# Scummy dishwasher



## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

I need help on this one. I had a call today about a dishwasher that was not cleaning the dishes as well as she wanted it to. Not unusual. The spray arm at the bottom of the dishwasher would hardly turn by hand. It's one that has a sort of "pop up" thing when the water pressure comes on from the pump. The inside of the unit has some type of scum in and on it that kept the sprayer arm from turning. There is a strainer where the water returns to the pump and it is covered with this scum also. I removed the sprayer arm and the strainer to have them really clean it in the sink. Could someone recommend something to put in this dishwasher and run a couple of cycles to break more of this scum loose? I'm thinking it is dishwasher detergent by the way it feels and looks. The did admit they like to use more than recommended and that makes them feel that the dishes get cleaner. I'll work with them on that. Thanks, David


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## Jacques (Jul 9, 2008)

sounds like calcium carbonate build up. either from water, cheap,or green detergent..you may have to steel wool the heater to get it off. use Lemi-Shine to clean rest of d/w..go to this site lot of good info on washabilty problems...reckittbenckiserservice.com


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Thanks, I will check that out.


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## fabrk8r (Feb 12, 2010)

http://www.howtocleaneasy.com/howtocleanadishwasher.html


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

This was actually a soap residue build-up. The owner found that using vegetable oil straight up did the trick to loosen that crud enough to wipe it out with paper towels. One problem was the length of time it took to get hot water to the kitchen faucet. I showed them how to let the faucet run until hot water came out, then turn on the dishwasher. She also admitted that she would fill the detergent cup with liquid detergent and then give another good squeeze into the dishwasher for good measure. Wrong! Two cycles with just hot water helped a lot, then one cycle with just baking soda made it smell better. Maybe things will improve there. Thanks for the input. David


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Thurman said:


> ... let the faucet run until hot water came out, then turn on the dishwasher.



Excellent idea.

Although a dishwasher has a heating element inside, this doesn't heat incoming cold water fast enough during the wash cycle.


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