dishwasher help

[Annpan]

I am going mad.... my dishwasher is no longer washing dishes properly, everything comes out speckled with gunk, which seems baked on (presumably because of the temperature)

It is a 'diplomat' machine.... and from all the googleing I think it was the sh*tty, bargain basement piece of crap that MFI sold... the idiots that sold us the house never left us an instruction manual and I can't find the model number ... I have been searching for the last hour and a half on the internet for it and I am going mad


So there is a symbol showing in the display it has 2 arrows facing opposite directions, like the button in a car that means you are re-cycleing the air from inside.... like it is telling me it is reusing water? but this can't be right....

The inside of the machine seems clean and I have run it with just vinegar a few times now.... still same problem... the salt compartment is full of water (I think it is supposed to be?)

It is filling with water and getting hot, and draining the water.
The top arm isn't spinning during a wash, but there is nothing stopping it... I can spin it by hand quite easily.

I took apart the drain part at the bottom to see if anything was clogged and it seemed pretty greasy down there and there was a little water sitting in it.

Any thoughts.... did I mention I am going mad?

[Jandra]

AnnPan,
So the top arm isn't spinning, though there's nothing stoppig it?

Based on our own (limited) dishwashing machine experience: I think it spins by water pressure. What may have happened is that the water connection of the top arm is disconnected. If you move the upper rack back into the machine, the tube connected to the top spinner should make contact with a hole in the back of the machine. When our machine lost a rubber ring there, lack of water pressure to the top spinner meant it didn't spin...

We found the rubber ring in the bottom of the machine, pressed it back on and the machine went on working like a breeze.

Worth checking out, even if there's only a small chance that your machine has the same issue.

Good luck, Jandra

[Annpan]

Yes, I took that rubber ring off the other day and fitted it back on... I thought it had sorted it but it might have been my imagination cause it isn't working again today.... I winder if I can put an elastic band around it and see if that helps?


back in a mo....

[Annpan]

No luck

Any idea what the symbol with the arrows means? I am googleing like a crazy woman and I can't find any pictures of dishwasher displays to see what it means.

[Milims]

It may be that there is gunk trapped in the places you can't see - like inside the spinny arm thing. It may be that you have to but one of those nast diswasher cleaner things and run it thru a cycle. I filled the salt thingy in mine the other day. It was full of water as you say but lots of salt went into it and the dishes seem to be coming out cleaner. Good luck!

[Graye]

Funny, mine was doing the same thing a couple of days ago. It's also a cheapo Aldi special but had been working fine until it started leaving gunge all over the plates etc. I remember my old Colston used to get "bits" in the rotor arm and every now and then I had to take it out and shake things out (usually lemon pips for some reason). They used to block the holes up and drop the water pressure which blasts the dirt off when the arm spins (it's also this pressure making the arm spin). The rotor doesn't come out on this one so I worked on it with a toothpick then ran it through with nothing in, no tray, etc. I could see the pressure was fine and it has been washing OK since.

Sorry I don't know anything about your model, have you tried downloading the manual for it? You can often find what you need if you search, even if it's in some strange language. Can probably help if you can find French or Spanish?

[Annpan]

I have been googling every possible phrase to find the manual but I just can't and with no model number it is even more difficult.

I'll try those tips to see how I get on.

'Diplomat' is all that it says on it and I now believe that MFI would buy in job lots of other peoples dishwashers and just stick a diplomat logo on it... so it could be from almost any manufacturer

[Graye]

If you can find a model number for your dishwasher try this site, I've used it before for manuals.

http://www.espares.co.uk/usermanuals.aspx?

[Graye]

It seems Diplomat = Whirlpool if that helps. I knew I recognised the name and on checking our oven is also a Diplomat. Not sure where it came from as it was here when we came but I have no manual for it so can't really tell it's provenance.

[thesunflowergal]

I remember my old Colston used to get "bits" in the rotor arm and every now and then I had to take it out and shake things out (usually lemon pips for some reason).

We have had this problem lots and the same gunk issues as Ann. I agree try removing the arms and cleaning them out. Regarding the gunk issue, this is what I do once a week otherwise my machine is useless. Remove all of the filters, stack them in the trays. Add a liberal amount of soda crystals to the bottom of the machine, and run a short cycle.

Good luck

[Annpan]

Well, I have refilled the salt, hoping that is it... I couldn't find anything in the arms but they don't come apart, I gave them a shake and nothing rattled.

Pretty sure you aren't supposed to put soda crystals in them but I'll give that a go with bicarb and vinegar I think.

I hope it'll be better tonight and then we are away for a few nights so I'll give another go when I come back (might actually leave it to soak while we are away)

[Big Al]

Snipped........

I am going mad.... my dishwasher is no longer washing dishes properly, everything comes out speckled with gunk, which seems baked on (presumably because of the temperature)

Any thoughts.... did I mention I am going mad?

give him a slap and tell him to get his finger out or no sex tonight... usually works for me... [ but roles reversed of course....

[lsm1066]

Don't know if this applies to you but when ours does this, it generally means the soakaway's full because it's rained a lot so the dishwasher isn't draining properly and is re-using the dirty water instead of rinsing. I've only found two cures. Either don't use it for a week (or until it's not rained for a week) or get the septic tank and soakaways emptied.

Of course, if you haven't got a septic tank, it could be a blockage in the outlet pipe stopping it from draining properly. We also had this one. Problem was, the dozy previous owners of the house put the dishwasher in and then built the kitchen round it. So we had to take the work surface and the cupboards out to get to it!

Lynne

[fruitcake]

usually when my stuff gets gunky it means i need to clean the filters - usually in the base and should just screw out - i scrub mine in the sink and stick 'em back in. it's yeuch.

Have the wee arrow lights gone out yet? Mine's a whirlpool - it has lights come on when it wants salt or rinseaid.

good luck

[Rosendula]

Suggestion: How about you take a photo of the dishwasher. That way, if someone else has the same machine but with a different manufacturer logo, we might be able to direct you to a manual. Long shot, but may be worth a try.

Little story to cheer you up: A few years ago, OH bought a new mobile phone with a camera function. We were sat by candle-light in the evening, supposed to be watching TV, but he was messing about with his new toy. He was taking photo after photo of anything and everything. I was getting a bit fed up, and was more than a little tiddly on all the wine I'd consumed that evening, so I pulled my top up and said " 'ere. Git a photo ov theshe". Do you know what he did? I'll tell you. He laughed, stood up, went into the kitchen and took a photograph of the dishwasher! Bloody cheek. When I complained - he said the dishwasher was brighter!!!