My first dishwasher


 

Clint

TVWBB Olympian
I installed a new dishwasher in my kitchen today, just fired up the 2nd load rt now. I've never had my own, and my house didn't come with one....I've been hand washing for the last 15 years. I looked at my kitchen a few days ago (working too much) and thought "are you trying to get every d*m dish dirty? Seems to take me 20-40 minutes to do a load by hand, then I have to wait all day for them to dry......dunno, hope this helps me keep a cleaner house, but with me, you knever know.

I'm a little disappointed to hear that stainless pans shouldn't be washed in it - is that correct? What about porcelain-enameled cast iron? I just use the cheap (but love it!) stuff so I'm almost willing to take the risk.

Other than my cheap steak knives, I don't think I'll wash any knives.

No wood - got that, any other pointers for a guy in my sitch?

are Cuisinart food processor blades (and bowls) out of the question?

I got the LG LDF5545ST, seemed like a decent mid range unit that would do.
 
I had to remove a section of cabinetry to fit it in, 2 large shelves where I keep pots/pans along with the silverware drawer. My neighbor with the wood shop came by and offered advice and loaned me a tool to cut the section out..........I just got the idea, found a dishwasher, and slammed it in :)
 
I wash my SS pans (when I am lazy even my DW safe non stick from All-Clad too) in ours. Knives are fine no issue as long as you keep other things from touching and nicking the blades. Do not put high carbon blades in there. I for instance have some knives that are strictly German carbon steel. Those are VERY finicky. I even need to rinse and wipe them while using them to cut onions, garlic or nearly any vegetable. But knives like my Henckel which are high carbon stainless have no trouble going through the machine.
Modern dishwashers are MUCH more efficient than hand washing BTW. Typically only using 2 to 3 gallons total to wash a load while hand washing can use 20 or more.
I rarely if ever hand wash except for things requiring hand wash. BTW porcelain enameled CI is a no no. Porcelain does take on a "seasoning" and is not DW safe (at least I remember that from when I bought my LeCruset dutch oven 30 some years ago).
Of course bare CI is out of the question LOL
 
Not just wood. If you have good knives (like you said), do those by hand. Also, if you have crystal or good china. They will be scratched/fogged/pick a word.

We've got a maytag but found that with just the two of us, we'd run out of dishes before the unit was filled. We still do dishes by hand 95% of the time.

One person's opinion
 
I got the LG LDF5545ST, seemed like a decent mid range unit that would do.
That's one hell of a dishwasher (imho)

I put everything but cast iron in my dishwasher, except I don't put my carving / utility knives in it. I just have cheap knives, but still I wash them by hand. Your dishwasher doesn't appear to be energy efficient, and that's a good thing, as energy efficient dishwashers don't dry very well. I run the hot water until it gets hot before starting the dishwasher, that way it gets hot water from the start. Probably the best advice I can offer is use quality dishwasher soap. Reason being is that your glassware will be dull if you don't, cheap soap leaves soap scum / spots.

Enjoy your extra time on your hands, that means more saddle time on your bad motor scooter
 
My only advice is to make sure you have plenty of everyday silverware and dinnerware so it can get fully loaded before running.
 
Lessee.... what doesn't go in the dishwasher....

Fine edges. My good knives (including food processor blades) never go in the dishwasher.)
Wooden cutting boards.
Bare cast iron.
Crystal, & good beer glasses.

Otherwise, just about anything that fits will go in.
 
I've ran 3-4 loads through it, it's discolored some cookie sheets (spots) but otherwise seems to be doing a good job. Ran a stainless tea kettle through it, looks good.......reminds me - the coffee pot is going in the next one.

This last load, I thought "that doesn't smell very good" and was reminded of some random dishwasher reviewer who complained about a plastic-y smell............... the mystery was solved when I removed 2 perforated pizza screens I've used to cold smoke cheese.
 
