Our Bosch dishwasher is about 10 years old and it's suddenly started taking about 3 and half hours to wash a load of dishes. We looked on line to see what the problem could be. It said that the dishwasher is able to detect the heat of the water and will run longer if the water is not hot enough. Granted 10 years seems to be about the life of a dishwasher these days. Sheesh!
However, Art never gives up without a fight. He decided to check our water heater to make sure everything was OK.
Our water heater has a timer on it so that the heater turns off between 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM. It's to conserve energy.
However....
With all the power failures we've had, the timing had shifted a lot.
He corrected it.
Then I did a load of dishes.
Nope.
Same problem. The dishwasher still ran over 3 hours long. And the water temperature didn't seem any hotter.
OK...
Although it says that raising the heat above 125 degrees could cause severe scalding, we did it.
We shall see if it works.
So then the question is...
Do we have to replace the water heater or the dishwasher?
Sigh...
POSTSCRIPT:
Did more research online as well as checking our Consumer Reports at the library.
They're saying the newer dishwashers do run longer, over 2 hours. Granted we're at around 3 and a half, but still they say the dishwasher doesn't use as much energy as we think nor as much water. I wonder.
Our water heater has a timer on it so that the heater turns off between 10:00 PM to 8:00 AM. It's to conserve energy.
However....
With all the power failures we've had, the timing had shifted a lot.
He corrected it.
Then I did a load of dishes.
Nope.
Same problem. The dishwasher still ran over 3 hours long. And the water temperature didn't seem any hotter.
OK...
Although it says that raising the heat above 125 degrees could cause severe scalding, we did it.
We shall see if it works.
So then the question is...
Do we have to replace the water heater or the dishwasher?
Sigh...
POSTSCRIPT:
Did more research online as well as checking our Consumer Reports at the library.
They're saying the newer dishwashers do run longer, over 2 hours. Granted we're at around 3 and a half, but still they say the dishwasher doesn't use as much energy as we think nor as much water. I wonder.
If anyone can fix it, you folk can.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t realize dishwashers took that long to wash dishes., I’ve never had one nor have I ever used one, interesting! I grew up in an old farmhouse, no dishwasher and Garry and didn’t even add one to our kitchen in our home when we renovated , I never even thought of adding one., now all our children have grown and gone we don’t need one so I guess I won’t bother.
ReplyDeleteTen years seems to be the limit. Our HOA rules require a new hot water heater every ten years. All the appliances are the same age so I hope everything doesn't go at once. And I sure hope they go longer than ten years -- it's not like they get the heavy duty workout of cleaning up after just me.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a dishwasher in this apartment. I just fill the sink half full of very hot water, put my few dishes in that and let it cool down and then rinse them. That's called "Helawesing" them. Remember "Hints from Helawese" from the far past? (Incorrect spelling, I know)
ReplyDeleteMight be time for a new dishwasher.
ReplyDeletewe found a setting on our dishwasher that was taking a long time to wash, that is labeled something like economical and now our dishes are done in half the time. Of course, hubby rinses them before washing them in the dishwasher so they are doublely clean...
ReplyDeleteMy house came with a dishwasher but it needed new hoses and since I have only my few dishes, I do it the old fashioned way--two hands. Hope you can solve your problem and if there is a solution, Art will find it.
ReplyDeleteDid you take all those filters it has apart? We didn't know it had filters of any sort until it took forever to wash the dishes. We use "Finish" dishwasher cleaner, the blue liquid, and it too helps things. It could also be that control module controller at the top...we have had to replace ours twice. Don't get rid of it until you call Bosch.
ReplyDeleteThree and a half hours is way too long for the dishwasher to run. Keep checking all of this out. Something isn't right.
ReplyDeleteOne has to have engineering papers to run all the appliances these days.
ReplyDeleteWe have always had GE dishwashers. A couple of years ago the GE appliance repair person came out because of some problem with the dishwasher. Turned out, we had been using a cheap dishwasher powder that had caused much of the problem. He said to use the liquid detergent and to get a high quality, preferably organic one, which we now do. He also rebuilt the whole machine (it was about 12 years old then) for $200. It's been running just fine since. Oh, and the hot water thing is important. We learned that decades ago.
ReplyDeleteI have a very good dishwasher! His name is Eddie! LOL!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I think you may need to invest in a new dishwasher … keep us posted.
All the best Jan
I remember your saving lots of money when you had to exchange filters. My son and his wife bought a house, and I told them about your dishwasher as soon as I saw that they had a Bosch.
ReplyDelete(Great spark plugs for Volkswagons in the '70s, but that doesn't help your dishwasher.)
I have a portable dishwasher that also has that "light" cycle as an option. It's the only cycle I use. Try that if your's has it to slow the wash time. Might be something else and a cheap part, even as a Bosch. New ones are horridly expensive!
Linda in Kansas
The 3 and a half hours is the Quick Wash option. I tried the regular cycle the other night just to see, but I fell asleep before it was done.
DeleteIt takes catastrophic performance for me to question the appliance gods.
ReplyDeleteWe have never used a dishwasher, but when we moved into this apartment, it has one. We use it sort of like a dish drainer: we wash our dishes and put them into the dishwasher until we need them. Every once in a while Hubby will run it just to keep things working. :-)
ReplyDeleteHilarious as this is what my son's in-laws do!!
DeleteMy newer Bosch dishwasher's cycle is set for 2 hours and 20 minutes, although I haven't timed it to see if that's how long it actually takes.
ReplyDeleteWe just handwash dishes here. Saves on the power bill.
ReplyDeleteThere is always a problem, isn't there??!! Good luck with that. I love the dishwasher. Especially when the grandies are here. They always seem to have colds, and it's a great germ cleaner.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, I wondered how long the DW in our apt does run...but as we’re currently on an extended road trip, I will have to wait until we return to NH to time it. Years ago someone advised to always run the kitchen hot water befire starting the DW and I continue to do so...wonder if others do as well?
ReplyDelete