A dangerously dirty dishwasher...

day-day

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Earle, after looking into the dishwasher issue, it seems that it may be more than just accumulation over time from pre-rinsed dishes. How long have you had this dishwasher?

My Kenmore manual says to remove, inspect, and clean the filter and screen once a year if loading pre-washed dishes or dishes that are scraped and rinsed. The other extreme is to perform this weekly "If you do not scrape and rinse before loading" and you run 13-14 Loads per Week. I've always looked in the bottom where the screen is to see if anything looks bad but finally removed the filters. I had a slight buildup on the mesh of the upper filter that I rinsed away in the sink.


I have often wondered if there was some kind of screen or sump to clean out on my washer. It's an Estate by Whirlpool I bought used from an ERAU student on CL. I've had it for probably going on 15 years and it works flawlessly.
Thanks for the post, Earle!

EDIT: Just noticed you said Dish WASHER....not washing machine. :)

Never mind......
There seems to be a large number of various types of filters and screens, including some with none, in clothes washers. Our Kenmore is 24 years old and a top loader. I had to remove the tub in order to get to a plastic lint filter (screen, catcher) that had collected material over the years. We had run all sorts of cleaners but would still get a odor but this removal and cleaning took care of it.
 
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TIDE-HSV

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Earle, after looking into the dishwasher issue, it seems that it may be more than just accumulation over time from pre-rinsed dishes. How long have you had this dishwasher?

My Kenmore manual says to remove, inspect, and clean the filter and screen once a year if loading pre-washed dishes or dishes that are scraped and rinsed. The other extreme is to perform this weekly "If you do not scrape and rinse before loading" and you run 13-14 Loads per Week. I've always looked in the bottom where the screen is to see if anything looks bad but finally removed the filters. I had a slight buildup on the mesh of the upper filter that I rinsed away in the sink.




There seems to be a large number of various types of filters and screens, including some with none, in clothes washers. Our Kenmore is 24 years old and a top loader. I had to remove the tub in order to get to a plastic lint filter (screen, catcher) that had collected material over the years. We had run all sorts of cleaners but would still get a odor but this removal and cleaning took care of it.
Your 24-year old machine is much better than this one. I should have taken a series of pix as I disassembled it. There is a small filter, which pops out easily, which we've cleaned. We had been using their cleaning tablets plus, as I said vinegar once a month. Occasionally, we'd pop out the little filter holder, which was very coarse and doesn't catch much. Our dishes are scraped and rinsed, and, being empty-nesters, we run a load normally every other day or, possibly third day - not heavy use. That accumulation is, believe it or not, a two-year accumulation. Since the filter is too coarse to really catch much, the rest ended up packed in its compartment on either side of the filter. To open that compartment, you have to remove the swing arm and take the top off the entire compartment within which the filer resides. Even after cleaning the entire compartment, wheels on racks and generally anything we could get our hands on, the gunk is still surfacing. We found the problem because my wife started noticing that brown matter was coming out of the holes of upper spray arm, having traveled up from the filter compartment. I agree that the amount of gunk is staggering, to be a two-year accumulation. I can only conclude their cleaning routine is totally useless. I'll take it apart and clean it manually on a quarterly basis from now on...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Your 24-year old machine is much better than this one. I should have taken a series of pix as I disassembled it. There is a small filter, which pops out easily, which we've cleaned. We had been using their cleaning tablets plus, as I said vinegar once a month. Occasionally, we'd pop out the little filter holder, which was very coarse and doesn't catch much. Our dishes are scraped and rinsed, and, being empty-nesters, we run a load normally every other day or, possibly third day - not heavy use. That accumulation is, believe it or not, a two-year accumulation. Since the filter is too coarse to really catch much, the rest ended up packed in its compartment on either side of the filter. To open that compartment, you have to remove the swing arm and take the top off the entire compartment within which the filer resides. Even after cleaning the entire compartment, wheels on racks and generally anything we could get our hands on, the gunk is still surfacing. We found the problem because my wife started noticing that brown matter was coming out of the holes of upper spray arm, having traveled up from the filter compartment. I agree that the amount of gunk is staggering, to be a two-year accumulation. I can only conclude their cleaning routine is totally useless. I'll take it apart and clean it manually on a quarterly basis from now on...
I'd add our water is pretty hard, so the chemical reaction is part of the problem. Though, I agree with you. The amount of sludge for a two-year period is mind-boggling. We couldn't believe it, as we cleaned it. Their filtration system is simply abysmal...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Earle, after looking into the dishwasher issue, it seems that it may be more than just accumulation over time from pre-rinsed dishes. How long have you had this dishwasher?

My Kenmore manual says to remove, inspect, and clean the filter and screen once a year if loading pre-washed dishes or dishes that are scraped and rinsed. The other extreme is to perform this weekly "If you do not scrape and rinse before loading" and you run 13-14 Loads per Week. I've always looked in the bottom where the screen is to see if anything looks bad but finally removed the filters. I had a slight buildup on the mesh of the upper filter that I rinsed away in the sink.




There seems to be a large number of various types of filters and screens, including some with none, in clothes washers. Our Kenmore is 24 years old and a top loader. I had to remove the tub in order to get to a plastic lint filter (screen, catcher) that had collected material over the years. We had run all sorts of cleaners but would still get a odor but this removal and cleaning took care of it.
One thing just occurred to me. Over the five years the LG lasted, at least four of the repairs involved disassembling the bottom end - two pump motors, a check valve and a macerator motor. The filter assembly naturally also had to come out for that. The LG never had anything like this buildup. In fact, it was quite clean. For the amount of sludge in this one after only two years, there had to be no filtering going on at all...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Haven't had this problem yet but not impressed with the KA's cleaning ability (really, any of the HE washers on the market now, I guess). Mine hasn't had this problem, but next time it's the Bosch.
I agree. Everyone who has one seems to like it and they're made in NC, in the largest such factory in the world...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Well, it keeps having installments. We had thought we had the upper spray wand clean. No such luck. We continue to take it off and earthworm-sized strings of brown gunk keep coming out. My wife spent about an hour on it this afternoon. My conclusion is that there is simply not enough water pressure allowed upwards through the dishwasher to evacuate the upper arm. The problem is not the house water pressure, which is around 85 psi. It's just a really, really bad design, and there are many thousands out there with the KA and WP name plates...
 

