Non-motoring > Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bobby Replies: 88

 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
10 years old. Has stopped washing.
Water is getting in.
Doesn’t seem to be getting heated.
Water being drained out.
Program seems to last about 15-20 mins rather than the usual 90 mins or thereabouts.

It doesn’t have a digital panel with fault codes, just simple rotating knobs to select the program.
No diagnostic socket to plug laptop in to diagnose.

My limited guesswork is suggesting either water heater not working resulting in the program length being reduced.
Or the controller is faulty and skipping the heating element of the process.

Thoughts? Bin and replace?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
Time for a new machine - I guess you paid around £300 for it. £10 a year isn’t much.

My strategy is to buy similar. Guaranteed for a couple of years. Replace then when breaks down.



 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Duncan
>> Time for a new machine - I guess you paid around £300 for it. £10
>> a year isn’t much.

You didn't do maths at school, did you.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
My maths is OK. I just wished I couLd typpe.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Zero
thermostat, about 65 quid to buy, if you feel lucky fitting it yourself, go ahead, someone else will charge you 100 quid to do it.

Dump the whole thing and buy new.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
I reckon any white goods that last five years have 'done their term', which is why I don't buy integrated appliances.









Except for SWMBO!

 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
I replaced my integrated one not so long ago, no problem. Different make too! :-)

I read the other day that white goods are up about 30% on a year ago, and will go up more. The article may have been specifically fridges and freezers, but they were saying that shipping from China was £12 a year ago and now it is £80, something like that anyway.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Lygonos
>>The article may have been specifically fridges and freezers, but they were saying that shipping from China was £12 a year ago and now it is £80, something like that anyway.

The MG UK Commercial Director said that the cost of shipping a car from China had risen from $200 per car to almost $2000.

 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - henry k
£90 on the auction site
others collect yourself
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
Ha ha, just checked back.
Bought it on 16/04/2010. Retail price was £299.99 but was a display model so got £60 off it! So £239. Think I have had my moneys worth!

Interestingly (for me anyway) we also got a large American style fridge freezer at same time. Again ex display. This was when we were getting our house extension built so the day I collected it, was when the builders had broken through my gable wall and I was able to just wheel the fridge straight through the hole into the kitchen.

Have no idea how I will get it back out when the time comes!!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Zero
Angle grinder
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Manatee
>>Have no idea how I will get it back out when the time comes!!

The Gallic peoples are prone to that sort of miscalculation. Hence the invention of French windows.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
So I would be looking for a full size silver dishwasher.
As energy efficient as possible but there doesn’t seem to be a glut of A or B efficient machines to choose from.
What other factors do I need to look at? A dishwasher is, well, a dishwasher. Places to put dishes and cutlery?
Is there any noticeable differing factors?? And no, I don’t need one with wifi!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
I think you'll find a dishwasher is what it is. I've found we only need three progs - rinse 'n hold, quick wash and normal wash. Never used the 'plate warming' prog, or several others.
Had to teach a colleague to RTFM after they complained their's smelled. They'd never used the 'rinse-n-hold'.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase
One of the differences between models might be the tray and/or cutlery basket arrangement.

Our Bosch has a good layout and a removable cutlery tray that can also go in different places, so you have a few options.

Sister had the same model, then changed to another Bosch and now says she can't fit in the same amount of stuff because the tray layout is also changed for the worse and the cutlery basket thing is fixed in place. Apparently.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Manatee
No doubt they are all desperate to differentiate their machines. There are baskets, and there are trays for cutlery - we are tray people. But the cutlery tray in the AEG we have just acquired with the new kitchen is not as useable as that of the Miele we had.

However it does have "comfort lift" whereby the lower basket swings forward and up to the same level as the the top basket, for easier loading and unloading.

Biggest disappointment though is that its drying is rubbish. Probably to reduce energy use.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Runfer D'Hills
We have a dishwasher. Came with the house when we bought it as a new build 20 years ago. I’d guess it has been used less than a dozen times. Just can’t be bothered really. Just seems easier to wash by hand, or so my dishwashing staff tell me anyway. I try not to interfere. Best to let experts manage such matters don’t you think?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Zero
In usability and ergonomics, Dishwashers have taken a huge step backwards, my newish AEG is a pig, with crappy cutlery basket, poor loading ability plate supports that dont.

Washing and drying ain't brilliant either, in I guess, an attempt to be "green"
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Falkirk Bairn
My wife has had the same dishwasher for 51 years!







