Dishwasher Food Disposer- With or Without?
susanlynn2012
14 years ago
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sean_m
14 years agomonicakm_gw
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Disposable plastics in the Dishwasher?
Comments (18)Just as some dishwashers have soft food disposers in them (i.e., KA) you wouldn't put lemon wedges from glasses of ice tea or chicken and potato skins from dinner in the dishwasher, would you?Many people DO put such food scraps in their dishwasher, *because* it has a food disposer, even though they're not intended to take large quantities of such material. As for "disposable" plastics ... I routinely use butter-bowls and such for leftovers, and have never had an "incident" with them in my dishwasher (other than flipping and left filled with water/debris). The only damage I've had to plastic was a Mr. Coffee teamaker pitcher that warped in the bottom rack of a Frigidaire dishwasher that had a nuclear-powered, exposed heating element, LOL. I should have known better, but at the time I was used to my parents KitchenAid that had a non-exposed heating element with fan-forced drying and overlooked the difference....See MoreLooking for opinions on hard food disposers in a dishwasher....
Comments (4)That's what I thought too, but having had to clean my KA's disposer twice (a real PITA) and replace it once over the course of 18 months, I don't think so anymore. I can only speak about KitchenAid (and the associated Whirlpool and Kenmore models). Perhaps other brands have better arrangements, I don't know. It's not really a food disposer; it's a rather cheap chopper and screen assembly (see link below), and if you're not careful about what solid foods remain on your dishes, it will clog and prevent adequate water flow from reaching the upper rack. Moreover, it will take some of the semi-chopped solid food and actually make whatever's in the top rack dirtier than when it went in. I've learned to carefully scrape every plate before it goes in. Mine is less than 2 years old and works reasonably well otherwise, but when I eventually replace it, I'll avoid a built-in "disposer". Here is a link that might be useful: KitchenAid Repair/Chopper Replacement...See MoreDishwasher question: Filtration vs disposer
Comments (9)If you go to any appliance repair forum, you will find that after 4-5 years many of the dishwasher designs start to experience issues with dishes not getting clean and outright failures. A lot of these are related to compromises made to add what is called a "chopper" to the system that breaks up larger food residue. The issues are especially prevalent with Whirlpool machines which includes Kitchenaid. If you have a choice, get the machine without a chopper and choose the filter instead. Most european models use a filter and some of the NA models offer a choice on the higher end....See Moredishwashers without food grinders - is rinsing required?
Comments (27)"bleaching salts" That's rather loose terminology. The component of dishwasher detergent that can etch glasses is the strong alkaline salt(s) that are there to destroy organic materials, such as fats and oils. This is the same principle as the washing soda (sodium carbonate) used by our ancestors, and the lye (sodium hydroxide) used in some drain uncloggers. Dishwasher detergent also contains components (such as hydrogen peroxide aka "oxygen bleach") that are intended to remove stains and kill bacteria. These are what I would describe as "bleach". Of course, there is considerable overlap in functionality between the two groups, but I think it is misleading to use the word "bleaching salts" in this context. Much better to stick to "strong alkaline salts". This leads us to a solution for the pathological dish rinsers amongst us: add a small amount of vinegar (acetic acid) to your wash to neutralize some of the alkalinity. ("Lemi Shine" is a commercial alternative that uses citric acid.) Here is a link that might be useful: Finish Quantum ingredients....See Moremonicakm_gw
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