If you grew up, or spent a part of your adult life, in a home where the after-dinner routine involved hand-washing the dishes, you know exactly how much time and energy having a dishwasher can save you. Like most modern appliances, a dishwasher’s main job - aside from cleaning your dishes, of course - is to make your life easier. Thankfully it’s almost always really good at that job. There are times, though, when you may find yourself with a malfunctioning dishwasher, which is of much less use. A jammed dishwasher can leave you with not-quite-clean dishes, a swampy mess at the end of a cycle or just an apparently broken dishwasher altogether. Depending on the specifics of your situation, it may be a quick, do-it-yourself fix, or it may require the help of a professional appliance repair technician.

 

The Easy Fixes

 

If you’re in the habit of not rinsing off your dishes before putting them into the dishwasher rack, there’s a good chance that a lot of food particles are leaving along with the waste water after your dishwasher does its thing. Sometimes, those particles can cause a clogged dishwasher drain, which leaves a bit of a soup behind when it should have cleared away the used water. There can also be an even simpler cause of the problem. Take a peek around on the bottom of the dishwasher and look for something that resembles an overturned cup on the bottom. That is a device that floats up and down depending on the water level inside the dishwasher. If it gets stuck due to food and gunk build-up, the unit will no longer be able to tell when it needs to bring in more water or let the waste water out. Working it clean and clearing it of any pieces of food that are making it stick can clear up the problem right away, bringing your dishwasher back to the easy ebb and flow it’s used to.

 

More Difficult Fixes

Unfortunately, some dishwasher problems are a little more complicated and challenging. If the location of your dishwasher jam is a little deeper inside the unit, it could be caused by a clogged or stuck pump within the unit itself. With the electrical components and plumbing elements, examining and fixing the dishwasher’s broken pump is definitely a job for an experienced home repair company rather than an untrained homeowner.

 

Hiring a stranger to come in to your home and work on your broken kitchen appliances can be a bit intimidating, and although the vast majority of appliance repair people are conscientious and professional, it’s hard not to wonder about being scammed or pushed into a decision you don’t want to make. With a little research, however, you can find the history and corporate philosophy of a home repair company servicing your area who will come into your home with the respect it deserves, and will make sure that by the time they leave, you have a functioning appliance, instead of the frustrating, jammed dishwasher that greeted them at first.