The 2^nd article in our series of deciding if you can fix it yourself or can in a professional will be covering dishwashers. Your dishwasher is probably one of the most important items in your kitchen. Everyone likes the ease of not having to deal with dirty dishes, so when it is not working correctly, it can cause havoc in your household.

Many issues that occur with your dishwasher can be handled by you. The most common complaints are dishes not getting clean, leaking on the floor or the dishwasher itself is not draining or it simply won’t start.

Dishwasher not getting the dishes clean-several things could be happening here, check to make sure that the is no food caught in the spray arms, something obstructing the filters or clogging the float or that you are overloading the racks. Check the spray arms to make sure that they are in running order and not broken. These things are easy to repair. If however, you suspect that you are not getting enough water into the dishwasher or can’t figure out what is happening after checking out the above items, call for the professional. Tell them what you have already checked. This will save you time and money when the pro comes into your home.

Water on the floor-most likely due to too much soap. Clean your dishwasher by using ½ cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher and running it. This will clean out excess suds that remain. Make sure that you are using the proper detergent for your dishwasher and not regular dish soap or soap used for your washing machine. Standing water in the dishwasher or having water back up into your sink, is most likely caused by your garbage disposal. Running your disposal before turning on your dishwasher should take   of this problem.

If your water problem is not caused from the above issues, you probably have a more serious problem on your hands. A broken motor pump, latch or gasket will make professional repair a must. In some instances, such as a broken motor, you may want to replace the dishwasher.

As I have stated before, the first thing that you want to do before repairing your anything yourself is to look up the warranty. Do not attempt repair your dishwasher if the warranty is still in effect. To do so may invalidate the warranty. Let the manufacturer absorb as much of the repair cost as possible so you don’t have to foot the bill.