheating, there may be several reasons:
- Thermostat malfunction;
- Insufficient water pressure in the system;
- Faulty heating element.
On the other hand, if the dishes do not feel hot at the end of the cycle, that’s a sign the heating coil is malfunctioning.
These malfunctions are not a job for an amateur so you’d better look for a repairman.
Water is leaking under the appliance
There are several things that might be causing this problem. In most cases it’s about the seals on the door that need replacing. That’s an easy job for a professional and you’d better find one before the seal becomes even more damaged. You don’t want to spend your evening mopping the kitchen floor!
Further reading: Summer down under: Home maintenance.
