My dishwasher sucks
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Anonymous
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Bought a house with a 2000-ish GE Profile dishwasher. It doesn't clean anything. Dishes have to be pretty thoroughly pre-rinsed and scrubbed, all food removed, and even then it doesn't get them that clean (tomato juice residue left in glasses, etc.). I use liquid detergent and the blue stuff. Should I get a new dishwasher with updated technology or try a different detergent? Or is there something I need to empty (a food trap or something) inside? My last dishwasher was an '80s model in my rental apartment and kicked this washer's butt.
TIA!! |
Anonymous
| GE is the worst brand in the world. We are suffering through an all new GE appliance house. They are complete garbage and don't have to make good products because they are basically subsidized by the government through tax programs and office sales(notice how every government building is outfitted with them). Other brands have to make good products or else they won't sell any items. |
Anonymous
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They got rid of the phosphates in dishwasher detergent, which is causing a lot of problems. Phosphates are a miracle cleaner for any kind of dirty dishes but now that they are gone, lots of folks are unhappy. (Google Cascade sucks, for instance)
It used to be that some detergents were simply better than others. Now, you need to find the right detergent for your water type (mineral content) and water temperature. We switched around until finding the right one, which was Finish Powder. |
Anonymous
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PP is correct about the phosphates being removed and having to hunt for a detergent to work.
I have a similar issue with my dishwasher. It's also a GE dishwasher. I use Cascade, which seems to work well and I also put vinegar in the dishwasher and run a full cycle. You can also put baking soda and vinegar in and run it to clean the dishwasher. It helps when mine starts not getting things clean or when I start having issues with mold (eww I know..) |
Anonymous
| Our Bosch didn't work well until we switched to Finish Powerball. They look lethal, but they work. |
Anonymous
| Yeah, I was ready to get a new dish washer until we started using those blue Finish cubes. Now it cleans great. |
Anonymous
| I've used the Finish cubes, Cascade Gel Packs, all sorts, and my dishwasher still sucks. WTF is that white residue on all my black utensils and plastic items I put in there? I get that regardless of what detergent I use. I've tried home remedies and commercial remedies for mineral deposits and since I can't see inside the dishwasher, I have no idea how well it's working. |
Anonymous
| PP try using vinegar to get the initial mineral deposit off, then wash and use jet-dry. DH says the cascade gel packs work for us so I don't know, maybe your water is especially hard. |
Anonymous
| If you have an older dishwasher that was built before the ban 2 years a go you need to add phosphates. You can see in this review three phosphate additives you can still buy online. |
Anonymous
http://www.jillcataldo.com/phosphatedetergents |
Anonymous
| OP here - that link is blowing my mind. Thank you! Anyone have tips on where to buy professional cascade or Bubble Bandit in DC area? Otherwise I will spring for the $9 Amazon shipping (not prime eligible? lame). |
Anonymous
Thank the epa for that, it was stupid because soap contributes less than 1% of the run off |
Anonymous
| I had one of this early '00 GE dishwashers. I spent a mint on it and it never worked, even when fairly new (before the soap change). So I don't think that the soap is the answer. I was told by one of the ***multiple*** repairmen I had come to see my washer was that GE, at that time, was trying to figure out how to make a water-efficient washer and the models just did not work well. I ended buying a cheaper new washer and have not regretted it once. |
Anonymous
Just go to the hardware store and buy a box of trisodium phosphate. Mix it into powdered detergent, or add a very small amount (half a teaspoon) to each load. The ban is stupid, as detergents had very low levels of phosphates and are a very small fraction of what goes into the water from agricultural runoff etc. |
Anonymous
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Right--it's totally stupid not to pollute the bay because other people pollute it too.
It's also totally stupid to try to save gas or electricity, or limit auto pollution, or coal pollution, or any kind of pollution really, because other people are going to pollute anyway. So the hell with it. |