Jack and adventures in dishwasher unclogging land

[jack]

I feel really stupid that I live in a house and don't understand how to fix it (with either competence or money). But slow progress!

Dishes were clean. Bailed standing water out successfully. Unscrewed the filter drain bit at the bottom

I had the magic right size star screwdriver, so +1000 past Jack for buying a too extensive screwdriver set. Why are there so many different shapes of screw? WHY CAN'T THERE JUST BE ONE?

Took out a little basket, and some related bits. Really needed cleaning, vinegar plus soaking plus scrubbing made them a lot more palatable! That's the bit I've done before but should do more regularly

Actually those bits came out first, before I got to the screws. But once the screws are off, the larger filter drain component seems like it only comes off from underneath the dishwasher

Waggling the dishwasher out from under the counter looks possible but difficult

Comments

[jack]

Looked under the sink, after emptying out the stash of cleaning supplies. At some point since the 90s more and more home appliance installation seems to involve convenient plastic bits that clip together like Lego, which is a pretty fun and convenient bit of the future

Unscrewed the flexible hose that takes output from the dishwasher from the u bend bit. Horrible horrible stringy sticky brown gunk got cleaned out. Very satisfying. But didn't seem to be the main clog. But now I know it's not clogged in the exhaust hose exit, willing to run the dishwasher empty again and see if the clog dissolves

Hopefully the absence of gunk helps the sink drain better too. Removable u bends are great!

Think this happened once before. Need to check my notes. Not a joke, I actually keep notes on this sort of thing in my diary BECAUSE I'M AWESOME at like one small part of being a grown up :)

But was that the time we replaced the dishwasher? Or a time I fixed it or the problem just went away? Can't find it. The previous dishwasher broke in the electrics so was replaced. Can't remember if that manifested as not emptying water?

[jack]

Ooh, I think it's draining again... Will try it with dishes in?? [Yes]

I speculated that if I talked openly about the process and didn't feel obliged to hide all the "don't know what to do" feelings I would feel better about it, and that worked perfectly, go me!

Rachel and I both hate phone calls but we hate different ones. Rachel hates dishwasher fixing more than I do. So maybe we'd find some "phone some one" solution.

(Cambridge appliance repair were lovely but I'm still intimidated at arranging something and admitting is actually broken and/or I don't know how to fix it", intake l unrelated to pandemic)

Although I still haven't fixed the ORIGINAL problem of not being able to get the salt compartment open.

The internet suggests trying "hot water" and "gripping harder" or "possibly using a tool" of some kind :)

[emperor]

a mole wrench is the second-best tool for any job, and it would probably help here (but you want to avoid crushing the plastic, which is harder, maybe use a tea-towel as intermediate layer).

[jack]

:) Yeah, that makes, sense, maybe it should have been my go-to. It doesn't look completely easy -- the cap is >=10cm wide, and there's not much round the side to get a grip on, so it needs to be a very adjustable wrench, or I need to be able to grip the edge firmly enough to be able to pull without slipping off. But practice (and not being afraid of the problem) may show me good ways to grip, if salt-cap-wrench doesn't work.

[emperor]

You probably know this, but: it will almost certainly unscrew (rather than needing pulling upwards, for example).

[jack]

Yeah, it definitely looks like it unscrews, and I'm pretty sure it did unscrew when we first got the dishwasher, but it is quite plausible that there is SOMETHING like that that I just blanked on, so I don't think any suggestions are too obvious.

I did try in both directions but I didn't want to pull too hard in case I made it more stuck. It has a big "TURN THIS WAY" arrow on, but it's not entirely clear if that's to close it or open it :)

[bugshaw]

Do you have the manual? Can you find the manual online by looking up the model number? Sometimes there's a bit in there like "To remove the part for cleaning, depress the flanges while counting to six".

[jack]

I thought we were good at saving manuals but didn't find it easily, but I probably could. My impression from other Bosch dishwashers was that it was more likely to be stuck than have a special bit you need to squeeze, but it's certainly plausible.

When I was young I used to be a "read the documentation thoroughly first" person, but at some point I lost my faith that it was a rewarding expense of time. But I should probably still do it *some* of the time :)