I've lived in my house for two years but have never used the dishwasher. The light is always on, but it's really dirty and I can see a bit underneath. There's about two inches of space between the ground and the door panel. I've heard it works fine, but I'm kind of nervous about trying it out. I cook a lot for myself and my partner and need a better way to wash dishes since I'm tired of doing it all by hand. What should I know before I try running this dishwasher for the first time in two years? I'm thinking I just need to clean it and maybe run it empty? It's an older model.
2 Answers
First things first, make sure to clean out any food scraps or mold from inside the dishwasher. Then, run it on the shortest cycle without any dishes to check for leaks—don’t leave the kitchen! You’ll know pretty quick if something’s off. If it looks good, run it again empty with some dishwasher detergent, not regular soap. Just a heads up: dishwasher detergent is different from the stuff you use in the sink!
You might want to do a test run after adding about a gallon of water into the tub to check for leaks. If there’s no leak, run it empty to just see how it works. Make sure your rinse agent is topped up and you’ve got the right detergent to use. That gap at the bottom? It sounds like you might be missing the kick panel, so take a look under there for any past water signs before you start the test run!
Absolutely! And don't forget to clean the parts and use a good dishwasher cleaner on the hottest cycle before loading it with your dishes.
Good tip! I recommend using pod detergents; they work way better than the liquid ones. You can usually find them for a decent price.