Thread Number: 80699
/ Tag: Modern Dishwashers
Bosch Dishwasher not cleaning properly |
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Post# 1046857 , Reply# 1   10/4/2019 at 23:27 (1,636 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Post# 1046869 , Reply# 2   10/5/2019 at 01:39 (1,636 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)   |   | |
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One other thought might be a partially block drain line. If the sump water starts to smell after 24 hours odds are garbage is collecting there and not getting pumped out. |
Post# 1046879 , Reply# 4   10/5/2019 at 07:14 (1,636 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 1046909 , Reply# 5   10/5/2019 at 15:54 (1,635 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 1046917 , Reply# 6   10/5/2019 at 17:37 (1,635 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))   |   | |
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Dunno about US machines, but EU machines of last gen (before the EcoSilenceDrive was introduced) could get clogged float\pressure switches and\or airgaps in the water pocket which led to further and further lowering of fill levels... What's the age of the machine? |
Post# 1046986 , Reply# 7   10/6/2019 at 16:57 (1,634 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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Post# 1047039 , Reply# 10   10/6/2019 at 21:42 (1,634 days old) by Dustin92 (Jackson, MI)   |   | |
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First pic is filter after one load, it normally doesn't get this dirty in a month.. Second pic shows residue on the black air fryer basket- I wiped some away to show the difference. This was after a normal/lightly soiled load washed on heavy wash with sanitize. |
Post# 1047041 , Reply# 11   10/6/2019 at 22:53 (1,634 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 1047048 , Reply# 12   10/7/2019 at 06:00 (1,634 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Dustin, you mentioned hard water. Hard water killed the distribution valve in my Kenmore Elite (KitchenAid) 2 years ago. 4 loads later, hard water also contributed to the failure of my pump overall. It was noted on the invoice evidence of hard water build-up was noticed with the first repair. The repairman, who had been repairing for over 30 years, suggested I I use Lemi Shine dishwasher cleaner once a month and also put some Lemi Shine dish detergent booster in the dispenser with the tablet/pod. I also put a little Cascade Complete powder in the prewash dispenser each load too. Thus far, no issues 2 years later. the next time I replace the dishwasher, I'm going to get a model with built-in water softner. |
Post# 1047312 , Reply# 13   10/9/2019 at 19:55 (1,631 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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I recently had an issue with an older Bosch (SHU43C) that's about 15-20 years old. The problem was not with the water inlet valve, but with the drain valve. It wasn't draining completely and yes, there were would be dirty water at the end of the cycle - to the point where it was above the coarse filter. Replacing it wasn't difficult and fixed the problem. It went back to washing as good as new. A subsequent problem was a lot of noise when draining. Apparently something got past the fine filter (I found a plastic blood glucose test strip in the sump). I pulled the cover over the drain pump and sucked out what water and debris that was in there (with a little wet vac, of course). It's possible there was some broken glass in there as well. Again, it's back to normal after that.
One thing I've noticed is that with this Euro style dishwasher, with no disposer function, it's important to keep food debris off the stuff being washed. The fine filter does a good job keeping debris out of the recirculation, but then it seems to try to flush it down the drain, past the fine filter. Sometimes that debris gets hung up in the air gap on top of the sink. It's possible your drain line is blocked, as somebody already suggested.
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Post# 1047331 , Reply# 14   10/9/2019 at 23:43 (1,631 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)   |   | |
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Post# 1048687 , Reply# 16   10/24/2019 at 18:05 (1,616 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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When my Bosch failed, I had been using some Costco dishwasher detergent packs. I didn't like the results - cloudy water, deposits, and streaking. I switched (back) to Finish Tabs and the results are much better. Of course the problems with the Costco detergent might have been related to the other problems the DW was having. I haven't gone back to it so see. Although I have a large amount left.
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Post# 1052326 , Reply# 17   11/25/2019 at 23:37 (1,584 days old) by Joe_in_philly (Philadelphia, PA, USA)   |   | |
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I had something sort of similar happen with my Bosch dishwasher.
When the drain in my kitchen sink was partially clogged and draining slowly, I had grit on the “clean” dishes. In my case everything looked clean, but I could feel some grit on the dishes and the water in the sump at the end of the cycle looks cloudy. I would run the dishwasher at night, and didn’t know what was going on at first. But I realized that when the dishwasher drained (into the garbage disposal) it would back up into the disposal and even a little into the sink. When the drain pump stopped, some of the dirty water would drain back into the dishwasher. Once the drain was cleared the problem went away. I believe one plus of the Bosch’s heated wash and final rinse is that it seems to keep my kitchen sink drain clear. Before I got the Bosch dishwasher my kitchen drain would get slow a few times a year. In the 14 years I’ve had my Bosch dishwasher the sink drain has only become slow that one time. |
Post# 1052425 , Reply# 18   11/27/2019 at 02:21 (1,583 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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I confess I'm getting a bit tired of having the clear the air gap on the sink before each time I run the dishwasher.
