Loud noise maytag dishwasher quiet series 100
Hi All,
I have had a Maytag Quite
Series 300 for some years now and have done basttle with it on may
occasions. I now consider myself somewhat of a veteran, although by
no means a repair expert!
Grinding Noise:
From either a clogged/blocked impeller or not enough water getting to
the impeller.
For a clogged impeller, it
is fairly easy to disassemble the washer to get at the impeller to
remove any debris or blockages.
For not enough water it
can be a number of things. First of all, you will notice that the
noise lessens if you add a jug or two of extra water. This is because
if the water level is too low, the pump impeller will get some air
mixed with the water & this is LOUD! Now for the causes:
Float – If the float
gets stuck in the wrong position (debris or water deposits), it will
not fill enough.
Float Set Wrong – Seems
thats some of these dishwashers have the float set a little too low
to let the dishwasher perform without grinding. A few pennies
attached to the float with a rubber band seems to help here. Don't go
too far or you'll flood your kitchen!
Timer – Some folks have
mentioned that dishwashers that fill on a timer will not fill enough
in the allotted time, if the water pressure is low. While this is
true, I have looked over the electrical & parts diagrams for the
QS300 and I do not see a timer listed anywhere. Also, the wiring
diagram appears to show that this dishwasher only uses the float to
achieve the correct water volume. I could be mistaken here.
Note that in VERY hard
water areas (like mine – TDS of 850 hardness or 49 Grains), the
plastic fins on the cover of the impeller get very choked up with
water salts and this can impede flow, leading to a low-water symptom,
when in fact, there is plenty of water.
Dishes Not Cleaning:
Poor
Water Flow – See above, all the above items will negatively impact
dish cleaning.
Poor
Q uality Detergent – After trying them all – Yes, all – Do not
use cheap detergent. Buy the brand names: Cascade or Electrasol work
well. I have found that by far, the little packs work the best. We
found that the liquid works second best and the dry stuff really
isn't up to the task at all, no matter which brand.
Spray
Wands Catching – We found that our lower spray wand was catching on
the bottom of lower dish tray, so I very slightly bent down the legs
that the wheels mount to in order to lift the dish tray/basket a
little and give the wand a little more room. This worked well.
Spray
Wand Nut Too Tight – The factory seems to send the dishwasher out
with the nut on the bottom spray wand tightened a little too far.
Loosening this a little bit
lets the bottom wand rotate much more easily.
Top
Spray Wand Not Meeting Receptacle – The top spray wand is attached
to a pipe that mates with a port (well, one of two ports, depending
on if you have the top rack in the “Upper or “Lower” position).
The pipe seems to have a tendency of missing the port. A well placed
elastic band will help here. Note that on our dishwasher, by the time
the first elastic band wore out, the pipe had been permanently moved
to the correct position by the gentle pressure.
Tines/Dish
Holders On Top Rack Falling Over – The tines (metal spikes) that
hold dishes on the top rack fold down by design. Issue here is that
they do it sometimes during the wash, causing the dishes to fall over
and block the spray. A few well placed rubber bands help here as
well.
Water
Salt Buildup – If you live in a very hard water area, you can still
get clean dishes from yor dishwasher. We do and we have VERY hard
water. Buy a gallon of vinegar once a month. Pour this into a clean
dishwasher. Turn it on so that it runs for 2 minutes to circulate the
vinegar. Open the door & let stand over night. Close door &
finish cycle. This will cut down significantly on the hard water salt
buildup in the washer.
It's
A Maytag – Sorry folks, it's true. I have learned (after purchasing
the dishwasher) that Maytag has run into financial difficulty in
recent years and has reduced build quality to save money. If you got
suckered into buying one of these, you will very likely never buy one
again. My opinion is “Do not by Maytag.”
Hope
this helps someone!
