GE Dishwasher Use And Care Manual page 4

Good dishwashing starts
with HOT water.
To get dishes clean and dry,
you need hot water. To help you get
water of the proper temperature,
your General Electric dishwasher
automatically senses the temperature
of the water in the wash cycle and
heats it, if necessary, to the proper
temperature. For good washing
and drying, the entering water
must beat least 120°F. To prevent
dishware damage, inlet water
should not exceed 150°F.
How to test water temperature:
Check your water temperature with
a candy or meat thermometer. Turn
on the hot water faucet nearest the
dishwasher. Put the thermometer
in a glass and let the water run
continuously into the glass until
the temperature stops rising. if the
water temperature is below 120°F.,
adjust your water heater.
Helpful hints: If the outside
temperatures are unusually low, or
if your water travels a long distance
from heater to dishwasher, you may
need to set your heater's thermostat
up. If you have not used hot water
for some time, the water in the
pipes will be cold. Turn on the hot
water faucet at the sink and allow it
to run until the water is hot. Then
start the dishwasher. If you've
recently done laundry or run hot
water for showers, give your water
heater time to recover before
operating the dishwasher.
You can help prevent
spotting with a rinse
agent.
A rinse agent makes water flow off
dishes quicker than usual. This
lessens water spotting. Makes
drying faster, too.
Rinse agents come in either liquid
or solid form. Your dishwasher's
dispenser uses the liquid form.
Here's how to fill the rinse agent
dispenser. Unscrew the cap.
Add the liquid rinse agent until
it just reaches the bottom of the
lip inside the dispenser opening.
Replace the cap. The dispenser
automatically releases the rinse
agent into the final rinse water.
If you accidentally spill: Wipe up
the rinse agent with a damp cloth.
Don't leave the spill in the
dishwasher. It can keep your
detergent from working.
If you can't find any rinse agent,
write:
ECONOMICS LABORATORY, INC.
("JET DRY")
Osborn Building
St. Paul, Minnesota 55102
/
Your dishwasher's rinse agent
container holds 4% ounces. This
should last about 3 months. Fill
as needed.
Do not overfill.
How to choose and use
detergent.
First, use only detergent
specifically made for use in
dishwashers. Other types will
cause oversudsing.
Second, check the phosphate
content. Phosphate helps prevent
hard-water materials from forming
spots or film on your dishes. If your
water is hard (7 grains or more),
your detergent has to work harder.
Detergents with a higher phosphate
level will probably work better. If
the phosphate content is low (8.79'o
or less), you'll have to use extra
detergent with hard water.
If your water company says your
water is hard, try detergent with a
higher phosphate content.
Your water department can tell
you how hard your water is. So
can your rural county agent. Or
your area's water softener com-
pany.
Just call and ask them how
many "grains" of hardness is in
your water.
How much detergent should you
use? That depends. Is your water
"hard" or "soft?" With hard water,
you need extra detergent to get
dishes clean. With soft water, you
need less detergent.
Too much detergent with soft
water not only wastes money, it
can be harmful. It can cause a
permanent cloudiness of
glassware, called "etching." An
outside layer of glass is etched
away! Of course, this takes some
time. But why take a chance when
it's easy to find out the hardness
of your water.
Keep your detergent fresh and ~
dry. Under the sink isn't a good
place to store detergent. Too much
moisture. Don't put detergent into
the dispenser until you're ready to
wash dishes, either. (It won't be
fresh OR dry.)
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