Last time I had the Bosch out from under the counter, I noticed that the drain line takes a big loop up to the top of the dishwasher. I am thinking this effectively functions as an anti-drainback feature - at least that's the impression I got from the manual. I am thinking of reconnecting the Bosch direct to the disposer port, and bypassing the air gap nonsense. Anybody else try this?
I suppose the worst that can happen is dirty drain water being flushed back into the dishwasher. The benefit could be not having to clear the air gap all the time.
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Post# 1052430 , Reply# 19   11/27/2019 at 05:31 (1,583 days old) by Logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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Post# 1052432 , Reply# 20   11/27/2019 at 05:47 (1,583 days old) by ozzie908 (Lincoln UK)   |   | |
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My Miele dishwasher drains into the waste disposer it does remove grease etc but a bad design in the plumbing under my sink is, there is no way to clean out the pipe that goes to the main drain, We have to remove all the pipes and use a pressure pump to unblock it now the problem I have had is the water pumped from the DW never goes back into it as it has a anti syphon which believe it or not is just a large stainless steel ball sat in a housing that drops when the pump stops thus preventing back flow. A simple but effective device I wish the plumbers and electricians had thought about my sink though as we have a boiling water tap with a trap that allows unused water to drain away if we have a blockage every thing flows out of this little trap and guess what's been fitted directly under it ????? Yes the power points for the DW etc so off goes the power so not only is it wet its now dark.... All good fun lol
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Post# 1052436 , Reply# 21   11/27/2019 at 07:29 (1,583 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Most built-in DWs in the US originally required a drain air gap , a drain AG is the ONLY way to completely insure that dirty can-not possibility back up into your DW that is always installed lower than the sink and sinks drain line.
Many parts of the US did not require AGs so DW manufactures started building various types of built-in check valves into the DWs plumbing, these helped a lot, but if a tiny bit of glass or other object gets in the CV it will not function.
Having a high loop also helps a lot but of course dirty water can still siphon back through a HL.
Because of these improvements in DW design most places in the US have stopped requiring sink mounted AGs, here in the Washington area we no longer have to install them. We just loop the drain line as high as possible under the sink and secure it to the under side of the countertop and hope for the best. This type of installation would not pass muster in commercial installations etc however.
Hi Rich, in your case you can probably just get rid of the air gap or replace your AG, an AG should almost never clog so there is truly something wrong with your current AG if you are having to clean it on a regular basis, we still have thousand of customers with AGs and they generally do not even know they have one let alone know how to clean it.
John L. |
Post# 1052445 , Reply# 22   11/27/2019 at 09:57 (1,583 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 1052446 , Reply# 23   11/27/2019 at 10:01 (1,583 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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I found an installation instruction for my dishwasher online. No air gap required.
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Post# 1052469 , Reply# 24   11/27/2019 at 14:29 (1,582 days old) by marky_mark (From Liverpool. Now living in Palm Springs and Dublin)   |   | |
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My dishwasher in Spain is connected directly to the Insinkerator disposal -- all that hot water and detergent running through it keeps my disposer and drains as clean as a whistle. No air gap, but it does have a check valve of course, which functions as Ozzie describes in his post above. I have never seen dishwasher air gaps outside of the US.
The most useful thing about having a sink with an air gap is that you have the option (local code permitting ) of removing it and using the hole for something else such as a soap dispenser, air switch, sprayer, reverse osmosis, boiling water unit etc.
I can't offer any advice to the OP that hasn't already been mentioned. I hope you get the problem resolved! |
Post# 1052515 , Reply# 25   11/27/2019 at 22:10 (1,582 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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Thanks for all the responses. This DW is a Bosch SHU43-C/U. I'm not sure if it has a check valve, but I suspect it does.
The air gap is very old - made of copper mostly. The problem is that relatively small pieces of food, maybe 1/2" long and 1/4" wide at most, get caught at the top of the air gap before the path goes 180 degrees down again. There simply is not enough clearance between the copper feed pipe into the air gap and the plastic cap that covers it - too tightly it would seem. I have tried cutting away part of the air gap to make more clearance, but this doesn't eliminate the problem.
I will probably try by-passing the air gap and monitor the DW sump to make sure it doesn't flood from the sink. I doubt it will. I figure the SHU series is new enough that it has built-in anti-drainback features as mentioned.
I will however keep the current airgap in place, but not connected to anything, since I have a few vintage American style DW's in storage, one of which might wind up in place of the Bosch should it ever finally die for good.
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Post# 1193949 , Reply# 26   11/19/2023 at 23:23 by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA)   |   | |
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Try Finish Ultimate. I'd also set the rinse aid aid setting back to default or the max setting. |
Post# 1193950 , Reply# 27   11/19/2023 at 23:32 by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 1194132 , Reply# 28   11/23/2023 at 16:54 by DaveAMKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)   |   | |
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