[sinamin]

I find that you must be really careful when loading a dishwasher. Wooden spoons, plasticware and small items can be dangerous if left loose. The other night, I started the dishwasher. After about 5 minutes, I smelled something burning and heard this grinding noise.

I ran to the kitchen and opened the dishwasher. I thought the motor was burning so I turned it off and left it for a couple days. When I had more time to investigate, I found a lid from a whipping cream bowl had lodged in the bottom of the dishwasher. When I pulled it out, it was all black.

Luckily, I didn't damage the mechanism. Now I make sure everything is secure before I start the diswasher.

[10cents]

Hi! Thanks for sharing the lesson. I'm glad nothing serious happened but that smell and grinding noise may mean the gears were straining. Some motors have circuit breakers for this sort of thing but I'm not sure for dishwashers.

[HomeGirl]

Yikes!! Lucky break sinamin. I hope your machine continues to work okay.

I don't currently have a dishwasher, but I remember when I had my old GE it was temperamental about loose items. Somehow, once, a spoon got flung into the detergent cup lid-latch and broke it so that it would never close again.

...but that's a mild story compared to your burnt lid!

[Alan]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. Iam planning to buy a new dishwasher and this tip is really useful. So any ideas which dishwasher in the market goes well?

[MJK]

I had an old GE portable dishwasher that I converted to be a builtin. After a couple years of use, i.e., normal vibration, the insulation on the power supply feed to the unit wore through, shorted to ground, and started an electrical fire under my countertop. Eventually the wood countertop caught on fire and started to bubble the formica above the builtin. The entire house filled with smoke. Luckily we were home at the time. I had to literally rip the unit out of its cabinet recess and get up underneath the counter to extinquish the fire. I discovered later that the supply breaker to the unit was defective, i.e., failed to trip properly.
To prevent the same insulation wear on the replacement dishwasher, I used a section of flex to encase the power supply line.