TIDE-HSV

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I'm resurrecting this old thread to report an additional finding. Twice since the original cleaning, most recently yesterday, I've taken the lower wand out and pulled the bottom cover for cleaning. There was some accumulation but nothing like what I found in March of last year. I'm just reconciled to having to do this every six months or so.

The new discovery, and IDK if it's just my machine or the model, is that I have had water remaining in the bottom. Frequently, well after a cycle is completed, closing the door will cause it to start draining anew. The "cancel" button also has "drain" on it, apparently doubling as a manual drain function. Yesterday, after cleaning it out, I closed the door and hit "drain." It emptied the water from the bottom. I can't be sure, but I suspect the hidden water in the bottom has something to do with the buildup of the "pudding." I plan to manually drain it after every cycle from now on...
 
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Go Bama

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I'm resurrecting this old thread to report an additional finding. Twice since the original cleaning, most recently yesterday, I've taken the lower wand out and pulled the bottom cover for cleaning. There was some accumulation but nothing like what I found in March of last year. I'm just reconciled to having to do this every six months or so.

The new discovery, and IDK if it's just my machine or the model, is that I have had water remaining in the bottom. Frequently, well after a cycle is completed, closing the door will cause it to start draining anew. The "cancel" button also has "drain" on it, apparently doubling as a manual drain function. Yesterday, after cleaning it out, I closed the door and hit "drain." It emptied the water from the bottom. I can't be sure, but I suspect the hidden water in the bottom has something to do with the buildup of the "pudding." I plan to manually drain it after every cycle from now on...
I should have gotten back to you sooner on this. My filter barely needed cleaning so I didn't even look at the macerator. As a bonus, I showed my wife how to access the filter. :cool: It's a piece of cake on our model. There was a little standing water in the drain under the cover that is below the wand, but it was minimal.

We've been thoroughly rinsing dishes since the pudding pictures. I'm just not comfortable putting food into the dishwasher. There's no shortage of water in West Tennessee.
 

TIDE-HSV

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I should have gotten back to you sooner on this. My filter barely needed cleaning so I didn't even look at the macerator. As a bonus, I showed my wife how to access the filter. :cool: It's a piece of cake on our model. There was a little standing water in the drain under the cover that is below the wand, but it was minimal.

We've been thoroughly rinsing dishes since the pudding pictures. I'm just not comfortable putting food into the dishwasher. There's no shortage of water in West Tennessee.
These dishwashers, whether they have the KitchenAid, Whirlpool or JennAir nameplates have slightly different designs in the bottom. I always open up the filter compartment, clean it out, and then take the cover off the bottom. There's always more gunk around the bottom which needs manual removal. Like you, we're much more careful about removing any excess food...
 
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92tide

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so, we finally got our bosch dishwasher last week. we originally ordered it in sept. 2020, it was backordered and at the end of october the order was cancelled, so we re-ordered then and it finally showed up.

it's amazingly quiet and seems to work really well based on the first few loads we have run through it.
 

Tenntiderman

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That's OK. Hold on to that washing machine as long as you can. It's built better than anything you can buy today...
Earle...a short while back....I pulled out a perfectly working Frigidaire DW that came with the house. Bought the house in '03. I had replaced the water-fill valve and the door spring. Other than that...machine never failed. The lower rack and upper rack got worn out..began to transfer rust onto dishes. Ok.....wanted a Whirlpool (reputation more than anything). Got a Whirlpool. As soon as I pulled that badboy from the boxing....I started noticing how wimpy the hardware, design, and construction is today. Wow. Don't see this machine lasting 8 years. Old one went 18 with only 2 maintenance issues. Even the frame is cheesy built. How does the new one work? Pays to keep an eye out for silverware. Have not been so well pleased. Much quieter but does not do as good a job as the old one. To be sure...it pays to wssh your dishes by hand pretty much..then run them thru the DW for sanitation.
.
 
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92tide

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Earle...a short while back....I pulled out a perfectly working Frigidaire DW that came with the house. Bought the house in '03. I had replaced the water-fill valve and the door spring. Other than that...machine never failed. The lower rack and upper rack got worn out..began to transfer rust onto dishes. Ok.....wanted a Whirlpool (reputation more than anything). Got a Whirlpool. As soon as I pulled that badboy from the boxing....I started noticing how wimpy the hardware, design, and construction is today. Wow. Don't see this machine lasting 8 years. Old one went 18 with only 2 maintenance issues. Even the frame is cheesy built. How does the new one work? Pays to keep an eye out for silverware. Have not been so well pleased. Much quieter but does not do as good a job as the old one. To be sure...it pays to wssh your dishes by hand pretty much..then run them thru the DW for sanitation.
.
when i sold my rental house a couple of years back, it still had the bottom of the line whirlpool washer and dryer that I bought at sears in '94 and they were still chugging along. i had only replaced a belt in the washer.
 

Tenntiderman

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when i sold my rental house a couple of years back, it still had the bottom of the line whirlpool washer and dryer that I bought at sears in '94 and they were still chugging along. i had only replaced a belt in the washer.
Yep. That is what I had remembered Whirlpool being about. Affordable and solidly designed.
 
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