# Dishwasher leaves residue



## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)




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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

No clue. How many loads have you run?

will that crap come off when you hand wash?


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

craig11152 said:


> No clue. How many loads have you run?
> 
> will that crap come off when you hand wash?



Plenty of loads. Should have said new-ish dishwasher. It's a bit over a year that we have it. It did it a couple of time during the first year but now it does it often. 

Yes, it comes off no problem.


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## Protocol. (May 31, 2012)

Drink lots of loose coffee? Could be coffee getting deposited on the dishes. 

You could take the pump apart to investigate. Might be something stuck in there slowly coming apart

How much do you use your dishwasher. If it's not used. A bunch maybe some nasty stuff growing inside? Do you leave the dw door open or have it shut?


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

It does it often but not every time? When it does it do most items look like that or just a few? 
Again I am clueless and appliances are not my area.


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## Seattle2k (Mar 26, 2012)

If you put clean dishes in with the load, do they also come out soiled? 

Have you checked the screen/filter, in the bottom of the dishwasher?

Do you have an air-gap device installed? (These are generally installed near the back of your sink, but may be located elsewhere, in special cases. (Note: not all jurisdictions require an air-gap device).

Do you experience any odd smells coming from the dishwasher?


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

you have a gunk build up problem down inside the pump/ filter area. Need to remove spray arm and pump cover and clean. For some reason LGs do this a lot.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Protocol. said:


> Drink lots of loose coffee? Could be coffee getting deposited on the dishes.
> 
> You could take the pump apart to investigate. Might be something stuck in there slowly coming apart
> 
> How much do you use your dishwasher. If it's not used. A bunch maybe some nasty stuff growing inside? Do you leave the dw door open or have it shut?


We do drink lots of espresso coffee but the dishwasher is hardly ever used so it can't be related.

I think I will take the pump apart.

We used it use once a week the firat couple of months but now we use it maybe oncd every 3 weeks for some unknown reason. The door always stays closed.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

craig11152 said:


> It does it often but not every time? When it does it do most items look like that or just a few?
> Again I am clueless and appliances are not my area.



Yes, often but not every time. But then again, we hardly use it nowadays. When it first started doing that, only a few (2-3) items looked like that but now that it's more often, thats the amount of items that have that gunk on them per cycle:


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Seattle2k said:


> If you put clean dishes in with the load, do they also come out soiled?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Why would I put clean dishes in to be washed?

No, I haven't checked the screen/filter. I don't know where it is but I'll check the manual and do so promptly.

Not sure what an air gap device is or if I have one but I'll look into that as well.

Yes, the dishwasher smells like something died in it when we open it after not having done so for a couple of weeks but I think this is due to poorly rinced dishes and utensil that have been sitting in there waiting to be washed.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

hardwareman said:


> you have a gunk build up problem down inside the pump/ filter area. Need to remove spray arm and pump cover and clean. For some reason LGs do this a lot.



Ok, I'll take a look.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Made it this far without finding any significant residue. Not sure what to do next:





































My manual:


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## pjmarkert (Mar 22, 2009)

Tablespoon of citric acid in the 2nd wash detergent cup will clean ot up after a while.

Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

pjmarkert said:


> Tablespoon of citric acid in the 2nd wash detergent cup will clean ot up after a while.
> 
> Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk



It won't tell me what my problem is though.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Maybe this?:


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## Seattle2k (Mar 26, 2012)

Solidify said:


> Why would I put clean dishes in to be washed?


In other words, do the dishes come out dirtier than they went it? 




Solidify said:


> Not sure what an air gap device is or if I have one but I'll look into that as well.
> 
> Yes, the dishwasher smells like something died in it when we open it after not having done so for a couple of weeks but I think this is due to poorly rinced dishes and utensil that have been sitting in there waiting to be washed.


Wait, you leave dirty dishes in there, for 3 weeks?  :no::no::no::no: 


I'm assuming this is a lifestyle issue, rather than a dishwasher issue. Run a clean dish through a wash cycle, and tell us if it comes out with mold on it, as that is what your pictures appear to display.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Seattle2k said:


> In other words, do the dishes come out dirtier than they went it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The dishes come out free from the food residue they went in with but they come out with that black stuff that wasn't on anything to begin with. 

You want me to run a load for a single clean dish?


