Dishwashers are probably one of the most used and abused appliances there is, yet for the amount of abuse they receive they stand up quite well. Most dishwashers will last between 10 and 20 years if they are treated correctly.
Clean plates – dishes do not have to be spotless before you put them in the dishwasher but on the flip side they can not “eat” everything. Scrape large food particles into the rubbish bin and a quick rinse under the tap is more than enough before they are placed in the dishwasher.
What causes problems is when things like cigarette butts, bread ties, rubber bands, peas, corn, plastic wrappers/bags, etc,etc,etc… Yes, believe it or not all these things have been found caught in dishwashers. What is worse is we have seen dishwashers thrown out because these items have been in the motors or spray arms. Owners think that is a rotten dishwasher when it is actually a user fault.
If foreign objects do end up in the dishwasher clean the filters first. The filters don’t catch everything, sometimes items like nuts, pips and seeds get past the filter (especially if the filter has not been seated correctly) and end up in the spray arms blocking the jets. This causes poor wash results. A dishwasher cleaner will not correct this problem, the spray arms will need to be removed and cleaned out.
Dishwasher cleaners help to remove limescale and fat deposits which make the dishwasher more hygienic and run more efficiently.