Can you access the food filter, if it has one? That may be something to explore if you haven’t already done so. I wonder if there’s anything that can be used for a cleaning booster - will have to research…
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Something that occurred to me this morning, not for the first time.
When my wife and I go over our grocery shopping list I organize it as best I can based on the order products show up in the store. This does always lead to a discussion with my wife. “Why is this cheese here and these are all the way down here?” “Dairy and deli.” “sigh”
grin
In recognition of our main grocery, Giant Food of Maryland, they have really been working on their web interface for online coupons, for curbside pick-up, and delivery. What I’m starting to think about is ticking off all the things in cans and boxes and such in the aisles in the middle of the store on the web for pick-up and just do the things for which personal selection is important to us: produce, some dairy (e.g. cheese), meats.
Question for those of you who have been using delivery or pick-up, how has that been working out for you? Do your stores still take coupons somehow?
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Yes, coupons able to be used. I’ve only used curbside p/u once at the grocery, but all was spot on. Didn’t buy any specialty produce I don’t think, or not much. I tipped the young kid who brought it to the car, but he was reluctant to even accept it. I insisted. All in all, extremely impressed, and friends are happy as well. I think it’s a great idea you have. The less time in buildings the better these days @Auspicious, as you know.
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Coupons arent a British thing (nor can I recall seeing them In Spain), so marketing is done either by simple in store cost reductions or 2-4-1 offers. Our usual supermarket also has a loyalty card (can also be used in a number of other outlets - such as one particular fuel chain). That’s linked to our online account for delivery/collection so it’s building up a surplus to be redeemed against a future order. I havent looked to see how we redeem it online. By the by, my sister in law doesnt redeem her loyalty card until the “big” Christmas shop.
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Thanks for the suggestions I pretty much took the whole thing apart to clean. It was pretty gross. I’ve tried using more and then using less detergent but that didn’t have an impact. It is certainly livable. I don’t do a thorough rinsing before I run the DW as I’d rather wash a few a dishes after than many before.
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Hi @MsBean! We have a Bosch dishwasher with a food filter at the bottom. In
my experience, I definitely have to clear out the filter every so often. I don’t like that job one bit so I scrape my dishes well to avoid it. Sometimes I’ll toss a food container in and forget that it has a label or sticker. Hello, a million particles of sticky paper.
This took me some getting used to. We used to have an old KitchenAid dishwasher that chopped up food debris. That type of cleaning wasn’t necessary for that model.
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LOL! I have an Asko DW and there are 2 filters - they are cleaned frequently. I’m a good scraper, the rest of the family not so much but they are getting better. But for the first time in a long time I almost climbed into the DW to clean it out thinking the arms were plugged up or something.
Do you like your Bosch? It is on my list of possible alternatives. I can’t decide what I think about the upper cutlery tray. Do you have one? Do you like it?
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This is why we use our dishwasher for storage only. We do the dishes after eating, like pre dishwasher days.
Answering your question re: Bosch. That’s what we have, and I absolutely love it. The upper silverware tray, and everything else. No bending over to get your silverware and utensils loaded. Took almost no time to get used to, and is a workhorse like no other. I’ve always had a problem with dried yogurt or other dairy on spoons in DW’s, but not this one. In fact, rarely is there anything not cleaned well, which has to be rejected. OTOH, I never put dried egg yolk, dough, or melted cheese remnants in there, as they more or less cook on. I’m kind of a freak about grease getting in the pipes, so if we’ve had say crab, with melted butter, butter is wiped off, bacon grease wiped off after being thrown away, prime rib fat, and so on. In nearly 30 years of living in our house, we’ve never had to call a plumber. Septic people yes, and H fixes the occasional leak. No clogged drains, ever. If DW went out tomorrow, I’d be ordering a Bosch the following day. Hope this helps. FWIW, we looked at Miele too, but didn’t feel the one extra feature above what the Bosch offered was worth the extra $$$. Oh, my dad loves his Kitchen Aid, and I was happy with it also, when there last. Pretty quiet too.
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We are on our second Bosch dishwasher. Been very happy with it. I usually remember to rinse crockery before putting it in the dishwasher.
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My cousin’s dishwasher went kaput and she didn’t want to buy another one. So when she had company over she would load the dirty dishes while they were there and then unload after they left and hand wash. 
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Thank you for all the great info. I’m going to save it for when I actually have to make a decision.
We were having issues with funky dishes recently - “wet dog” smell and hazing on glassware, even after cleaning the dishwasher filter and seal and running citric acid, highly-chemical Finish dishwasher cleaner, Jet rinse aid, OxiClean, conventional heavy-duty dishwasher detergent pods, and garbage disposal cleaner through the system (not all at once). Even sanitized dishes smelled funky straight out of the cycle. Finally sprayed the interior with diluted bleach and did a hot cycle with a cup of bleach on the lower rack. Fixed immediately! Back to non-toxic, biodegradable detergent et al.
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I’ve been using these Finish Dishwasher cleaners too.
I think they help, but more importantly, I remember learning some important things from someone in the past, that made me think the problem may not be with the dishwasher. I seem to remember the detergent, a change in what was in the dishwasher detergent, and what else (on the plates) you put in there was involved, but unfortunately I don’t remember the other details.
Based on how well the bleach resolved our problem, I can only conclude bacterial/fungal infection was to blame 
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Think you’re on to something there, regarding composition of DW detergent. The sales associate we bought all our appliances from recommended a pricey DW detergent that you used very little of, claiming that it extends the life of your DW. Often, (according to her) mainstream detergents are comprised of animal fats, and some undesirable chemicals that cause faster wear on your machine. We didn’t buy any, but opted to use Cascade powder, and very little of it at a time (Prob 1/2 -1 teaspoon), along with Jet Dry. The reason for this is the low volume of water used for energy efficiency ratings. If using the recommended amount, it actually creates a too harsh environment for dishware and cutlery, as well as more wear and tear on the machine. An appliance repair person told me this, I listened, and it works!
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Glad you got your problem resolved - you really went through it, finding the solution! I’ve had a funky smell on clean, dry dishes before, but it always occurs in August or September, when our community well water runs low. Water in the toilets is off colored at that time too, but it always resolves in a few weeks.
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That is too funny @Miss_belle! I have a friend who is a little eccentric, let’s say. She was married and raising children once, in a very nice home, and had a nice, large kitchen. Evidently she didn’t believe in DW’s, so used hers as a drying rack only. WTH? But to each their own…
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@ChristinaM @Lambchop @Miss_belle @Harters @jcostiones @tomatotomato and anyone else I may have forgotten
Thank you all for the great DW tips and suggestions. I’m going to save this thread for when I finally decide what to do next. To be honest, I’m not quick to make this kind of decision. I’ve been thinking about getting a new vacuum for 6 months now - feel free to offer suggestions…
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You can add me to the Bosch brigade. I put one in my previous house during a kitchen remodel, and we bought one here when the old one failed and was going to be too expensive to fix. They clean well and are very quiet. Ours has a little red LED that shines on the floor when it is running so you know it is working. Our dishwasher is quieter than the house air conditioning.
Regardless of brand, American efficiency regulations make the drying cycle not particularly effective. When selecting a dishwasher be sure it has a button for ‘Extra Dry.’ Also due to efficiency requirements and due to water reuse in the dishwasher, you can expect the cycle time to be longer on newer dishwashers.
If your electric utility has time-of-use discounts, a delay timer can be very convenient.
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