What To Do About A Dishwasher You Never Use
Posted on: 4 May 2017
Despite the convenience of dishwashers, not everyone uses them, especially people living alone who rarely have enough dirty dishes at any one time to equal a full load. Rather than letting dirty dishes sit for days or doing tiny loads that just waste water, many people opt to just keep handwashing them. As long as the water is hot enough, handwashing is fine, but you shouldn't neglect the washer totally. It's still worth it to keep the washer in good shape, and here's what you should do.
Get It Inspected
One of the major problems with not using the dishwasher is that the hoses can dry out. This isn't going to happen in a month, but if you've been living in your current place for a few years and haven't used the dishwasher, just turning it on could be a disaster. Have a repair tech from a business like Anderson's Appliance Repair Service check over the connections, nozzles, hoses, and racks to ensure nothing is going to leak. Have any necessary repairs or replacements done before trying to use the washer. It may be a good idea to automatically replace all rubber parts in the dishwasher anyway, just to be sure.
Another problem is that pests can set up homes in and behind unused dishwashers. The pests can come in through the holes in the wall where the hoses enter. Have an electrician inspect the nearby wiring to ensure nothing has chewed through it, and have a pest control person check for signs of infestation. The pest control person can also add material like steel wool to the gaps around the hoses in the wall.
Clean the Inside of the Dishwasher
Even if there are no pests, an old dishwasher is likely a dirty one. Ask the repair tech to clean the filter, and you can wipe down the outside of the washer with hot, soapy water. Dry it thoroughly. As for the inside, wipe down the racks with white vinegar (use the regular culinary stuff and not the super-strength cleaning vinegar that you can sometimes find) and place a dishwasher-safe bowl filled with white vinegar into the washer. Run the washer once you have the OK from the repair tech.
Maintenance Use
Run a load in the washer every few weeks -- often just setting a day each month is easy to remember -- even if you continue to handwash most of your dishes. Get the washer inspected yearly. Occasionally wipe down the inside of the washer, and repeat the vinegar cleaning tricks every few months.
You might not be a regular dishwasher user, but that's no reason to let the appliance deteriorate. Contact a dishwasher repair company to schedule an inspection as soon as possible.
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