Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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Important: Since writing this stellar review, I have had lots of problems with the dishwasher. After about 4 months, the dishes started to come out smelling like bad breath. Around the same time, the dishes on the top shelf stopped getting completely clean, and I had to start spacing them more widely. Eventually, the dishes on the bottom shelf stopped getting clean. I used a product called Dishwasher Magic, which got rid of the smell. I then called the service people and was told to do a wash with vinegar (see two paragraphs down). I did the wash with vinegar, and the next load of dishes came out clean. However, the smell returned (although it wasn't very strong). It seems that in order to keep this dishwasher working, I must use Dishwasher Magic ($4.50) and Vinegar (about $1) every couple months.
One other problem has cropped up with this dishwasher since I got it, and that is that the detergent doesn't always empty out from the dispenser. I sometimes find caked detergent in there (which means to me that the dishes are not getting thoroughly rinsed). I switched to liquid detergent, but surprisingly I am finding streaks of detergent on the dishes nearest to the dispenser. The dispenser may not be working properly.
To use the vinegar, do a wash with no dishes and no detergent (but use hot water). When the wash cycle starts (i.e., after the washer fills with water and starts to slosh the water around), slowly open the door, throw in 2 cups of vinegar, and close the door. I did that twice; we'll see how it works.
Even though I live alone, I dirty a lot of dishes. I work at home, so I eat all my meals here. I tend to snack a lot. Also, I have two cats, and I occasionally feed the strays, and I always use clean dishes. For all my adult life -- 40 years -- I have washed my dishes by hand. But once I started a home business, the amount of time I had to wash dishes diminished. Every time I had a little energy for cleaning, there were always dishes sitting in the sink. So I washed a lot of dishes but neglected other parts of the house. Finally I decided enough was enough, and I got a dishwasher from Sears. Here is my review of the Frigidaire FMP33ORGSO 18" dishwasher.
First, Frigidaire's 800 number is a ruse. Callers are referred to their web site or given a toll number to call if they need to speak to a person. Very deceptive!
The washer is small and holds only 30-40 dishes, not including utensils. The tines are very close together, and it is difficult to fit thick items in. Medium-size bowls have to go in the top rack with the glasses. The bottom rack is designed almost entirely for plates, but I don't dirty enough plates to fill it up. Large bowls don't really fit at all. Well, it is possible to fit large items in if they are positioned sideways, but you can't fit in many items that way. Really large bowls, like mixing bowls, should be hand-washed. There is no room for pots and pans, unless they are small and inserted sideways. Of course, people who buy this compact washer won't be expecting it to have a lot of interior space. I would say that this washer is good for one or two people. If your family is three or more, you should get a full-size washer.
The hoses are long enough to connect to a sink, but not long enough to operate the washer away from the counter. It would have been nice if they had made the hoses really long so you could keep the washer a few feet away and never have to move it. Fortunately, you can unscrew the hoses and insert extension hoses, in which case you'll need to buy two hoses and, probably, two adapters from your hardware store. The hoses that you get from the hardware store will have metal screw nuts on them (or whatever they are called), so you have to be careful not to strip the plastic nuts that come with the washer.
The device which attaches to the faucet is all plastic, which means that is may be less durable than if it were metal. Fortunately, if the device fails, you can replace it since the hoses can be unscrewed.
As is the case with all portable washers, when you are doing a wash, you won't be able to use your faucet (unless you have a spray nozzle). When you remove the hose, you'll want to stick it in a pot immediately because it will leak water all over your floor.
The top of the washer is nice and solid, so you can use it as a counter top. You can't use it as a butcher block, though.
The cycle time is about 2:15 (if you always use the heavy dirt cycle, which I do) -- that's a long time, but then, all modern washers seem to take a long time. You can start the washer and then go to bed, but I don't recommend it. Leaving the water pressure in the hoses all night could cause them to fail. I think it would be safer to do the dishes a couple hours before bed so you can turn off the water before you retire.
The washer does a good job of cleaning. About half the time, all the dishes are completely clean, which is very good performance indeed. I have cats, so I put a lot of dishes in the washer that have dried meat on them, and the machine usually removes the meat entirely. There have been several occasions when one or two dishes came out with some meat particles on them, and there have been a couple occasions when four or five dishes had meat particles on them; but I am satisfied with that performance. (When there are dishes that aren't clean, they are almost always on the top rack.) I frequently heat hot dogs and pre-cooked bacon in the microwave, so I often put dishes in the washer that have a lot of grease on them. The washer always removes the grease entirely.
I am finding next to nothing in the filter, and I think this is one of those washers that grinds up the food particles and flushes them down the drain.
The dry cycle, which gets the dishes about 80% dry, makes the dishes so hot that you can't handle them for a while afterward. Plastic items which might melt can't be washed. I tried washing a plastic peanut butter jar. The washer got the peanut butter out (very impressive!) and removed the label (even more impressive!), but it partially melted the jar.
Supposedly, dishwashers use less resources (water, energy) than hand-washing does. Certainly I am using less water than I used to, and that means less natural gas since that's what I heat my water with. However, the washer uses electricity, which hand-washing doesn't. Heating elements in the bottom of the washer are used during the drying cycle, and they undoubtedly use a lot of electricity. During the winter that's not a bad thing because my apartment needs the heat, but that's not the case during the summer. There is a button on the front of the washer which, it appears, turns off the drying cycle. If that's the case, I assume the user must open the washer at the end and let the dishes dry in the air. I'll try that when the summer comes.
