Thursday, December 13, 2012

Consumer Question: Black "Stuff" in Dishwasher


Name: Molly

City: Ypsilanti

Question:
 My dishwasher has a small "burr" in the heating coil which needs to be replaced. At the same time, the dishwasher is getting black "stuff" all over the inside. I have completely bleached it two times, cleaning the racks and the entire inside, but it keeps coming back. Is this because the heating element is not getting the water hot enough? Is this dangerous? Also, a wood floor was put in after the dishwasher was installed, so it can't easily be removed without putting in new counter tops  which we can't afford to do. Is it possible to cut off the leveling feet and get it out that way? Help! We don't know what to do with this and haven't contacted an appliance repair yet because I don't want to pay to have them tell me they can't fix it.

Answer:
Hi Molly, thanks for your note. Seldom does the heating element in a dishwasher fail and in this case if the element has a small hole in it the sand that is inside is causing the black marks. You may want to try Tang to clean the inside of the machine. If this is an older dishwasher the element is most likely to come on only for drying the dishes, not heating the water. Unless there is control button that says something about heating the water, it is only for drying the dishes. Water temperatures from the hot water tank should be increased to 155 degrees or higher to get proper cleaning and getting rid of bacteria. As for the floor problem, it happens a lot. The legs can be cut off using a hack saw. This may give you the clearance needed to pull it out from under the counter. Good luck. Regards Joe Gagnon. 

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