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Morning all,
So the dishwasher is about to give up, and I am in no mood to be standing at a sink for hours with my hands in hot bubbles.
It takes ages to start it's cycle, and once it's finished it appears to have not used any hot water whatsoever. Should I...
a: Get someone out to try and fix it (Covid safely)
b: Bite the bullet and buy a new one
If b, can anyone recommend a decent brand?
have you tried some home-based troubleshooting? Some dishwasher woes can be as simple as blocked valves (inlet or outlet), gunge build-up, kinked pipes.
I’d call someone up, explain the problem, get their thoughts on whether it’s worth their while coming out.
If it is a goner then I’d buy a Miele.
IMO, unless it is normally a fantastic dishwasher and you can fix it yourself, I would just buy a new one.
Decent brand? I have had 'premier' brands such as Smeg and Siemens in the past. Neither lasted any longer than brands costing half the money so I would just suggest getting the cheapest one you can find that gets decent reviews. I look at the cost as a sunk cost (ie, the dishwasher costs £250, lasts three or four years, breaks, get new one, repeat).
Get a man in to fix it, if you like it.
I'm all about products that last, so though I use brand names as a guide. I'm more interest in proper controls that will last, over touch screens/buttons, that will die after a year or two
Mpre info
Is it a Bosch with aquastop
Do you live in a hard water area
Is it plumbed into a hot pt or cold supply
Sound's like a blocked filter on the inlet, free, just find and clean
Or a blocled or busted inlet solenoid valve, cheap but harder to find and fix
If it were me i would have it apart before even thinking about ringing a man
I would (and do):
1. Google for DIY repair/obvious stuff
2. Get a man in (money to local economy, may avoid replacement)
E. Replace
Have a look on youtube. Most people have had the same problem prior to you encountering it. We've just got rid of a 10 year old Seimens that I'd managed to keep going despite ongoing leaks. Fortunately it had a very sensitive float switch in the base that shut it down in plenty of time, so no flooded kitchen. Gone back to Miele as the rest of Miele appliances I've got are still going strong after 10 years.
just make sure you read the reviews, the bottom level on mine is so small it barely clears a medium sized plate
Siemens - about the best value outside of getting a Miele (which although expensive will last 20 years.)
Ours died just less than 2 years ago after a couple of years of regular fixes it finally wouldn't run and only flood the kitchen (it was Bosch and about 12 years old).
We bought the cheapest one in Currys as the spec in terms of efficiency etc. was better than the old one and the same as all but the super expensive ones, and I'd just been put on short time working so cash was tight. The current essentials one on their site is different (different buttons and layout) but it will almost certainly be fine. There aren't the big moving parts to go bang like a clothes washing machine.
So far so good. Works fine and the only noticeable difference is that the plate racks are a bit flexy. Any colour you like as long as it's white.
I recently had our dishwasher apart - there are a lot of things that can go wrong, and most of them have been posted about on the internet.
1. Check filter/drain for blockages
2. Check inlet pathway for blockages (there is usually a filter in there I think)
Beyond that, you're taking it to bits (it's already broken, so what's the worst that can happen?) - there are loads of forums/videos covering the basic repairs to white goods. I narrowed my down to the ECU, which was a $300 aud part, so just bought a new diswasher in the end.
However, recently fixed our washer/drier for $50 (new drain pump motor).
There's not a lot of stock around at present - we just bought a smeg because it was the cheapest one I could find with a cutlery rack (!) but generally speaking if you filter by "in stock" your choice will get less than half.
cutlery rack
Brilliant option.
Until a few years ago this used to be a Miele exclusive idea. So very good. A third, slim drawer that you put each piece of cutlery in. Gives you more space in the other drawers. Stops your cutlery scratching together. And prevents ‘ouch’ stabby incidents from a cutlery bucket/basket.
+1 cutlery drawer - although on my Siemens it does mean that wine glasses tend to have to go in the bottom drawer as the top drawer is a bit shallower. Doesn't bother us as it's only Mrs OS who drinks anything and it's just as easy to wash it in the sink (and better for the glasses). You can take the drawer out though. I kept the cutlery basket from my old one just in case but I have never used it.
I'm on my second Siemens - the first one lasted 12 years before a control board failure (which probably could have been replaced tbh). I just bought the upgraded version of the one I had - now with a cutlery drawer and even quieter.. Either way - something German will be good. Steer clear of anything BEKO etc. Oh and don't get one that has the buttons on the top of the door as they beep incessantly when they have finished and it's really, really, really irritating. Sometimes you can turn the beep off but not always...
is it an integrated you're after? If so buy whatever you can find. We're currently being quoted minimum 12-16 WEEKS for delivery from Siemens/NEFF/Bosch on the ones we normally supply for our kitchen fits.
If it's taking a while to warm up at the start of the cycle then maybe start with the heating element. Is the element furr'd up?
Usually if its not draining properly then it will throw up an error code...mine does at least, so something simple like that they usually have something to tell you what's going on. But if the cycle is taking a while to start up then the first thing it does is to heat some water. If that is taking time then it could be something to do with the heating element so a good place to start.
Not sure its worth stripping down too far to trace a fault unless its relatively new or an expensive machine. I think these things only have a design life of around 8 years and every dishwasher I've had has outlasted that apart from one that I swapped out early when I was getting my kitchen done. If it is 5years old or so then probably best to just ditch and replace. Low end premium brand is my rule for white goods. Same internals as the more expensive models but no silly functions you'll never use and silly things like LCD screens and wifi connectivity. Also tend to be more mechanical than electronic so ultimately less complicated and more reliable. Think my current Bosch dishwasher was a smidge over £200 and it does the job fine.
I'm not too convinced on a cutlery drawer. Used ones in a holiday cottage and wasn't impressed. You're not creating space just using the same space in a different way and I value the height of the drawers for large pans and wine glasses and things like that. Also a slim cutlery drawer is too slim to lay a big knife on its edge so you lay it flat so only one side gets cleaned. For me sharp knives go in the cutlery basket sharp end down so no stabbing incidents, and my dishwasher does have a little shelf on one side of the upper drawer for the odd longer and sharper knives to lay horizontally on their edge so both sides of the blade get cleaned. Also handy to remove the cutlery basket and holding close to the cutlery drawer for decanting clean utensils into the drawer. Works fine for me.
Sharp knives never go anywhere near a dishwasher - the detergent will destroy the edge.
With a cutlery shelf, you need the middle shelf to be adjustable. They allow you to get a lot more in.
I designed the kitchen so the DW is right opposite the cutlery drawer cabinet on the island. They literally pull out to be a foot apart, so you just transfer straight across.
Ohmigod the cutlery drawer has changed my life! Brilliant!