Save money doing the dishwasher repairs yourselfDo your dishes come out spotted and stained? Have you noticed a puddle of water on the floor? Does your dishwasher simply fail to start up? If so, you’re not alone. These three complaints make up the vast majority of dishwasher problems. But now the good news: You can solve these dishwasher repair problems about 90 percent of the time without calling for a dishwasher repair technician. Instead of paying $70 for a service call, do the work yourself in less than 30 minutes. Most dishwasher repairs involve only routine maintenance and require no special tools or skills and little or no expense. Read on to learn how does a dishwasher work. In this article, we’ll tell you how to pinpoint the causes of most dishwasher problems, then walk you through simple dishwasher maintenance steps to correct them, all with little to no dishwasher repair costs. In most cases, even a time-pressed novice can get the dishwasher working again within a half-hour. We’re using a GE dishwasher for our demonstration, but most brands and models have a similar design. Pull out the owner’s manual and compare it with our illustrations to help identify and locate key parts. It will also help you identify part numbers when you need them. If you can’t find the manual, you can usually find one on the appliance manufacturer’s site. Sometimes appliance dealers can also provide manuals. How a Dishwasher WorksA dishwasher doesn’t fill like a clothes washer. Instead, 2 to 3 gallons of water flood the lower portion of the tub, where it mixes with the detergent and is pumped through the rotating spray arms onto the dishes. The wash water drains and is replaced by fresh water to rinse the dishes. The cycle often repeats several times. A timer regulates the water volume. A heating element near the bottom raises the dishwasher water temperature to 140 to 160 degrees F. The element also helps dry the dishes after the wash and rinse cycles are completed. |
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