Retired now I can do all the dishes, not just in the evening & weekends.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> My wife has had the same dishwasher for 51 years!

The age of Aquarius?





Hairy type joke.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - legacylad
My integrated dishwasher, an Electrolux ESL 614, was in the house when I bought the property when it was 6 months old.
That was early year 2000. I’ve not used it once in the intervening 22 years.
Does the panel think that after two decades ( and a bit) the hoses and other bits will have perished, and I should continue not using it ?

Unless I fancy a paddle
Last edited by: legacylad on Sat 23 Apr 22 at 14:32
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Runfer D'Hills
You should probably think about it for a while longer. Maybe another five/ten years or so and then review. Even then, don’t rush any decisions I’d say.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - legacylad
Are you advocating further procrastination ?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - neiltoo
Procrastination is my sin.
It causes me great sorrow.
I really must reform myself.
In fact, I'll start tomorrow!


8o)
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Zero
>> Procrastination is my sin.

I'll get round to reading the rest next week.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Runfer D'Hills
Definitely, it’s almost always the best solution. And, it bestows a mysterious air of reflection upon the procrastinator. Irresistible to the fair sex apparently.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - legacylad
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow

Mark Twain
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
I am probably on my third cutlery basket. Easily bought via eSpares or the like. Twice had to replace as the plastic had been damaged presumably with sharp knives being dropped into them.
But I do think I prefer a basket to a tray? Surely you want cutlery washed vertically?

Other than that my bottom tray has all the settings for plates but the racks can be flipped down to give a large flat space if required. Assume all machines do likewise?

Only slight grievance is my top rack doesn’t have enough clearance for large wine glasses.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - sooty123
We've hardly used ours, it was ok when we first moved in. But now the Pump is struggling, so I took it out and fitted another. Worked fine for a while, then it started skipping large parts of the cycle and not really cleaning anything.

I looked at the hand book, I'd say it 15+ years old, so probably had it. I doubt we'll have another, probably just the space as a cupboard.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Duncan
>> I am probably on my third cutlery basket. Easily bought via eSpares or the like.
>> Twice had to replace as the plastic had been damaged presumably with sharp knives being
>> dropped into them.

Shoudn't cutlery be washed blade uppermost?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich

>> Shoudn't cutlery be washed blade uppermost?
>>
No

www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/may/29/kirstyscott
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Duncan
You can't do sums. You can't type. Why should I trust you as to which way up a knife should be in a dishwasher?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
When you’re lying there with your head in the dishwasher and an assortment of cutlery sticking in your chest you will remember my warning and think ”if only I had listened to that bloke from Norwich.”
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Ted
#
I recall two cases where women have tripped in the kitchen and been killed by knives sticking up out of the cutlery box !

Ted
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase

>> ... ”if only I had
>> listened to that bloke from Norwich.”


I'm with you. I used to have this discussion with my mum. She was absolutely insistent that the cutlery went in handle downwards, so pointy sharp bits stuck up ready to stab you. I could never understand why, and I always load blade downwards, but she got quite vocal about it if I ever put things "the wrong way up" in her dishwasher.

Can't see it gets things cleaner, or water hangs about in the wrong places or anything. For those that do it, what's the reasoning for doing it the seemingly more dangerous way?

 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Biggles
Lead crystal never goes in the dishwasher otherwise it turns cloudy.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> Lead crystal never goes in the dishwasher otherwise it turns cloudy.

I find any glass that goes in the dishwasher eventually turns cloudy. I'm told it's the water pressure inside the D/W that etches the glass. The same happens, apparently, to all items in there, it's just not as noticeable on other stuff.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - martin aston
We’ve got a few plates that have been in the dishwasher pretty much daily for thirty years. They were never high gloss but are glazed and now feel decidedly matt. Not really an issue in practice. Glasses vary in resistance to cloudiness but the top branded liquid based cleaners seem to be less abrasive than the old powders.
Each to their own but I can’t understand why anyone would not use a dishwasher they already have. They are more hygienic, cheaper to run in water heating and use comparatively little water. Hand washing in increasingly mucky water would not be my first choice. Even with just the two of us we get up to a reasonable load most days.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Dog
>>Each to their own but I can't understand why anyone would not use a dishwasher they already have

We've had 3 dishy washers in various properties we've bought o'er the years, but never used one of 'em, ever.

One of our owse viewers (a man!) said he wouldn't mind standing at the sink for 20 minutes, with views like we've got over rolling Cornish countryside.

