ASKO DISHWASHER USE AND CARE GUIDE ! ce an all NT d rm TA rfo , rea f o r e OR e P er be IM tp e s as h n s e . b w io e t h d i s h r u c t t tim t g e o u r i n s t firs o T m y ng the r o r a t i for fe t o p ng i i us CONTENTS Before Using Your New Dishwasher Important Safety Instructions Child Safety Tips Dishwasher Features Loading the Upper Basket Knife/Utility Basket Loading the Lower Basket Loading the Silverware Basket Detergent Dispenser Amount of Detergent to Use Rinse Aid Dispenser Care and Cleaning Overfill Protection Energy Saving Tips Solutions to Common Dishwashing Problems Troubleshooting Washing Special Items Index ASKO Product Warranty 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE Page 1 DISHWASHER BEFORE USING YOUR NEW DISHW ASHER Read through this guide before attempting to use your new dishwasher. Read the "Washing Special Items" section before washing any porcelain or china that has "on-glaze" decoration, crystal glassware, or items of wood or plastic. Make sure the door is properly balanced. To do this, open it a little and release it. It should stay where you released it. If it doesn't, consult the Installation Instructions or contact your installer. Call your local water company to learn the water hardness in your area. You'll need to know this to determine how much detergent and rinse aid to use. IMPORT INSTRUCTIONS IMPOR TANT SAFETY INSTR UCTIONS This manual does not cover all possible conditions and situations that may occur. Some situations may arise where use of common sense and caution should always be used when installing, operating, and maintaining any appliance. panel, toe kick, etc.) Do not tamper with controls by removing or changing. Do not abuse, sit on, or stand on the dishwasher door or baskets . Read all instructions before using the dishwasher. Dishwashers must be electrically grounded. Read the Installation Instructions for details. Use the dishwasher only for its intended purpose. Use only automatic dishwasher detergents and rinse agents. To reduce the risk of injury, keep detergents and rinse aids out of the reach of children. Do not load sharp items near the door; you could damage the door seal. Place sharp knives in the silverware basket with the sharp ends down to avoid the risk of cut-type injuries. Do not wash plastic items unless they are marked "dishwasher safe" or the equivalent. For items not marked, check the manufacturer's recommendations. Items not dishwasher safe could become deformed or melt and create a potential fire hazard. Do not touch the heating element during or immediately after use. Do not operate the dishwasher unless all enclosure panels are properly in place (i.e., guard plate, access To reduce the risk of injury, do not allow children to Under certain conditions, hydrogen gas may be produced in a hot water system that has not been used for two weeks or more. HYDROGEN GAS IS EXPLOSIVE. If the hot water system has not been used for two weeks, before using the dishwasher turn on all hot water faucets and let the water flow from each for several minutes. This will release any accumulated hydrogen gas. As the gas is flammable, do not smoke or use an open flame during this time. When removing an old dishwasher from service or discarding it, remove the door to the washing compartment. Do not store or use combustible materials, gasoline, or other flammable vapors and liquids in the vicinity of this or any other appliance. Disconnect electrical power to dishwasher before servicing. Repairs should be done by a qualified technician. play in or on a dishwasher. CHILD SAFETY TIPS Dishwasher detergents and rinse aids are corrosive, so always keep them out of reach of children. Should a child swallow dishwasher detergent or rinse aid, give plenty to drink immediately, i.e., one or two glasses of milk or water. Do not try to induce vomiting. Seek medical advice immediately: 1-800POISON1 Always close the door and start the dishwasher as soon as you put in the detergent. Always keep small children away from the machine when it is open. There may be some detergent residue left inside the machine. If dishwasher detergent gets in someone's eyes, rinse them with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Do not allow children to use or play in or on the dishwasher. Load all long and sharp items in the knife/utensil basket. If this is not possible, load sharp objects with the pointed end facing the back of the dishwasher. Sharp items loaded in the silverware basket should be loaded with pointed ends down. Engage the child safety lock. (See below.) ENGAGING ENGAGING THE CHILD SAFETY LOCK (MODELS 1375, 1385, 1485, 1595 AND 1885) The child safety lock is located to the left of the door handle. To activate the lock, use a screwdriver to turn the screw slot to a horizontal position. Reset it by turning the slot to its vertical position. To open the door when the safety lock is engaged, you must slide the lever to the left of the door latch toward the left and hold it as you lift the latch. (See illustration.) Page 2 DISHWASHER FEATURES DISHW ASHER FEATURES Your new dishwasher features ASKO's Super Cleaning SystemTM. This means that after the prewash, the water is drained out and the main wash starts with clean water. If you plan to start your dishwasher right away, it's not necessary to rinse the dishes. You do, however, need to scrape off the large particles of food before loading. NOTE: Deviations in features may occur, depending on the model. s m ite , e ne s ns i le ri ach tic to m ar p ed the d ne d foo d . a no lo er v e is ou rg m o e y la r e er re gh e Th fo u b be ltho u l d a ho s Knife/Utensil Basket (not on all models) Upper Basket Spray Arms Lower Basket Silverware Basket Rinse Aid Dispenser Detergent Dispenser Coarse filter Fine filter BASKET LOADING THE UPPER B ASKET After you have scraped off the large food particles, place glasses, cups, saucers, bowls and small plates in the upper basket, as illustrated. Load stemware with the stem fitted inside one of the grooved tines on the stemware rack. The fold-down cup shelf on the right side of the basket gives you an additional place to stack cups and small bowls. Some models have a knife stop on the front of the upper basket, just