Where to look for crud in this 80's Hotpoint dishwasher?

[Doc]

Photo of the underside of an upside down 80's vintage dishwasher, pump removed. Everything seems to be running fine but it's been leaving crud and deposits on the dishes. Apparently a common culprit is debris caught somewhere but it's not obvious to me where to look on this model. There's a finned filter on the inside of the machine at the center of the bottom (the hole on the left of the photo is on the outgoing side of that filter) but it would only trap fairly large objects. There's a plate at the back of the intake side of this pump, visible in the photo. I didn't find much there.

Where else could debris be lurking?

Thanks for all input.

[Ashton Crusher]

What kind of crud and debris? I had an 18 month old GE that started leaving black specs on everything. Turned out it was the insides of the black hoses in the machine deteriorating (after only 18 months!!!). Got GE to cover the cost of the parts but not the labor.

[Doc]

Similar to what's seen in this video starting at about :22. Leaves particles, dried soap film. The configuration of my washer is very different though.

[bob haller]

Try running effected washer thru a cleaning cycle of its own:)

buy some CHEAP WHITE vinegar, run machine till it comes to its longest clean time. so it runs a long time. Add vinegar, ONE GALLON, with hot water tank set on max hot and heat water setting if the machine has that option.

this should clean the entire machines insides, check spray arms are they spraying good?

often they get clogged with crud.

with such a old machine it may be time for a new unit

[Jim Elbrecht]

At least the video is starting in the right place-- I doubt you needed to pull the machine out or turn it over--- though I know the feeling. It just seems like the right thing to do.

Chances are there is a screen that is clogged-- or an impeller busted. My whirlpool used to eat an impeller every couple of years and there was an ungodly amount of crud in there.

Go to

plug in your model and see how to get there.

Their parts aren't the cheapest on the web-- but their service is the best. i support them when I can.

Jim

[willshak]

Chicken bones in a dishwasher?

[Jim Elbrecht]

I didn't watch the video- but my most unusual find was a 1" nail. [And I must have put it there because nobody else in the house knows how to open the door to the DW.]

Jim

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm thinking two things. First, maybe too much food on the dishes when they go into the washer. It's a sanitizer, not a washer.

Where else could debris be lurking?

Thanks for all input.

aring

[Nate Nagel]

I've found that older dishwashers with the single spray arm at the bottom just don't do a good enough job with the newer detergents, but the one I'm using now with three spray arms must be better at mechanically cleaning the goo off the dishes, they actually look acceptable now.

nate

[bob haller]

ey go into the washer. It's a sanitizer, not a washer.

near as well. We had that thread on AHR, several months ago. The dish maker s were pressured to remove phosphates.

[e-mail]...

add some TSP and run a couple loads, cascade complete cleans much better than other brands.....

palmolive s dead last as dishwasher detergent....

[trader4]

Kind of what I was thinking, ie once you've got a 30 year old dishwasher out and apart, is it worth screwing around with? The new ones do a much better job of cleaning. I got a nice new one about 5 years ago that was an out-of-box one on Ebay for $175. Not only does it work well, but it's also much quieter than the 80s one it replaced.

[Nate Nagel]

The flip side to that is that the 30 year old one lasted 30 years; the new one I don't trust to last half that long.

I sound like a grumpy old man, "everything built these days is CRAP! When you find a quality product buy it because you know it'll be discontinued soon for something shittier!" The problem is, I believe those statements to be mostly true.

nate

[Ashton Crusher]

That's similar to what my GE did. They show a Kenmore name on that one in the Video but it's very possible it was made by GE. I know my Current Kenmore is made by either Frigidare or Whirlpool and has worked perfectly for over 10 years. I'll never buy another GE - I bought it because it was highest rated by Consumers Union. I don't pay much attention to their ratings anymore either.

[Ashton Crusher]

go into the washer. It's a sanitizer, not a washer.

as well. We had that thread on AHR, several months ago. The dish makers were pressured to remove phosphates.

messagenews: [e-mail]...

Most recently I tried CostCo's little pods of detergent and they seem to work as good as the best of anything else I've used. And they are bargain priced. Since using teh Costco I stopped bothering to add the TSP I had been adding.

[hrhofmann]

Have you defeated the safety door interlock and looked at the machine while it was running to see if water is actually coming out full force from the spray arm(s)? If the water isn't coming out full force that is a pump/plumbing situation. On the other hand, if the spray is coming out full force, then you may have a timer problem, or a drain issue where one cycle does not completely drain before refilling for the next cycle, etc.

[krw]

If it lasts 15years, I'm more than happy. For what they cost now, I really don't care. Clothes washers only lasting 5years does piss me off, though. They aren't cheap.

No one is willing to pay $5000 for a dishwasher. It's no surprise that there aren't any in that class available.

[Fat-Dumb and Happy]

TSP I guess it works, I put a little in with the soap when I run the dishwasher. Doesn't seem to hurt anything. a TSP video

[krw]

You play starting dishwasher?

[Congoleum Breckenridge]

Scrub the very bottom of the DW door. Ours had a bunch of buildup down there.