My Frigidaire dispenser won't open at all. I hope there is a solution to your problem because mine is out of warranty and the answers I received before were expensive. I time it to finish the first rinse cycle -then add detergent.

Yes, there are lots of items other than just plates and that you can put in the dishwasher. For the past three or four decades, I have on a regular basis used dishwashers to wash pans, pots, cutting boards, casseroles, Tupperware, plastic and wooden tools, chopsticks, canning jars, cookie sheets, mixer attachments, blender jars, LEGO bricks, keyboard key-caps, and many other things. Dishwashers are extremely efficient at cleaning. They need fewer resources than hand washing, and they generally get things much cleaner. With few exceptions, they are also pretty gentle. You need to be careful with heat sensitive plastics (if your dishwasher has a heated dry cycle, disable it before washing plastics). You shouldn't wash sharp knives (they'll need resharpening sooner). Seasoned cast iron will lose its seasoning. Aluminum will oxidize (and anodized coatings will wash off). And enameled pots will turn a little more matte rather than staying super shiny. But no other harm done. Also, if you put exceptionally large objects into the dishwasher (e.g. a roasting pan), you won't be able to pack the dishwasher very efficiently. If that happens, you might find yourself in a situation where hand washing for once uses less resources. While enzymes work perfectly fine at colder water temperatures, they need less time to work, if the water is hot. The mechanism as to how they work is pretty much unchanged regardless of temperature. The reason they prefer higher temperatures is that catalyzed chemical reactions work much faster as temperature increases; this is true until you reach a temperature that breaks down the catalyst. I don't think that temperature is ever reached in a dishwasher. And enzymes are just bio-catalysts. As a rule of thumb, each 10°C (or 18°F) increase in temperature doubles the reaction speed. The reasons dishwashers have these super long wash cycles is to give the enzyme plenty of time to work. You might notice how a modern dishwasher doesn't spray water continuously. Instead, it splashes water on the dishes, then waits for the enzyme to do it's thing, and then repeats this process over and over. This a great way to clean, but it does take time. Dishwashers are sometimes connected to the cold water line and then they use an electric element to heat up the water. This saves energy, if your domestic water heater uses electricity, as you don't need to heat up the water and the pipes going to the dishwasher. If you heat your water with gas, it might or might not be more efficient to connect the dishwasher to the hot water feed. If you are too far away from the water heater, you still waste energy. Modern dishwashers don't use a lot of water. With long runs of pipes, it might not be enough to flush the cold water out of the lines. So, feeding hot water would just be an utter waste of energy. That's why some manufacturers categorically tell you to always connect to the cold water supply. You won't break anything by sending hot water to the dishwasher; you merely waste energy for no good reason. But if it makes you happy, feel free to continue doing this.

Dana... My 3 year old Electrolux dryer used to make the popping noise also. Unrelated I had to replace the water injector and spray nozzle that puts a mist of water into the drum for the "Steam" feature. I had to take the top and back panel off to access the parts I had to replace. I don't know why but it must be the back panel that expands and makes that popping noise because it no longer makes that noise since I took it off and put it back on. I actually didn't take it fully off. Since its on a pedestal and the back panel connects to the pedestal I was lazy and just left it attached and just flexed the mettle so I could access the parts. It no longer makes that pop noise. This is what I replaced...I also replaced the mister that's in the dryer drum, just in case that some how rusted closed. Maybe slightly flexing the metal fixed the popping action when the metal heats up.

Taggie: hahahaa. Yes, I think he would notice, because he would be the one installing them. âÂÂswitch the top part in for the stainless one and not mention a word about it. Don't know how observant your DH is, but mine would never notice itâ But you know, the water filter faucet is starting to leak a little (wink wink wink)â¦especially when I bang it w/ my big metal pan!!! Hahahaa Breezygirl: oh, IâÂÂm way past year 2012 birthday and anniversary already. My 4 girlfriends and I are heading to South Beach for our birthday celebration next month. For our anniversary, I got my beloved Vitamix Blender (oh how romantic). Christmas 2013 present = IâÂÂm getting the Blum Servo for the hands-free trash pullout. As for the handles: funny you mentioned it. Our friend came to help install them this morning. He didnâÂÂt have enough time to do them all, but he strategically did not do any of the uppers so that he didnâÂÂt have to fight me on installing them horizontally. I didn't mention that I hate wasting stuff. Yes, I can Freecycle them, but...still wasteful. thanks, Amanda