Maintenance And Cleaning Is A Necessary Cost

It is a frugal choice in paying the cost for cleaning and proper maintenance of  your household machines

I was once commissioned to make repairs on several machines in a home in preparation of the home to be used as a rental. Among the repairs of machines and some carpentry fixes, there was a dishwasher that wasn't operating properly due to the fact it had years of use in an area with hard water. The machine was loaded with mineral deposits  which had to be chipped away, washed and the machine required some soaking time with distilled vinegar and then multiple rinses to rid the machine of all that bad stuff. This was obviously the first time the machine had ever been maintenanced. When I presented my quote to the client, I was asked why the price was so high for cleaning the dishwasher. I explained all the processes involved in ridding the machine of all the mineral deposits. Then I was asked, "Considering the price I'm paying to have you clean the machine is about half the cost of buying a new machine, shouldn't we just replace it?"

This line of questioning really got the wheels turning in my head. I answered,very carefully choosing my words, "Yes, you could buy a new machine to replace this machine that never before got any maintenance. But this machine isn't broken and it is built better than the inexpensive model you would buy for this rental. The new machine likely will not last as long as this one is going to last, and if the new machine never gets maintenanced, as this one then soon enough you will be replacing that one too. The reason why the cost is so high in maintenancing this machine is because this condition was allowed to go on for years without it ever being cleaned properly."

Minerals floating around in the dishwasher is bad for glassware, as it etches into the surface of the glass and the amount of elbow grease involved in polishing is prohibitive!

In our conversation I explained that there are a few things anyone can do to prevent this kind of overload of mineral deposits in the machine. I told her about my method when working directly with my clients in their homes, I always explain how to keep the hard water from building in the machine, "The Painless Way". I later drafted up an easy to follow instruction for the routine cleaning of the dishwasher and emailed it to her. This was a little piece of gold for her because not only could she use the information herself but by presenting a printed copy to the new tenants she was relieved of the worry of having to pay for more service calls on the machine or having to replace it anyway.

Here are my instructions:

Routine cleaning of Dishwasher to be performed once every three months;

In the evening, before bedtime, with an empty dishwasher, set to the heaviest setting for your brand and model. eg; Pots and  Pans, Power Scrub or Sanitize...

Start the machine. You will notice that it will first perform a draining cycle that  lasts about two minutes, then it will fill and start up. This is the prewashing cycle to rinse away bulk food that might be on dishes to be washed. After this intital rinse cycle  you will hear  the machine fill again. 

After the second fill the machine will start its main wash cycle. This is the point when you open the door, essentially stoping the machine. Now pour 1/2 gallon of white distilled vinegar into the bottom of the machine then leave the door ajar overnight, allowing the vinegar to work on the hard water down in the sump where you cannot see it.

In the morning restart the machine in its present cycle and close the door. Allow the machine to run all the way through to the end.

Performing thesel proceedures once every three months will keep your machine clean and working at it's most optimum!