Our Pros have been fixing appliances their whole working life. They know exactly how we’re ruining those expensive hard-to-replace parts, and why our dishwasher emits that strange smell. We chatted with our Pros about the 4 most common dishwasher problems people encounter, preventative tips, and fixes.
1. Your dishwasher has a clogging or drainage issue: Most often, this problem is caused by hard foods and objects. The common culprits are citrus seeds, chicken bones, and broken pieces of glass. If you call a professional as soon as the problem arises, the issue can be fixed without having to replace a part. If you ignore the problem and keep using it, one of the hard pieces will make its way into the water lines and damage the drain pump (which costs $175 to $250 to replace).
2. Your dishes aren’t getting cleaned properly: This means the circulation motor is dying, the component responsible for high water pressure and, well, clean dishes. This part usually goes after 5 to 7 years of regular use. If your dishwasher is 7+ years old and you haven’t replaced it yet, go for it. It will set you back between $400 and $600, but it will double the lifespan of the dishwasher.
3. Your dishwasher smells really weird: The bad smell is coming from food and grease building up in the dishwasher's hose and drain lines. This problem has an easy, free fix: run the dishwasher on the quickest cycle with nothing in it except one full glass of vinegar.
4. You’ve got a dry dishwasher: The water valve is jammed when there's no water entering the appliance. Try lightly tapping on on the valve switch to open it up. If this doesn’t work, the valve has to be replaced. Time to call in a Pro.
One last thing - our Pros recommend buying a Bosch dishwasher. Based on their experience, they’re the most durable, very quiet, and conserve water usage.
