The fact that people don’t have to wash dishes by hand anymore is of course a bonus. In most houses, dishwashers have become a staple. There are many different kinds of dishwashers out there including different sizes, and tons of features to choose from as well.
One of the most important things to look for is how durable and long-lasting the dishwasher in question is. That said, even the highest-end dishwashers with the highest prices will only last for so long.
As is the case with any other product out there, everything has a shelf life. Eventually, they get old, wear down, and break. However, some do last longer than others, and build quality is a big deal.
So, how long do dishwashers last? Moreover, how can you make your dishwasher last longer? Let’s take a closer look at this issue to help you prolong the lifespan of your dishwasher as much as possible.
How Long do Dishwashers Last?
Once again, it really all depends on exactly what kind of dishwasher you go with. With that being said, the average lifespan of a dishwasher is around 10 years, give or take. An interesting statistic here however is that up to 30% of new dishwashers will develop problems within the first five years.
Of course, some dishwashers can last for 15 or even 20 years, but that is a definite stretch. If you can get 15 years out of a new dishwasher, then you are in luck. In most cases, around eight or nine years is when you will likely start experiencing problems with your dishwasher.
In terms of prolonging the lifespan of your dishwasher, following the owner’s manual is one of the most important things that you can do.
Now, when you spend potentially thousands of dollars on a dishwasher, you obviously want it to last for as long as possible. Therefore, the main thing that we want to discuss here today is how to prolong the lifespan of your dishwasher.
How to Prolong the Lifespan of Your Dishwasher
Right now, we want to go over the most important tips for prolonging the lifespan of your dishwasher. These are some simple yet vital things that you can do. If you follow all the tips that we provide here today, you can easily get a few extra years out of your dishwasher, if not more.
1. Regularly Clean the Door Seal
To help prolong the lifespan of your dishwasher, you should regularly clean the door seal. This is where the door meets the main body of the dishwasher. This is an area where various debris and food particles can collect.
These food particles can then lead to bacteria growth, mold growth, and odors. One of the biggest problems however is that eventually, it may prevent the door from sealing properly. This can then lead to leaks or it might cause your dishwasher to not turn on.
Therefore, you want to take a rag with some white vinegar to clean that door seal. This will help prevent bacteria, mold, and odors from occurring. It will also ensure that the door of your dishwasher can easily close at all times.
2. Be Careful of What You Put in it
OK, so most dishwashers do come with filters to prevent food from going down the drain. Moreover, high-end models also come with food disposal units. These feature very sharp and fast spinning blades that pulverize any food residue. This is all fine, but it’s still not perfect.
Those blades and that filter aren’t going to be able to handle items like bones, toothpicks, and other solid non-food items. Those big and hard items can damage the interior of your dishwasher. They can damage the pump, clog the drain hose, or even tear a hole in the filter.
For this reason, although you don’t need to rinse your plate, you do want to scrape it. Remove any and all hard objects that are not food. You don’t want those chicken bones damaging the inside of your dishwasher because those repairs can be costly.
3. Clean That Filter
Speaking of the filter in your dishwasher, this is something else that will require maintenance. All of the food on your dishes has to go somewhere, and it gets caught in the filter before it goes down the drain. Of course, having a filter is important because you don’t want your drain becoming clogged.
With that being said, filters themselves do also get clogged and dirty. For this reason, you need to regularly clean that filter. You want to clean your filter at least once per month, or more. Of course, it depends on how dirty your dishes are and how often you use your dishwasher.
Simply put, take that filter out and run it under the sink. You may want to use a sponge and a bit of soap to get it as clean as possible. Just be sure that you don’t use any kind of steel wool or abrasive brush.
Abrasive materials will most likely damage the filter and lead to you needing a replacement. Moreover, you do also want to inspect the filter on a regular basis.
If it has holes in it or is damaged in any way, you will need to replace it. Remember that replacing a dishwasher filter is much cheaper than replacing pumps or other items in the dishwasher.
4. Only Wash Dishes
These are not multi-use machines that you can use to wash other things. Although it sounds weird, it is not uncommon for people to try to wash things like automotive parts inside their dishwasher.
Needless to say, automotive oils and grease are not ideal things to have in a dishwasher. Simple dishwasher detergent just can’t deal with that thick automotive oil. Simply put, dishwashers are designed for dishes and nothing else, so let’s keep it that way.
5. Deal with Hard Water Residue
Chances are pretty big that you live in an area with hard water. Hard water is water that contains high amounts of calcium and magnesium. This calcium and magnesium will then be deposited on the inside of your dishwasher. These mineral films can over time cause corrosion and they can also damage the interior of your dishwasher.
These mineral deposits will also then clog the filter and the drainpipe, which is not ideal. Moreover, you might also notice that the racks don’t move as easily anymore due to that buildup. Hard water is one of the biggest dishwasher killers out there.
Dishwashers that use hard water, without any special treatment, are going to last for about half as long. For this reason, you do want to effectively deal with a hard water situation any way you can. For one, getting a whole house water softener is an option.
Not only will this benefit your dishwasher, but your other appliances as well. You can also try investing in a dishwasher that features a built-in water softener, although these are quite expensive.
Something you can do is use a citric acid-based dishwasher cleaner to remove mineral deposits. If you don’t want to spend much money, even some white vinegar will do the trick. Simply run an empty load with plenty of white vinegar and it should remove these mineral deposits.
6. Maintain the Spray Arms
Another component of your dishwasher that requires regular maintenance is the spray arm. Specifically, you are looking at all of the little holes or nozzles that spray the water out. What you are looking for here is any kind of obstruction or debris.
Obviously, a dishwasher is not going to work well if the water dispensers can’t dispense water. Therefore, if you see that any of those little holes are clogged, you can use something like a pipe cleaner or a toothpick to unclog them.
That said, do be very careful that you don’t damage or deform those little spray holes. Damaging or deforming those holes will affect the functionality of your machine. If need be, using a screwdriver, the bottom spray arm is often removable for easier cleaning.
7. Don’t Cram it Full
To prolong the lifespan of your dishwasher, you need to avoid cramming it. Don’t overfill the machine to the point where dishes cannot be efficiently cleaned. The problem here is of course that if your dishes come out dirty, you’ll probably just want to run the machine again.
Well, every time you run your machine, you run the risk of something breaking. Moreover, every time those mechanical parts have to move, they will wear down a little more. Simply put, the less you run that machine, the longer it is going to last.
Conclusion
There you have it folks, seven awesome tips on how to prolong the lifespan of your dishwasher. If you follow all of these tips, you should be able to get around 12 to 15 years out of a new dishwasher.