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

I think you should run a load every day with whatever dishes are dirty...2...or 20 for a few days and see what happens.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

Photo 14 of 17 (filter screen), though blurry, shows your screen also has a lot of those mold-like stuff you have on your plates. 

I would run the dishwasher empty + detergent. Add bleach during the rinse cycle. Do this several times until you get your dishwasher clean. Then you should run your dishwasher at least once a week. If you don't want to deal with bleach, use vinegar. Don't use bleach and vinegar together (toxic fumes). 

If you keep dirty dishes there for 3 weeks, food residue dropping on the bottom + moisture = conducive environment for microbial growth. Your dishes will only get as clean as your dishwasher is. 

If you have mold growth inside that screen and other parts at the bottom, the mycelia (the hairy stuff you are) get torn apart when the dishwasher is used and are then sprayed all over your plates. A dishwasher is like a percolator. It fills up with a few inches of water then it just sprays that water over and over again. It drains the water, fills up again, sprays, repeats the process several times. 

If it's detergent residue, it wouldn't be black like what's on your plates. 

I run my dishwasher once a month, empty but with 2 c vinegar. This is to prevent the cumulative build up of detergent residue.


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

I live with just my wife so we don't use a ton-o-dishes. But I run mine every other day almost no matter how few dishes there are. 
From June 5th to last week we had a son-in-law, a daughter and two grandsons (2 and 4) stay with us. During that month and a half I ran it every day, sometimes twice a day :gunsmilie:

Of course I'm the only one who can load it "properly" :whistling2:


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

He he he. I just noticed "the hairy stuff you are". Should be "the hairy stuff you see". D___ auto correct!

There's also just me and the hubby but we do a fair amount of food prep and so use up a fair amount of dishes etc. I run the DW about every other day and do the vinegar cleaning once a month. Our DW is 13 YO.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

> I'm assuming this is a lifestyle issue, rather than a dishwasher issue.


This pretty much sums it up.


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

Solidify said:


> This pretty much sums it up.


So then the question is.....
do you hand wash or run small loads? :no::yes: :wink:

For what its worth when I came to the realization that I couldn't get arrested for running a half load it was a bit of an epiphany :whistling2:


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

The problem with running a half load is that even if I fil up the top rack first and run a "top rack only" cycle, my washer is set up so that the utensils are on the bottom rack, so they'd need both the top and bottom to work for them to be cleaned, so essentially a full cycle, which is not only wasting hot water (electricity) but I use dishwasher tablets (so it would waste entire tablets for half loads).


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

if you only run it maybe every 2 to 3 weeks then of course your going to have nasty stuff growing inside your dishwasher. When your dishwasher is done running through the cycle you always will have a small amount of water sitting inside the pump, close the door up tight and stuff is going to grow. You don't need to run it everyday, once a week will be sufficient.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Ok but that still leaves me with the issue of not being able to fill the washer up. There's never enough utensils or dishes in there to run even a half load by the end of the week.


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

Solidify said:


> Ok but that still leaves me with the issue of not being able to fill the washer up. There's never enough utensils or dishes in there to run even a half load by the end of the week.


Then clearly you should hand wash and just save the dishwasher for company. It shouldn't take you 5 minutes to wash the few dishes you use. 

I don't know how you get away with so few dishes and utensils but it ain't none of my business.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

Solidify said:


> Ok but that still leaves me with the issue of not being able to fill the washer up. There's never enough utensils or dishes in there to run even a half load by the end of the week.


then that begs the question, why do you even have a dishwasher


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

Here is my load for today from yesterday and this morning. I pack it loosely when there aren't a lot of dishes. I could get a lot more in if needed. But I run it ever day or at most every other day. Thats why I have the dang thing. :thumbsup:


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

craig11152 said:


> Here is my load for today from yesterday and this morning. I pack it loosely when there aren't a lot of dishes. I could get a lot more in if needed. But I run it ever day or at most every other day. Thats why I have the dang thing. :thumbsup:


do you use the tablet detergents?


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

Solidify said:


> do you use the tablet detergents?


yes I use Finish Powerballs. Consumer reports gave them a good rating and Costco sells a large box at a very reasonable price. 
I'm not adverse to liquids or powders but as long as the Consumer Reports/Costco stars are aligned I'll keep buying those tablets.