:o}
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - legacylad

>> Even with just the two of us we get up to a reasonable load most
>> days.
>>
You sound like the kind of picky person who must use a new plate for every course.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Manatee
>> >> Lead crystal never goes in the dishwasher otherwise it turns cloudy.
>>
>> I find any glass that goes in the dishwasher eventually turns cloudy. I'm told it's
>> the water pressure inside the D/W that etches the glass. The same happens, apparently, to
>> all items in there, it's just not as noticeable on other stuff.
>>

I'm pretty sure it's chemical. Yesterday the boss neglected to turn off the hob under a pan containing some drained, fine green beans. For probably a couple of hours. The beans looked like the frizzled tendrils of some long-dead alien, and the black reside on the base of the pan resisted all normal means of removal.

This morning she remembered a tip she probably saw and ignored on FB, and told me to put a dishwasher pellet in the pan with some water. I boiled the water in the kettle to speed up whatever reaction was to ensue.

Having dropped her off in Aylesbury to set off on a trip to the bulb fields of the Low Countries, I came home to find the pan bright and shiny.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - DeeW
Manatee, not only useful for burnt pans and roasting tins, but also to clean (clothes) washing machine. Do once a month to clear grot from machine.
I recently cleared a sink blockage by putting dishwasher tablet in plug hole and pouring on boiling water, leaving for a while then pouring in more boiling water.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase
I'm so trying that. We have a sink even the plumber can't clear for long. He says the drain wasn't installed properly, so either rip up the floor or keep shoving Mr Muscle down it every three days.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - henry k
>> I'm so trying that. We have a sink even the plumber can't clear for long.
>> He says the drain wasn't installed properly, so either rip up the floor or keep
>> shoving Mr Muscle down it every three days.

My son had a blocked kitchen sink.
He used the hot water/ baking soda and vinegar approach.
I needed several applications and a half day but eventually it cleared.
A lot cheaper than cans of chemicals ?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase
Alas, been doing the soda crystals and everything else you can think of for years...

It's clear, but drains really slowly. Shove whatever concoction down, it runs nicely for a day or two. Then stops. It's going to be some dreadful thing to do with roots under the floor or something no doubt.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Dog
Avez vous or your plumber tried anything like:

www.screwfix.com/p/drain-unblocker-7-6m/11325
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Fullchat
I have a bathroom sink that starts to drain slowly after a while.

Fill sink up with water and use something to block the overflow. Wet flannel or similar. Open the waste outlet Then a good old fashioned plunger until the sink empties then repeat.

The amount of thick soap and shaving foam residue that comes up is something.

Infact its rather therapeutic so I go round all the sinks with results.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase
I do the sink plunger game regularly. Did it yesterday in fact. All good fun in a kind of disgusting and gloopy way.

Ran nicely, but already slowing.

Dog's suggested chemistry lab, it does nothing.

Luckily I don't much care, I use the sink and come back four hours later is all.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Manatee

>> Ran nicely, but already slowing.

You mean to say it blocks again even if you have only run water down it?

Does it join a drain from elsewhere? Is there another joining downstream? What is it blocking with? Have you had a cover or two up to see what you're dislodging? None of my business but it's intriguing.

Our main drain blocked soon after we moved here, with a mini fatberg. It took a long time to get to the bottom of but it turned out that tree roots further down were making it run slowly which had helped the fat and other bits to accrete. I eventually got some water company chaps working nearby to take a look and they found the tree roots and jetted them out. No problems since, and I've now removed the tree.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Duncan
>> I do the sink plunger game regularly. Did it yesterday in fact. All good fun
>> in a kind of disgusting and gloopy way.


Don't use the plunger if you have put any sort of chemical down the sink, you will not be a happy bunny if you get a faceful of chemical products.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
My missus, when she is cleaning the bathrooms, removes the plug hole trap thing from the shower and then cleans it down the sink of the hand basin.

She just doesn’t do logic
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> My missus, when she is cleaning the bathrooms, removes the plug hole trap thing from
>> the shower and then cleans it down the sink of the hand basin.
>> She just doesn’t do logic

I have go fishing with a bit of wire with a hook on the end to drag out all the hair and detritus (weren't he/she a Discworld character?) from the bath/shower a couple of times a year.

Like pulling a dead rat out!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bromptonaut
>> Other than that my bottom tray has all the settings for plates but the racks
>> can be flipped down to give a large flat space if required. Assume all machines
>> do likewise?

