Dish washers are a very common piece of technology you’ll see in nearly every house in the States. They are incredibly helpful and make sure that all your dishes are washed, ready for the next day. Without them, they’d be a lot more cleaning up to do after your family meal, which is something nobody wants. However, from time-to-time, these machines tend to break, normally through no fault or interaction of the owner. Thankfully, there is always a way to fix to them and giving your local dishwasher repair company a call is probably the best cause of action.
There are many ways a dishwasher can break and most of them are very common. As mentioned above, sometimes, it might not even be your fault! You can usually tell when you need a dishwasher repair because your plates won’t come out looking shiny like usual.
When expensive items break, it can put your mind at rest just to know what could have caused it. So, to keep you calm before the repair guys arrive, we have written this article explaining the 5 most common reasons why your dishwasher isn’t washing properly.
Spray Arm Issues
One of the most common issues that can result in dirty dishes even after you’ve ran a cycle is faulty spray arms. This is where the arms that propel the water upwards towards your dishes is not working properly. When this happens, your plates won’t be jet washed with any water, leaving them dirty and unpleasant. This can happen what the spray arms get clogged or jammed with bits of food. It is a common issue and an appliance repair won’t be too difficult. A local dishwasher repair company would be able to fix this issue in no time at all!
Furthermore, not only can spray arms become clogged with bits of food, they can also spray your lovely dishes with dirty water. This is particularly true when you’re dishwasher’s drainage is connected to the garbage disposal. From time-to-time, coffee grounds in the disposal can cause residual to leak up into the machine. This results in your spray arms spraying dirty coffee water all over your dishes. If this happens, you’ll definitely need a professional local dishwasher repair company to take a lot at it.
Overloading
This is also one of the most common reasons for a faulty dishwasher that isn’t cleaning properly. The main reason people tend to receive dirty dishes and a broken dishwasher is because they are overloading their machine. This may seem like a trivial issue but it can have bigger repercussions. Dishwashers work in a similar fashion to washing machines. If you load a washing machine with too many clothes, it won’t clean them effectively. The same principle can be applied to dishwashers. If you have too many dishes in the machine the spray nozzles will have trouble shooting water, causing blockages and possible breaks.
Loading with Filthy Dishes
A dishwasher’s main purpose is to clean dishes, right? So, in theory, you would think filling your dishwasher with filthy dishes would be an effective way to avoid having to scrape them. However, this incredibly harmful towards your dishwasher and can result in severe clogs. Clogs that could result in faulty spray arms as we discussed above. Make sure you’re scraping your plates before you go ahead and place them in the dishwasher. It will keep your machine healthy and will require it to perform less cleaning! It could also prevent a dishwasher repair in the future.
Issues with the Chopper
In modern dishwashers, there is a section that is used to chop all the big chunks of food that are cleaned from your plates and cutlery. This is (literally) known as the chopper and it is responsible for making sure that any big chunks of waste are quickly chopped and removed from the machine during a cycle. Sometimes, when your dishwasher breaks and starts to wash dishes incorrectly, the issue may reside with the chopper. This is because, if the chopper breaks, dirty water will continue to circulate around the pumps, washing your dishes in filthy water.
Conclusion
Dishwashers are an important aspect of any kitchen and if you want clean dishes you should be looking after it. However, there are many things that could go wrong with a dishwasher and, in particular, the spray arms. Most of the problems above are associated with issues relating to spray arms and will be the first point to look at for a local dishwasher repair company. Make sure you are not overloading the machine, loading it with filthy dishes or leaving coffee grounds in your garbage disposal. It will make sure that your dishes remain white and sparkly!
