WHY is my dishwasher being a prick?

[Eggproducer]

We have a 4 year old Zanussi integrated dishwasher.

Suddenly it has stopped cleaning stuff very well. Plates are left with bits of dried food stuck on. Cups still have ring marks.

I have added salt.

I have cleaned out the revolting filters.

I have wiped down the disgusting door seals.

I have tried cleaning out the rotor arms (lots of sweetcorn stuck inside), but the bastard instructions say I can't remove the bastard rotor arms, so I'm limited about how much I can do here. I spent an hour with two pins and a pair of tweezers and I can tell you I regret my life choices.

I have just slung a load of caustic soda down the filter hole.

It is getting hot. It is filling with water and it is draining.

SO WHY IS IT BEING A PRICK?

Well, it's an interesting one (spins out story in manner of troll)...

The dishes were much better this morning.

BUT they weren't particularly dirty last night, plus a few of the spoons were still a bit grubby/gritty.

Inconclusive I'm afraid.

How much rinse aid are dishwashers supposed to hold? Ours only seems to take a tablespoon.

It is, however, as previously established, a prick.

My old Bosch dishwasher would only take a spoonful too. I have Hotpoint now and it can take about a quarter of a bottle.
Try topping it up again before you use it. And the salt.
If mine ever comes out gritty it's usually a sign that it needs all the filters cleaning or that I have put something like a big pan over the spraying arm and the water isn't circulating.
I use Aldi own brand tablets and find it as good as any big name. I try to use Finish loose powder ( less packaging) in preference to tablets but it's harder to get hold of.

I await tomorrow's instalment !

Ours only takes a tiny bit of rinse aid but if I lift the door up and down it clears the air bubble and I get more in.

@glitterbiscuits Sweet Jesus, the sodding filters are currently the cleanest thing in our house.

Good to know though that other people's dishwashers take the tiniest bit of rinse aid. At our old house we could get a good half a bottle in, so I thought I was doing something wrong.

Did another wash this morning (mostly finding stuff to wash to test the dishwasher!)... definitely improved. Some baked-on bits of broccoli on the outside of stuff, but that may be old food from when it wasn't functioning properly, which has now completely hardened. Making a "proper" dinner tonight, so expect plenty of gravy and a full-on update tomorrow.

Quietly optimistic.

In other news, our freezer is being a prick (derails own thread).

Dishwasher fans, we have an update...

THE DISHWASHER IS CLEANING SHIT AGAIN.

I think especial thanks go to @Quellium because I do think maybe the filter wasn't clipped in securely. Once I'd removed all the shitty bits of sweetcorn from the rotor arms, it definitely made a difference too.

It's now filled to the gills with salt, rinse aid, and is super shiny inside.

Of course, we all know the real reason it's working again is that I threatened to get rid of it. It knows. Prick.

Well if it knows you're threatening to get rid then it should be making a more valiant effort to prevent its demise.

It sure is a prick.

My dw (dishwasher not darling wife) is a prick when its arms get rice in them. Repairs the vast amounts of sweetcorn my children consume Vs the amount of rice they don't eat I find rice in the bloody arms.

Once that food has been baked on you will need a chisel to remove it.

If the freezer is being a prick too then just wait for something else to decide to act up. Bad things happening in threes and all. Just a bit of cheery news for your morning.

Of course it knows it is plotting its next breakdown probably Dec 23rd

Mine does this it is so annoying. I thought they were such basis machines they couldn't go wrong like this.

I'm baffled as to how people are getting bits of sweetcorn in their dishwashers. Surely you're meant to scrape off all the sold bits of food before you put things in the dishwasher?

Oh and mine is a Miele and still does this just for the record

DearTeddy why do you think newer Bosch models aren't so good? I have a 15 year old Bosch DW and am dreading replacing it having seen a newer Bosch in action.

Why is there still food on plates when you put them in? And why is there sweet corn in the machine? You're not scraping the food off before you put the plates in, are you?

My newer Bosch isn't great, it's got a tray above the top rack for cutlery instead of a basket which is really crap, the cutlery doesn't get clean because there is a rack full of cups, glasses etc between it and the rotating arm. Also it means less height - the upper (cup) rack can be moved up and down - if you have it down you can get pint glasses in it but you can't get 12" dinner plates in the bottom rack. If you have it up you can get the plates in but not the glasses. It doesn't make a noticeable difference to how much stuff you can get in the bottom rack either compared to our old cutlery basket DW. Takes longer to load too. Other than that it's ok, subject to the usual cleaning of filters, rotor arms etc. I'd never buy one with a cutlery tray again though.

Good to know Expletive, does it do a short wash? Mine has a 32ish minute wash which works really well.

Great thread. But doesn't it drive you crazy that you don't know which of those three things actually solved the problem?

Yes, it does but we don't really use it, assumed it would be like the 15 min cycle on the washing machine and be little more than a quick swish.

Great thread BTW, I like a bit of housework-related cursing and swearing

@NotDavidTennant Yes you're right.

If you wouldn't mind putting that in an email to my husband, that would be great.

my miele has a top cutlery rack but it has a third rota arm above it. it lights up inside and has the salt dispenser in the door.

I love this thread!

I think all dishwashers are pricks to be honest.

I don’t even have the same model as you so they are in no way related and even mines a prick, it lies to me daily with its 1 hour 23 minutes nonsense and god it’s demanding for salt/rinse aid and the beeping for attention once it finally finishes until someone turns it off.

You should scrape food off before loading the dishwasher though, then no sweetcorn will be in The machine

Just replace the arms.

I did this and it cleans better. I got replacements from eBay. That’s one in the eye for the dishwasher companies as people think the washer is broken and replace it.