We're on our third since 1998 when we moved into our current home, then a new build.

The first was an integrated Bauchnekt which didn't last long and was replaced with a Bosch. A brilliant machine withe lots of flexibility in both upper and lower baskets. By no means all allow racks, even at the back of the lower basket, to fold - a real pain with pans.

I was foolish enough to take out a Curry's repair plan with it. Around 2012 they stopped using Bosch's repair service and sent their own (didn't) Know How person when the arms were not rotating consistently. Ended up 'written off' and we got a voucher for a replacement.

Not enough for a decent Bosch and we ended up with a Zanussi which is still going OK. Had to replace some of the basket wheels as they'd been 'eroded' by the abrasive washing solution. I stick with powder as it's easier to manage the dose than with tablets as well as being cheaper.

Used liquid for a while early on but it has a different bleaching action and damaged some crockery.

Even with just two of us it goes in everyday.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
Here’s an interesting thing about dishwashers. We mostly don’t use them as intended and designed.

Dishwashers have two wash cycles. A pre wash and the main wash. Now here’s the interesting thing. The little box where you put the detergent in, usually a table or capsule, has two sections. The smaller one is for the pre wash and the bigger for the main wash. This is to provide detergent to both washes and was designed when dish washers used a liquid or powder detergent. You put some detergent in each section

When you use a tablet or a capsule of course you do not use the smaller section which means only the main wash gets any detergent. You are washing the dishes in the pre wash with plain hot water. Not very efficient.

A liquid detergent in both sections as designed will provide a better wash as well as being cheaper than tablets or capsules. You can of course use the tablets and also put some liquid dish washer detergent in the small section if you wish.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sun 24 Apr 22 at 10:04
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bromptonaut
>> When you use a tablet or a capsule of course you do not use the
>> smaller section which means only the main wash gets any detergent. You are washing the
>> dishes in the pre wash with plain hot water. Not very efficient.

Another reason for using powder.

>> A liquid detergent in both sections as designed will provide a better wash as well
>> as being cheaper than tablets or capsules. You can of course use the tablets and
>> also put some liquid dish washer detergent in the small section if you wish.

I'd be a tad chary of mixing liquid and tabs due to differing formulas and possibility of releasing chorine.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
Don’t think that’s likely or even possible. The point however is that detergent of some kind in the pre wash helps the process enormously.

The advantage of liquids over powder or tablets is that it does not contain abrasives. The abrasives are what causes the clouding of soft glass or the removal of patterns from crockery when it not underneath the glaze.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> Dishwashers have two wash cycles. A pre wash and the main wash. Now here’s the
>> interesting thing. The little box where you put the detergent in, usually a table or
>> capsule, has two sections.

None of the three dishwashers I've owned had more than one section.

The first one had about five cycles:
1. A cold pre-wash.
2.3.4. The main wash - I could never work out why.
5. Final rinse, when I presume the rinse aid was dispensed.

I've never bothered with these so called triple action tablets that supposedly contain detergent, water softener and rinse aid in one. The machine's got a water softener and what's the point of dispensing rinse aid before the final rinse.

A neighbour was convinced that the salt in the dishwasher caused the damage to glasses and glaze until I pointed out to him it was for the water softener.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> I stick with powder as it's easier to manage the dose than with tablets as well as being >>cheaper.

I haven't seen any dishwasher powder or liquid for years. Our latest one uses so little water I started experimenting with snapping the tablets in half, it seemed to make no difference, so I now do it all the time.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
So after opening this dishwasher for 12 years, and complaining above that sometimes glasses are too tall for the top shelf, I have just discovered that the top shelf height is adjustable! Dam dam dam !!
So next dishwasher needs to have
Cutlery basket
Adjustable top shelf height which a I WILL use
And bottom racks to be able to fold flat.

Oh, and it’s to be silver to match the fridge. Apparently.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
Do people use theirs for washing the pots and pans from Sunday lunch? The few times I've tried it (not on the current machine) it seemed to stop other stuff getting clean, especially on the top rack.

So ours are always hand washed but all plates, cups, glasses, bowls, cutlery etc go in the dishwasher.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Ted

Our Miele failed before Chrimbo and I was getting sick of it not starting up anyway. I looked on Youtube and saw a tutorial in which a guy made a special tool to 'unstick' the impeller on the waste outlet. This was an old dessert spoon with the two centre tines removed. This was poked in the waste hole ( OO missus, painful ) and broggled about on the impeller blades. It didn't always work first time !