I'm not sorry that I got this washer. Most of the inconveniences associated with it are due to it's limited internal capacity and the fact that it has to be wheeled to the sink (but then, I knew those things before I bought it). The only serious design flaw, in my opinion, is the layout of tines. However, the inconveniences pale next to the inconvenience of washing 30-40 dishes and utensils by hand every day. This washer has made my life much easier.
One other problem has cropped up with this dishwasher since I got it, and that is that the detergent doesn't always empty out from the dispenser. I sometimes find caked detergent in there (which means to me that the dishes are not getting thoroughly rinsed). I switched to liquid detergent, but surprisingly I am finding streaks of detergent on the dishes nearest to the dispenser. The dispenser may not be working properly.
To use the vinegar, do a wash with no dishes and no detergent (but use hot water). When the wash cycle starts (i.e., after the washer fills with water and starts to slosh the water around), slowly open the door, throw in 2 cups of vinegar, and close the door. I did that twice; we'll see how it works.
Even though I live alone, I dirty a lot of dishes. I work at home, so I eat all my meals here. I tend to snack a lot. Also, I have two cats, and I occasionally feed the strays, and I always use clean dishes. For all my adult life -- 40 years -- I have washed my dishes by hand. But once I started a home business, the amount of time I had to wash dishes diminished. Every time I had a little energy for cleaning, there were always dishes sitting in the sink. So I washed a lot of dishes but neglected other parts of the house. Finally I decided enough was enough, and I got a dishwasher from Sears. Here is my review of the Frigidaire FMP33ORGSO 18" dishwasher.
First, Frigidaire's 800 number is a ruse. Callers are referred to their web site or given a toll number to call if they need to speak to a person. Very deceptive!
The washer is small and holds only 30-40 dishes, not including utensils. The tines are very close together, and it is difficult to fit thick items in. Medium-size bowls have to go in the top rack with the glasses. The bottom rack is designed almost entirely for plates, but I don't dirty enough plates to fill it up. Large bowls don't really fit at all. Well, it is possible to fit large items in if they are positioned sideways, but you can't fit in many items that way. Really large bowls, like mixing bowls, should be hand-washed. There is no room for pots and pans, unless they are small and inserted sideways. Of course, people who buy this compact washer won't be expecting it to have a lot of interior space. I would say that this washer is good for one or two people. If your family is three or more, you should get a full-size washer.
The hoses are long enough to connect to a sink, but not long enough to operate the washer away from the counter. It would have been nice if they had made the hoses really long so you could keep the washer a few feet away and never have to move it. Fortunately, you can unscrew the hoses and insert extension hoses, in which case you'll need to buy two hoses and, probably, two adapters from your hardware store. The hoses that you get from the hardware store will have metal screw nuts on them (or whatever they are called), so you have to be careful not to strip the plastic nuts that come with the washer.
The device which attaches to the faucet is all plastic, which means that is may be less durable than if it were metal. Fortunately, if the device fails, you can replace it since the hoses can be unscrewed.
As is the case with all portable washers, when you are doing a wash, you won't be able to use your faucet (unless you have a spray nozzle). When you remove the hose, you'll want to stick it in a pot immediately because it will leak water all over your floor.
The top of the washer is nice and solid, so you can use it as a counter top. You can't use it as a butcher block, though.
The cycle time is about 2:15 (if you always use the heavy dirt cycle, which I do) -- that's a long time, but then, all modern washers seem to take a long time. You can start the washer and then go to bed, but I don't recommend it. Leaving the water pressure in the hoses all night could cause them to fail. I think it would be safer to do the dishes a couple hours before bed so you can turn off the water before you retire.
The washer does a good job of cleaning. About half the time, all the dishes are completely clean, which is very good performance indeed. I have cats, so I put a lot of dishes in the washer that have dried meat on them, and the machine usually removes the meat entirely. There have been several occasions when one or two dishes came out with some meat particles on them, and there have been a couple occasions when four or five dishes had meat particles on them; but I am satisfied with that performance. (When there are dishes that aren't clean, they are almost always on the top rack.) I frequently heat hot dogs and pre-cooked bacon in the microwave, so I often put dishes in the washer that have a lot of grease on them. The washer always removes the grease entirely.
I am finding next to nothing in the filter, and I think this is one of those washers that grinds up the food particles and flushes them down the drain.
The dry cycle, which gets the dishes about 80% dry, makes the dishes so hot that you can't handle them for a while afterward. Plastic items which might melt can't be washed. I tried washing a plastic peanut butter jar. The washer got the peanut butter out (very impressive!) and removed the label (even more impressive!), but it partially melted the jar.
Supposedly, dishwashers use less resources (water, energy) than hand-washing does. Certainly I am using less water than I used to, and that means less natural gas since that's what I heat my water with. However, the washer uses electricity, which hand-washing doesn't. Heating elements in the bottom of the washer are used during the drying cycle, and they undoubtedly use a lot of electricity. During the winter that's not a bad thing because my apartment needs the heat, but that's not the case during the summer. There is a button on the front of the washer which, it appears, turns off the drying cycle. If that's the case, I assume the user must open the washer at the end and let the dishes dry in the air. I'll try that when the summer comes.
I'm not sorry that I got this washer. Most of the inconveniences associated with it are due to it's limited internal capacity and the fact that it has to be wheeled to the sink (but then, I knew those things before I bought it). The only serious design flaw, in my opinion, is the layout of tines. However, the inconveniences pale next to the inconvenience of washing 30-40 dishes and utensils by hand every day. This washer has made my life much easier.
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