Thursday, March 10, 2011

BEWARE Using Dishwashing Gel Pacs

Awhile back we began having problems with our dishwasher and it was draining slow and then it quit draining and this was upsetting as it is just over a year old. We looked on the internet and found out it was possibly the drain pump.

Today, since we are having high winds, hubs decided it was a great indoor project and the information we got from applianceblog.com
along with the great tutorial helped hubby to take off the drain pump and then he decided to run some water through the drain line....zip...not happening!

He disconnected the hose after trying to blow water through it and it wouldn't budge. I saw this 6"-8" chunk of gunk in the line and thought it was grease...(okay, I do not rinse the dishes, I confess prior to placing them in the dishwasher), so he poured Dawn dish washing liquid in the line and it stopped dead at the clog.

I am not very technical, but I grabbed a funnel and took the hose into the bathroom and ran hot water on high into the funnel. Pretty soon, out slid 4 cylinder shaped chunks of ??? It didn't smell, so it wasn't grease & hubby said it felt like lotion.

What it happened to be was undissolved polyvinyl alcohol the outer coating of gel pacs and per the repair person we spoke with after we called back and said we did not need a new drain pump, this is a common problem with not only gelpacs, but with the gels as well.

Now, the repair place didn't suggest we check the lines first, however it was my boss that stated that was probably what it was and after asking, it was.

I have never had a problem using gels, but I can guarantee you I am not using the gelpacs any longer and while I can't stop anyone else from using them, I can tell you this is a common problem by looking it up and you don't want a huge repair bill if you aren't handy enough to clear the line yourself.

Buyer beware, you are now educated and informed where these not always dissolved pacs go.

1 comment:

bettyp said...

thanks for sharing this ,I may have to find something else to use in my dishwasher !!