I have never personally heard-tell against use of powdered detergents with septic systems, either for laundry or dishwashing. My dishwasher *can't* use gels, I've not had any trouble with my septic in 4.5 years of living at the location. Gel dishwasher detergents have in the past used clay as a thickening agent. I don't know if that's still the case, but I wouldn't want that muck running through the machine. Run your machine through one or two full cycles (longest, hottest choice on the dial) with JetDry Dishwasher Cleaner, or a strong dose of LemiShine (fill both cups completely, and maybe even open the machine and add a little more when each wash phase gets going). Or add a couple measured cups of plain white vinegar to both the prewash and main wash. Then get an ENZYME POWDER detergent (check the label) and see if things perhaps improve. Also as asolo points out, you haven't reported on checking the fill level. Water valves can get clogged with calcium residue from hard water, or sand/debris in the water line over time. Remember, dishwashers are almost always TIMED FILL ... so if the water flow is very low the pump won't have enough water to reach full spray force ... and what you have happening is the result. Dishwashers with soft-food macerators can get overwhelmed and clogged by folks who try to use the machine as a garbage disposer ... or hard residue such as bones, seeds, fruit pits, wire ties and other debris can break the grinding mechanism.

Amana French Door Bottom Freezer Whirlpool Quiet Partner IV Built in KitchAid Oven Micro, both Convection (never use that feature) Jenn- Air electric Cooktop I love this blog. I am getting ready to build a new home and need new appliances. I will not buy any of the brands I have now since they are Whirlpool. I posted a long blog about my Combo and DW related to Whirlpool. In a nutshell: Micro was made in 2002 and Magnatron has shot craps 3 TIMES. 1st time after only 1.5 years. Last time I had to pay $700 to fix it. Asked WP for reimbursement of at least parts cost-told too bad so sad. DW control panel went out after only 4 mos (just got it in April '08 at NE Furniture Mart). We wanted a new unit since this is a major thing to go out. Attitude of retailer and WP was the same- tough. We only use the DW twice a week. It is not that quiet either. Love my Amana. Too bad it is WP also. It holds everything and stuff is easy to find. Black glass top Jenn-Air is impossible to keep clean. STREAKY!!! Have to clean and clean and clean. Also, if anything splatters on it that is high in sugar THE GLASS MELTS. It leaves a big crater. Dials are placed in front corners at an angle and big pans can touch and melt them. Love the down draft fan. Very powerful. Thanks to all who listed their brands here. I got a great list to look into for the new place.

If you want to run a washing machine attached only to a cold water feed, you can do that by buying one of the handful of 240 volt washers sold in the US, mainly from Bosch or Asko. I have a Bosch 240v washer and the owner's manual specifically states it can be attached to cold water only, although you'll need a Y-adapter for the water line to physically send cold water to both the hot and cold inlets on the washer. I don't know without looking if the Asko 240v units are designed this way; I know Miele allowed cold-only water use before they switched most of their US-market washers to 120v. All of the currently available 240v washers are the more compact 24" width rather than the more common 27", so they don't hold as much as the monster-sized washers that have become popular in recent years. They do hold as much as a typical '80s or '90s top-load washer though; the recently introduced Bosch 240v washers claim to be able to handle a 17-1/2 lb. load, which is about what old top-loaders could fit. The water heaters in 240v washers are typically 2000 to 2500 watts compared to 1000 watts in a 120v machine, which is inadequate for heating cold water without taking an inordinate amount of time. Even the 240v washers will have somewhat longer wash cycles when running on cold water. A side benefit is that filling with cold water will help prevent some types of stains from becoming permanent.

This was totally done on accident: Our dishwasher was placed in the island directly across from the trash pull-out cabinet. The trash pullout is right next to the sink. It makes it very easy to scrape the plate clean, and rinse if needed and then place right in the dishwasher. My trash pulled out and the dishwasher door open all the way meet up exactly so nothing ever drips on the floor! It was genius and all by accident! The next best decision: I originally ordered a 30'' Shaw Farmhouse sink, in 2007 they were backordered, so I tweaked the design and got the 36'' so I didn't have to wait. I am SO glad I got the bigger sink! It is fantastic especially when we do our annual tomato canning.