The one in the center was not in the dishwasher, that's what they are supposed to look like. The little green blob used to be a pie cutter.

I never ever leave my house with an appliance running. I know people do it all the time but I never have. Too many things can go wrong. I am so glad to hear you were there and spotted a problem. Maybe the heater unite malfunctioned? Good grief, something new to worry about. I had no idea this could happen.

Wow, that is scary! I'm another that doesn't leave the house with anything running, but I do turn the dishwasher on after supper and then leave. My husband is usually up much later than I am, so I hope he would notice anything bad.

Wow, I think you dodged a catastrophe. We used to do our dishwasher after we went to bed but when we got a new one several years ago the installer said that it is dangerous to do so. He also said that the new ones are so quiet that they shouldn't disturb the evening for people.

I agree, this could have been a terrible thing! Lesson learned, not to have appliances running when you're either not there or not awake. So thankful you were there and noticed what was happening and could stop it before it got even worse.

Raven, I think it would be worth the time to contact the manufacturer. Since its a fairly new machine, maybe they will replace it or give you credit towards the purchase of a new one. Very glad that you were home to see what was happening.

My cleaning ladies said they often load the dishwasher in people's homes then leave. They are not going to do it that way any longer.

Wow, Raven, that is REALLY scary! ! ! I'm so glad you caught it before anything worse happened.

Back when I had a dishwasher, I used to set it to run during the wee hours of the morning, when energy usage levels were the lowest. I've often recommended this practice as an energy saving and electric bill lowering method. I won't be doing that anymore!

There ought to be some sort of circuit breaker or fuse or something that would stop the machine when something stopped working right, or overheated or anything.

Rusty

OMG, Raven. Am so very glad your were home to prevent a house fire. You stated: "This has made me think I don't think I will ever leave the house with a dishwasher on or set it up to run during the night. " You are absolutely correct. I used to do that all the time until a friend of mine had their house catch on fire during the middle of the night due to a malfunctioning, running dishwasher. That taught me and many others we knew to never run the dishwasher, clothes washer, or clothes dryer unless wide awake and at home.

That is just too scary, thank goodness you caught it. I used to start the washer and then run off to do shopping or whatever until my boss told us about doing that and something snapped or broke and flooded the whole house. They had to replace flooring, furniture, even drywall it was so deep. Then last year I was watching TV in my sewing room, went to make a sandwich. In the kitchen I heard a high-pitched whistling sound and at first thought it was something on TV, well it was something on TV alright but it wasn't a show. It kept on and I went in and there was a burning smell and the TV picture was out but it was still whistling. I unplugged it. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't been here to do that. It was pretty much fried. Now I'm paranoid to leave the TV on for any length of time unsupervised.

"I don't know what to think about rabbit rabbit! We did it for the first time ever and this does not seem like good luck. But we were lucky not to have a fire lol."

Raven, I think "rabbit rabbit" DID work for you! It allowed you to catch what was going on and avoid a whole-house fire!!

I think you should check with the previous owner and find out who installed that new dishwasher. If the homeowner did it, it's possible that something was missed or not done correctly. It if had been installed by professional installers, they might be held responsible for the damages and any cost to you to purchase/install a replacement.

Oh my gosh, that is scary! I have to agree with Lindsey that you were lucky to be home and to have caught it!

I always turn the dryer off, but don't think much of leaving the other appliances running while away. That may change now.

Wow, I used to just worry about the dishwasher leaking.

I wonder whether it was an issue with the dishwasher or how the electrical lines were installed. Scary.

Raven, someone on another of these forums had spoken of a dishwasher fire a while back, it seems like it took place while their daycare person was in the backyard with the children.

I rarely leave the house with an appliance on. Very occasionally my oven, sometimes my clothes dryer when it's close to dry and stopping, when I'd have to turn it off with clothes slightly damp or stay - and be late to where I'm going. What I'm guilty of even having read its a bad idea is turning on my dishwasher as I'm going to bed. Nightly. Its an older model Kitchen Aid and not silent, which doesn't bother me in the least, and we don't have tiered power rates here. What I love is to get up in the morning with everything in the kitchen clean, even that very last water glass or fork from grabbing one last bedtime bite of leftovers. I know it's not a good idea, I haven't broken myself of the habit.

I'm so glad you were there to have caught yours. The last thing you need is a household disaster in the kitchen or anyplace else!

That is super scary! I have never heard of that happening. I am another one who won't leave the dryer running if I'm not home but the other appliances have never bothered me to leave on. Not any more! Thank you for sharing and so glad you were there to catch it before it did more damage!

Raven. Call the company. They need to ne made aware of this. They may or may not help you with another but they still need to be told.

Very very haply you spotted it before anything worse happened.

What brand? Was all the plastics/acrylics dishwasher safe?

Oh, my goodness! I'm so glad you caught it.

Sorry that you've had this shrinkage of any plastic plates that you may have had in there, to add to all of the tough stuff that you've had on your plate in recent years, raven.

But ... really thankful that you were not only there, but became aware in time to avert possibly losing another home, or having to cope with major damage! You've had enough of that with which to cope in recent years!

And I think that I'd be talking to the retailer and those who may have installed it. And to the manufacturer, for sure.

ole joyful

Raven, definitely take pictures and call the company. It wouldn't hurt to at least try to get some compensation. Lord knows you have been through more than enough.....glad you are okay.

Some good ideas here. I agree that I should let the manufacturers know about it. It is possible that it's a known problem who knows. It is a GE PROFILE with stainless steel interior. The water spray arm at the bottom has a plastic top mounted on the metal sprayer. That was melted and completely separated from the metal and the metal part was down on the element. All the stuff that was in the dishwasher was dishwasher safe, the glasses were on the top rack so was the pie cutter. It didn't seem to damage the pots but it did melt the handles on my knives in the silver ware basket and it melted the Silverware basket too. We are having a professional come remove it and inspect the area and wiring. We will have the new one professionally installed too.