We needed an integrated one but the TQ wanted a cutlery tray. Our local indy is very good and won't recommend something just 'cos it makes more profit. The only suitable one was a Blomberg. This had the controls hidden on top of the door so, with no facia controls we needed an infill panel at the top, the size of a 60cm drawer front. The shop gave me a black one, the kitchen is cream/black and I had a handle tucked away from the kitchen fit 13 yrs ago. It all came together well.

When we bought a' best' set of crockery from John Lewis, one thing we never did was measure the dinner plates. They are about an inch too large, as they were in the Miele. By good luck, both had lifting upper racks but doing that means the taller tumblers wont go in upright. SWM's wine glasses have no chance....muggins has to do them in the sink ! My poor wrinkled hands !
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
>> Do people use theirs for washing the pots and pans from Sunday lunch

The question is more do people still have traditional Sunday lunch. Mainly a thing of the pas isn’t it?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
Well I do, also often have meat and two (or more) veg during the week.

But then - I'm a thing of the past too :-)

Can't be eating pizzas every night can I (disgusting stuff)
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
Only think I don’t put in the dishwasher is our cast iron skillet.

One of the best items we have bought in years.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> The question is more do people still have traditional Sunday lunch. Mainly a thing of
>> the pas isn’t it?

I'll be having one tonight, with half the pork joint Tesco supplied. (We ordered 800g and they gave us 1600g.)
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase
Yes, all pots and pans go in. Sometimes just those and a "quick wash", then the plates on the next wash. If the saucepan is upside down at the bottom then it will stop some of the water from the lower spinny thing getting to the top, evidently, so I try to put them in sideways at a slight angle to allow them to drain. Sometimes this can be achieved by putting a small mug or something just in the right place for it to rest on.

I hate washing up manually so much that it is a requirement of a holiday cottage that it has a dishwasher. If it doesn't, it's off the list. I'm not spending a week's holiday with my hands in cold yucky water every day. I can swim in the sea if I want that (no fear).
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> If the saucepan is upside down at the bottom
>> then it will stop some of the water from the lower spinny thing getting to
>> the top, evidently,

Don't you have two spinny things, one below each basket?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Crankcase
You're right. I had to go and look. I don't think I've ever noticed before it has two!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
Looking at various replacement dishwashers.
As we live in a soft water area, for last 12 years we have simply used a tablet. No salt and no glass cleaner liquid.
Some dishwashers that I can actually find the technical info on, state that they must have Salt in them at all times. More costs!!!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Manatee
>>As we live in a soft water area, for last 12 years we have simply used a tablet.

I'm never quite sure about this either. The rental house had a water softener, an ancient under sink thing with low maximum flow that didn't matter much because the 'ot water came from a dead pigeon tank. But the effect on the local, moderately hard, water was magical. Soap actually worked. Hence we put a high flow softener (which just seems to mean 22mm pipes instead of 15mm) in the new house (no dead pigeon tank, all water at mains pressure).

I don't see why the dishwasher needs salt too but I still put some in.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bromptonaut
>> I don't see why the dishwasher needs salt too but I still put some in.

Ours has a couple of dials inside which the user sets based on characteristics of local water as per the relevant supplier's data. Although our water is quite hard coming over the local Ironstone we set near the middle.

Dishwasher only calls for salt about once or twice a year.

 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
We use the Lidl All In One tabs, they seem to do the trick (hard water area)
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Bobby
Didn’t realise how complicated I could make this!
With everything being online, I have only been able to physically see two dishwashers in a Curry’s.
And from reading reviews of others realise folks perceptions of space inside vary dramatically. One, in Argos I think, had various reviews all saying a standard dinner plate couldn’t fit in it without hitting the spray arm.
I guess some may not realise that their model has adjustable top bracket. Or maybe that dishwasher is actually useless.

And add in to the equation, the availability overall across all websites is actually very poor.

Last thing I want to do is order a machine, get it delivered and then realise a pint glass won’t fit in the top!

I did like the one in Curry’s that had a cutlery tray but it really seemed to reduce the space available on the top rack, which wasn’t adjustable.

Aarrgghh I will just continue with the marigolds I think!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - R.P.
A distress purchase ( Our old home had an integrated Bosch) on moving house was a Samsung as it was sufficiently narrower than any Bosch product to slot into a space here. Internally doesn't seem any smaller than the old Bosch. What happned next was that the installtion of our new cooker was going to bea problem without cutting granite worktops - so the next "logical" step was a new kitchen to replace the recently refurbished cupboards and panels (with horrid carcasses) we ripped it out, sold the kitchen for £200 (which funded kitchenless days) ! The Samsung is White and the rest of the kitchen cream. If we had known we were replacing the kitchen we would have gone integrated :-(
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - VxFan
>> Aarrgghh I will just continue with the marigolds I think!