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## pjmarkert (Mar 22, 2009)

Solidify said:


> It won't tell me what my problem is though.


If it works then it is calcium deposits, o had tons of deosits on dishes and inside tub, now it looks like new again and dishes are spotless.

Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

craig11152 said:


> yes I use Finish Powerballs. Consumer reports gave them a good rating and Costco sells a large box at a very reasonable price.
> I'm not adverse to liquids or powders but as long as the Consumer Reports/Costco stars are aligned I'll keep buying those tablets.



And u dont find that u get films for excessive detergent when you use one tablet for a half/small load?


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

Solidify said:


> And u dont find that u get films for excessive detergent when you use one tablet for a half/small load?


No not really. I don't have some sort "small load" button, so I don't think the dishwasher cares if I have 3 things or 30 things. It uses the same amount of water and just sprays around inside then rinses what ever is in there. 

If I had a small load setting like a washing machine maybe I would switch to a liquid or powder that I could control. 
The only setting that resembles a small load is "top rack" and I never use it.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Ok yes i have that top rack setting also.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

I don't know about your DW, but my GE Triton XL has a turbidity sensor. How long the DW washes depends on how dirty the load is. With a full load of dirty dishes, it takes about 28 min before the detergent door pops open and then close to 30 min after that to finish. When I do a "nothing load" (my monthly vinegar wash), it takes only ~10 min before the detergent door pops open. 

So, running a small load is not necessarily wasteful since the DW may only run for a short time. 

I used to use gels/tabs but have since switched to powder because I find it more economical. A minimum of 1 oz detergent is sufficient to clean my dishes so that's what I use. I buy a 75-oz box of detergent and that's good for 75 loads. Since I also do couponing, my Out of Pocket for my Cascade is only $0.99. That's pretty cheap for 75 loads. 

I know at least four people who have dishwashers but use them only as large drying racks. 😃 The DWs came with the house and that's why they have them. They wouldn't, otherwise, buy a DW.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

"So, running a small load is not necessarily wasteful since the DW may only run for a short time."

Thats assuming you have that turbidity sensor. Mind doesn't.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

Solidify said:


> "So, running a small load is not necessarily wasteful since the DW may only run for a short time." Thats assuming you have that turbidity sensor. Mind doesn't.


That's true which is why I wrote "may". 

If you have a DW and want to use it, even occasionally, then you have to do what you have to do to keep it clean. It will cost electricity and your detergent tabs. If you don't want the expense then just totally stop using the DW/get rid of it.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Yup, good point. Nothing left to discuss here.


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## jimn (Nov 13, 2010)

Dishwasher detergent performance really varies depending on your water. I find the tabs are not very effective in my dishwasher . Liquids are useless. Almost any powder works better thank liquid and work better than most tablets. 

One more thing , are you putting aluminum or silver in the dishwasher? Dishwasher detergents have chemical reaction with bit materials.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Yes, we put both aluminum and silver utensils in there.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

So I started running the dishwasher every 2 days regardless of whether it's full. I don't use a rinse agent sincd the sample back that came with the dishwasher ran out. My tupperwares and some items look like this the morning after a load has run. Does this mean I need to start using rinse agent since it doesn't fully dry?:


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## craig11152 (Jun 20, 2015)

i use a rinse agent but still have moisture on my plastic stuff. So I use a dish towel when I empty the thing. 
That kind of looks like mine even with a rinse agent.


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

OK, that's great news (not for you hehe) since I didn't wanna have to start using it. Thanks.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

Plastics don't get as hot as glass/ceramic/etc so they won't dry as fast in a dishwasher without turning on the dry heat (which I don't use. I just let items air dry on the DW rack.) I have a dish rack on the counter for items we handwash. I take out plastics from the DW, shake off adhering water droplets and leave them in the counter dish rack to air dry. 

Unless a fresh dish towel is used each time, letting dishes air dry is more sanitary than using a dish towel that's been hanging out in the kitchen for a while. I find that when there are many people in the household, a dish drying towel tends to be handled by many hands as drying/wiping towel. 

I put vinegar in the rinse aid compartment instead of buying commercial DW rinse aid.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

Your stuff looks very nice now. No more black hairy spots! 😀


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## Solidify (Dec 17, 2014)

Yup, I think it was just mold from letting dishes sit there so long.


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