Thanks for the ideas!

Raven, check this out. https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2010/ge-recalls-dishwashers-due-to-fire-hazard

I stopped running my dishwasher at night after not being able to sleep and stepping into hot water where the hose had broken. Luckily the door to the basement was open and the water was going there. You were so lucky. Definitely call the company. They may want to see the dishwasher so do this before you get a replacement and have it taken away.

I never leave appliances running when I leave the house or when we're sleeping at night. I would definitely check out the link Rose posted as there were more than 1 million GE dishwashers recalled.

Don't get rid of it Raven before talking to the manufacturer. And take pics.

I had 2 GE Profile dishwashers (at 2 homes) replaced by GE due to a defect in the wiring harness. It's been a while so I don't remember all the details - and it could have been under the link that Rose posted above.

Can you still read the model and serial numbers? That will tell GE when the appliance was manufactured.

It was in the same year model as the recalls but the serial number was one number younger but the number is very similar. I will contact GE.

Years ago, friends woke up to flooding on main floor and finished basement due to a faulty ice maker that ran all night. More recently, a friend left her dishwasher running while she went out for the day to celebrate her birthday. Damage was such that the family had to relocate for several months while the first floor of the condo was dried out and essentially rebuilt.

Thanks for the story. I have a habit of running the dishwasher, washer or dryer right before I leave home. I knew it was a bad habit, but after hearing your story I don't want to do that anymore. Hope your hand is ok!

Wow, that shouldn't happen. Good thing not worse than it was.

GE will probably want the dishwasher to diagnosis it.

That's pretty scary. That's always a fear of mine. I never, ever run appliances when I'm not home or when i'm sleeping. I don't even trust crock pots unattended. Just not worth the tiny risk when I have kitties at home.

That's scary. We often run the dishwasher in the middle of the night using the delayed timer option. I think I may change that. Even though we'd be home, I don't want to be awakened in the middle of the night due to a fire!

I also don't run a dishwasher, washing machine, dryer ect when I'm not home or in bed. The appliances I named all have heaters in them excluding some washing machines. I think Elmers washer has a 2, 000 W heater..mines only 1, 000W...but there is the potential of a catastrophic failure. Thank God you noticed it Raven and acted quickly.

Remember my washer exploded last month...bad things happen. I wouldn't let any appliance run with me gone or asleep outside of those that have to be on 24-7.

So glad you were home and caught it!!

Wow! That's scary. Glad you caught it in time.

The day after my daughter moved into their new house, the same thing happened to their dishwasher! Good thing she was home. I never leave any appliances running when I leave the house.

This could get interesting. GE sold its appliance business to Haier in 2016, although the headquarters for these appliances was slated to remain in Louisville, KY. Depending on agreements, Haier probably will honor recalls and warranties on stuff made before their takeover. I think that recalls are forced issues.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/16/business/dealbook/haier-ge-appliances.html

You dodged a bullet. That should have put out up enough smoke to have set off a fire alarm.

Many people have the wrong idea about circuit fuses and breakers. These do not protect the load. Those are designed to protect the circuit and wiring. They trip on defined circuit time-and-current overload. The load can fail and if its current draw is within the operating parameters of the circuit, the circuit protective device will not trip.

Following

There was something that went terribly wrong and shouldn't happen in any dishwasher, for that reason I would take pictures, keep the dishwasher and send the pics and a very powerful letter to the company that made it. You could save someone's life.

I think you've reminded a lot of people that dishwashers (and DRYERS too!) should never be left alone when they're running. We had a dishwasher fire years ago, and two dryer fires. So glad you were home to catch this one!

Wow, Raven! That was a very close call that could have gone really bad for you. It is indeed a reminder of what we should not do. I know I am guilty, for no good reason other than convenience. I had never heard of a dishwasher fire.

I've started thinking about that more and more lately...Not going to leave things running while not home anymore. That's pretty scary huh!!

Well we went and picked out a new dishwasher to be delivered on Friday. I did call about mine, the serial and model numbers were not included in the recall list, and it was manufactured in 2003. Because of that and that I caught it before any damage was done other than the plastic items. No cabinets damaged by fire etc there was nothing I qualify for. I guess if I had let it go and burn up the kitchen I might have qualified for $200 discount on a new GE. No thanks I don't want another GE. I bought a new kitchenaid just like the one I had in my other house which I loved.

I will never leave any type of appliance on when we are not there. We were extremely lucky to have been home this time.

I had no paperwork for the GE since it was in the new house. I thought it was newer than it was. 2003 is not ancient of course but appliances do not last like they used to!

I am glad if my experience helps anyone else prevent it from happening to them. It was a wake up call!

For sure, Raven, it woke a lot of us up. Glad you are back in business with a new one. And even with newer ones we should be careful. No guarantees.

I understand GE not replacing but for them not to even pick it up to investigate why this happened isn't right....

Ya stick to the Whirlpool made dishwasher. I've had excellent support recently with Whirlpool.

I suspect that what Jim posted has a lot to do with it. And the age of it.

I've read dishwasher fires are actually quite common. I don't remember where I read that, maybe consumer reports? Since then, I never leave the house when the dishwasher is running.

It's good that you were home.

That's crazy what happened! I'm telling everyone, that I know, your dishwasher story!

I just want to add that my KitchenAid dishwasher was not very old (probably in the 5-year range) when it went on fire. And neither were the dryers. I think one was a GE and one was a Maytag. Brand doesn't seem to matter.