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Dulling or fogging glass ware is from too much detergent,I run a water softener and have to decrease detergent to stop it and so that it rinses properly,I put stainless pots and pans in with no ill affects,also knifes but they can be dulled some say but I cant verify that happens.rinse aid helps dry dishes but plastic will always have problems drying
 
The only thing that'll hurt a knife in there is if you place them where the blade can knock against something else. I put even my VERY expensive knives in mine (except for the ones that are not stainless but pure carbon steel) and have NEVER seen an issue. Ruining glassware is operator error NOT a dishwasher issue. Too much or poor quality detergent being the culprit. IF you have soft water use no more than half the amount in the directions. EVen the least energy efficient one is still WAY more efficient than hand washing. Most machines use 3 gallons or less of water to do a load so the myth you have to wait for full loads is just that.................a myth. Most units have a light load setting and that setting uses even less energy and hot water. Those of you who enjoy standing at a sink wasting water well hey that's your prerogative. Me? I have better things to do with my time than stand at a sink :) Heck there really isn't even a need to run hot water because the machines have water heaters built in it just takes longer for the cycle to run if you don't "prime" the system by running hot water. I rarely bother with that step and even my piece of junk Electrolux (another story on that) will still do a fine job even on quick cycle which only uses 2.5 gal. I defy ANYONE to tell me they can do a load of dishes by hand for less than 2.5 gal of water.
 
The only thing that'll hurt a knife in there is if you place them where the blade can knock against something else. I put even my VERY expensive knives in mine (except for the ones that are not stainless but pure carbon steel) and have NEVER seen an issue. Ruining glassware is operator error NOT a dishwasher issue. Too much or poor quality detergent being the culprit. IF you have soft water use no more than half the amount in the directions. EVen the least energy efficient one is still WAY more efficient than hand washing. Most machines use 3 gallons or less of water to do a load so the myth you have to wait for full loads is just that.................a myth. Most units have a light load setting and that setting uses even less energy and hot water. Those of you who enjoy standing at a sink wasting water well hey that's your prerogative. Me? I have better things to do with my time than stand at a sink :) Heck there really isn't even a need to run hot water because the machines have water heaters built in it just takes longer for the cycle to run if you don't "prime" the system by running hot water. I rarely bother with that step and even my piece of junk Electrolux (another story on that) will still do a fine job even on quick cycle which only uses 2.5 gal. I defy ANYONE to tell me they can do a load of dishes by hand for less than 2.5 gal of water.

I ran 2 knives through to test it.....both 8" chefs knives. One I'm sure I picked up along with a watermelon to slice it at a picnic (~12 @ the grocery store), the other was $54 @ amazon a couple years ago. I heard that the heat can ruin the glue on some knife handles, and I checked the rubbery cheap one first and it was already a little loose, afterwards, the cheap one's rubber sheath bulged a little at one end. Still not a sanitary issue, it'll just stay in the drawer for when my 3 others are dirty. The hard plastic handle on the Shun knife held up, no worse, so that one's ok. My next knife up has a bamboo handle & is carbon steel so that's out.

Hard anodized aluminum non-stick - OK or no? This one has a rubberized handle that feels sturdy & they say it's oven-safe to 400F.
 
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I ran 2 knives through to test it.....both 8" chefs knives. One I'm sure I picked up along with a watermelon to slice it at a picnic (~12 @ the grocery store), the other was $54 @ amazon a couple years ago. I heard that the heat can ruin the glue on some knife handles, and I checked the rubbery cheap one first and it was already a little loose, afterwards, the cheap one's rubber sheath bulged a little at one end. Still not a sanitary issue, it'll just stay in the drawer for when my 3 others are dirty. The hard plastic handle on the Shun knife held up, no worse, so that one's ok. My next knife up has a bamboo handle & is carbon steel so that's out.

Hard anodized aluminum non-stick - OK or no? This one has a rubberized handle that feels sturdy & they say it's oven-safe to 400F.
Really if it's a concern, just do it by hand. 30 seconds!
 
"Hard anodized aluminum non-stick"?

I have done them but while the non stick holds up the anodizing seems to get a little wear and tear on it so I do them by hand and when in a hurry I will use the DW on them but typically I don't. Since I typically have cast iron cookware in use nearly every day adding a non-stick to the hand wash pile is not a deal killer. Yes I DO wash my CI stuff most times just a soft brush and hot water but sometimes a little soap and baking soda to get odors out of it
 
We’ve had a dishwasher for a while. Constant problem with film and fogging till I did some research. We now fill the detergent department with about a half compartment of

https://www.lemishine.com/products/detergent_booster/

Then we add a dish washing pod right in the bottom of the washer.

Even the washer was covered with a film before this. About 2 to 3 washes later and inside the washer looks brand new and no more fogging or film. Been doing it like this for years.
 