Given the recent energy price rises, I know 3 people that have stopped using their dishwashers because they cost a fortune in electricity and now have reverted to washing up by hand.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> Given the recent energy price rises, I know 3 people that have stopped using their
>> dishwashers because they cost a fortune in electricity and now have reverted to washing up
>> by hand.

I've seen it claimed that using a dishwasher's cheaper than doing it by hand.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - sherlock47
washing up by hand.
and now have reverted to washing up by hand

I suppose it might be cheaper if you wash in cold water! But then factor in hygiene issues and cost of antibiotics and toilet paper........


www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/dishwasher-vs-hand-washing

 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
I have one of those plugs which tells you how much energy something uses and my old Bosch on the medium setting was 1.65 kWh. In my cheap Octopus window that costs me about 8p at the moment (though that tariff will rise by 50% at end May).

I'll check the newer machine sometime but I doubt it'll be much different.

On a good day in the summer most (all?) of that power can be supplied by the solar panels.

Nevertheless I still wash some stuff by hand - as above, I usually don't put the pots and pans in the dishwasher. It is one of those chores which has never bothered me that much.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - sherlock47
1.65 kWh most of that will be the heating of the water and then some for the drying?

If you use hot water from an immersion heater in a sink you will probably use a greater amount of water hence even more electricity. The solar panels will only provide electricity during
good daylight hours - I bet most dishwashing is done in the evening? Or do your solar panels heat the water?
Lets us discount the cost of running the dehumidifier for the air dried pots and pans:)

Last edited by: sherlock47 on Tue 26 Apr 22 at 14:58
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
That's the problem, I haven't got as sad enough yet that I know when in the cycle the power is used, but I know people that have!! LOL!! But yes, warming the water and drying are the main draws.

More often than not I run the dishwasher in the evening but come the summer, when I am more likely to get longer and more reliable periods of solar generation, I'll sometimes do it during the day (and on another day the washing gets done, and the ironing etc etc).

Though my family would tell you otherwise, I'm not too anal really about squeezing every last drop of value from my panels or my electricity tariff. But if I fancy a cuppa at 20:20 I'll leave it till 20:30 when it is less than 1/3 the cost :-). I also moan if people fill the kettle for just one cup... that's just chucking money away!
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - sooty123
I suppose it might be cheaper if you wash in cold water! But then factor
>> in hygiene issues and cost of antibiotics and toilet paper........

Do people get sick from doing handwashing? I can't say I've noticed being particularly ill often.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - R.P.
I avoided dishwashers until Mrs RP and I moved to a new property in 2011. We've had one in both houses we subsequently moved into. I don't mind washing dishes by hand when the Archers are on of an evening.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - Dog
Howl long before the mangle makes a comeback??

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangle_(machine)#/media/File:Mangle.jpg
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
Not sure our plates would come clean in that... :-)
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - CGNorwich
Our dishwasher became strangely ineffective at cleaning mugs this week. I removed the rotating arm and found that somehow what looked like a piece of corn was stuck in one of the upwards pointing nozzles restricting the flow of water from the jet. Works a treat again now.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
SWMBO often takes off the upper arm and cleans out stuff, usually calcium(??) lumps from the hard water.
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>> SWMBO often takes off the upper arm and cleans out stuff, usually calcium(??) lumps from
>> the hard water.

Don't you put salt into it and adjust the water softener so it's suitable for the hardness in your area?
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - smokie
No, used to use salt years ago in the old machine but the all in one tabs are supposed to do the salting aren't they? I'll have a read of the manual as I don't recall adjusting anything when we got the new one.
Last edited by: smokie on Fri 29 Apr 22 at 23:20
 Hotpoint Aquarius Dishwasher - bathtub tom
>>the all in
>> one tabs are supposed to do the salting aren't they?

They can only affect one of the cycles taking in water. My old machine (used to) do an effective rinse-and-hold, then a wash (where it dispensed the detergent) and then a final rinse (where I presume it used the rinse aid).

I haven't bothered to analize the sequences on the latest machine (can't be bothered to sit and listen to it for a couple of hours - the econo wash takes even longer).
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