There can be 2 issues. Fogging and Etching. They can happen individually or together. First and foremost is your water quality. If you have "hard" water and you're not using a REAL water softener (not those stupid magnets and other snake oil devices) to clean up your water than you should never use a dishwasher. End of story. The calcium/lime/iron in that water will poison the machine and ruin everything you put in it.
If you have good water than your machine only requires no more than half the "dose" of detergent. Additives are not really the answer
 
I personally can't tell whether your water is hard or soft from that chart. HOWEVER, I did find it in "English" ;) from 2009 that you've got 12-25 PPM which is hard (over 10).

Sandy – 12-25 gpg total hardness, and low-level iron. Levels fluctuate depending on where in the neighborhood and throughout the year – we’ve seen levels as low as 8gpg and lower total alkalinity than usual (as low as 80 mg/L).
http://gregknowswater.com/utah-soft-water-hard-water-and-other-observations-about-our-water/

For a quality water softener you need two things: about 36 sq ft (6'x6') to put the brine tank and the salt tank AND be located near the cold water pipe entering your house.

This is the setup I have (our water IIRC is around 20 PPM)
QbHahEz.jpg


The brine tank on right is about 5'6" tall. The salt on left is half that but about 2'6" wide. It'll hold ~ 250lb of salt (I don't because I guess it's way too much for the side walls to hold.

If you don't have a basement, I can see that this might cause issues.

You might therefore consider a reverse osmosis setup. This is one company in SLC that offers it http://www.guardianwatersoftener.com I cannot vouch for RO cost-wise or otherwise.

Look at this pic and see if its a possibility for you. It may NOT be adequate for a dishwasher though. You'd need to investigate dishwasher adaptability with something like this.
ro-install_system-components-diagram.gif


This is said to be for dishwasher setup and may be good for you. Need to look at reviews for this type of setup
https://www.reverseosmosisrevolution.com/External-Dishwasher-softener-for-hard-water.html
 
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Your report does not show dissolved solids i.e. calcium/lime/iron because the report you have is a safety report not a quality report. Water can be VERY poor quality yet "safe" to consume. Softeners do not take up a lot of space. They can be tucked into a corner and some are totally self contained and sit in a space only 12"x12" and about 3' tall. Well worth the investment. BTW an RO system REQUIRES the use of a softener prior to it's input to function correctly. Or the RO membrane will clog in nothing flat. Read the instructions that come with them. They all read "soft water required". They also do not have enough output to supply an appliance
 
I have been working on refrigerators water heaters water softeners reverse osmosis ect full time since 1998,folks try to run ice makers and dispensers from a RO unit and it may work for a while but at some point it will cause problems,most only give 20lbs of pressure and manufactures state 30lbs minimum but sales people will say any thing to sell the product,also a low volume and slow recovery wont support a dish washer.the rinse aid is similar to waxing a car so the water sheets off of it.also prime your hot water before running the dish washer,your water heater costs less to heat water than the DW which uses 120v vs 220,also it speeds up the wash as all of them have to reach 130 degree before it times in to run the cycle for the most part,I have my water set at a little over 130 but on a heavy load cycle the water in the line will get cold and the heater on the unit has to bring it up to temp,insulating your hot water line well will help more than you think
 
Mike I have been running my ice maker off my RO unit for YEARS (at least 8 now that I can recall) perhaps more. I have NEVER had a problem with my RO system supplying my ice maker. I change my filters once a year on the RO system and get this the RO system is 20' away from the fridge and supplies the RO faucet in the kitchen sink AND the fridge off the same line. As long as the line is clear, has no kinks and the system is maintained there should be no issue.
As for priming first, not all water heaters are electric and not all have tanks. In my case it is a tankless high output (200000 BTU) gas. If I prime the system yeah it MIGHT cut my dishwasher time by 2 minutes but I don't believe it saves a dime's worth of energy. Since to get that cold slug of water up to 130 the heater has to run hard and as it warms the gas reduces. The washer has to only heat up a gallon of water as opposed to how much water do you have to run to "prime" the pipes? Gallons and gallons and gallons depending on the length of the run. If your water heater is right next to or under the DW sure but at minimum on an average run for someone to "prime" the hot water they may have to run and heat 10+ gallons (perhaps substantially more) to "prime" that dishwasher. I say better to heat a gallon or so than 10 or WAY more with a high output burner or element. The extra 2 or 3 minutes the DW runs doesn't use anywhere near the amount of energy and water consumed by priming it
 

 

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