below the cup shelf. This gives you a place to load long utensils and knives that won't fit in the silverware or knife/utensil basket. The knife stop prevents knives or utensils from damaging the door when you open and close it. When loading sharp items, always be careful not to cut the rack coating. Upper Basket Stemware rack (not on Model 1375) Knife stop (Models 1375, 1385, 1485, & 1595) Cup shelf KNIFE/UTENSIL BASKET Whenever possible, knives and long utensils should be loaded in the knife/utensil basket attached above the upper basket. To avoid injury, items with the sharp ends should always be loaded with the sharp ends pointed toward the back of the dishwasher. Again, always be careful not to cut the rack coating when loading sharp items. Knife/Utensil Basket (Models 1805, 1885 and 1895) Page 3 LOADING THE LO WER B ASKET LO BASKET Load larger items in the lower basket, such as, dinner plates, pots and pans, serving dishes, and casseroles. The removable plate rack easily lifts out to provide space Lower Basket for large items, such as pots and pans. Be sure to load dishware facing downward or toward the center of the dishwasher. Removable Plate Rack (not on all models) SILVER VERW BASKET LOADING THE SILVER W ARE B ASKET The silverware basket is designed with 17 compartments to help keep the silverware separated. Load silverware with the handles downwards and spread it out as much as possible to avoid nesting. For safety, load knives with the handles up. Avoid placing silverware made of different materials (e.g., silver and stainless) in the same compartment because of the risk of discoloration. (See page 10.) Silverware Basket Small items containment lid Small Items Containment Lid The silverware basket has a lid in the middle that snaps down over the compartments to its left or right to contain small, lightweight items that might slip through the rack tines or get washed out of the basket and fall through onto the heating element. The small items lid is slotted, so you also could use it to keep silverware separated, such as teaspoons. When loading silverware, try to avoid nesting the spoons and forks. DETERGENT DISPENSER ASKO dishwashers are designed to be energy efficient. Because the machine uses less water than conventional dishwashers, you also use less detergent and rinse aid. Generally, only one tablespoon of detergent is needed for a normal wash load. The amount of detergent needed for your dishes, however, could be more, depending on the hardness of the water in your area. Also, more heavily soiled items need more detergent. (See page 5.) Measure and place detergent for the main wash into the large detergent compartment. The detergent for prewash goes into the small compartment to the right of the main wash compartment. You should use one-half the amount of detergent for the prewash that you use for the main wash. The amount of detergent used for the main wash and prewash combined should never be over three tablespoons. Always add the detergent just before starting the dishwasher, otherwise it could get damp and won't dissolve properly. Type of Detergent to Use We recommend that you use only unscented, granular automatic dishwashing detergent. Using the wrong detergent could cause flooding and/or damage your dishwasher. Do not use detergent that has been wet and is clumped. Also, check the expiration date on the container. Prewash Detergent Compartment Dispenser Lid Lever Rinse Aid Level Indicator Main Wash Detergent Compartment Rinse Aid Compartment Detergent Compartment Lid WARNING! Dishwasher detergent is corrosive! Take care to keep it out of reach of children. Page 4 AMOUNT OF DETERGENT TO USE The amount of detergent needed can vary due to differences in water hardness. To determine the water hardness in your area, contact your local water utility or area water softening company. The harder the water, the more detergent you may need. Refer to the chart below for the recommended detergent amounts based on water hardness. Remember, you should adjust the amount of detergent you use by small amounts until you find the correct amount. RECOMMENDED DETERGENT AMOUNTS B ASED ON W ATER HARDNESS W ATER HARDNESS Soft (0-3 grains per gallon) Medium (4-8 grains per gallon) Hard (9+ grains*) DETERGENT AMOUNTS Prewash Main wash Prewash Main wash Prewash Main wash 1 teaspoon 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons 1 teaspoon 1 to 2 tablespoons 1 teaspoons 2 to 3 tablespoons NOTE: We recommend that you do not add prewash detergent for the Quick or Light wash programs. * 12 grains and higher is extremely hard water and detergent alone may not be enough. You may need to use a water softener to maximize the performance of your dishwasher. Also, in areas with extremely hard water (9+) you may need to wash at lower temperatures to prevent hard water deposits from forming in tank and wash system. In hard water areas, both the dishes and the machine can develop a white or gray film after a while. This can be removed by replacing the prewash detergent with two tablespoons of citric acid. If the water is very hard, use a rinse aid that contains citric acid. Different brands of dishwasher detergent have different amounts of phosphorous for softening water. If you have hard water and use a detergent with less than 8.7% phosphorous content, you may need to use more detergent or use a detergent with more than 8.7% phosphorous content. REMOVING WATER SPOTS FROM REMOVING HARD WATER SPOTS FROM DISHES To remove hard water spots, try the following: 1. Run dishes through a normal wash program. 2. Remove all metal dishware, such as cutlery, pans, etc., from the dishwasher. 3. Do not add detergent. 4. Pour two cups of vinegar into a bowl and set the bowl face up on the bottom rack of the dishwasher. 5. Run the dishes through a Normal wash program. If this doesn't work, try the same process with 1/4 cup of citric acid crystals (available at most drug stores) instead of vinegar. RINSE AID DISPENSER The rinse aid is released during the final rinse to prevent water from forming droplets on your dishes that can leave spots and streaks. It also improves drying by allowing water to "sheet" off the dishes. ASKO dishwashers are designed to use liquid rinse aids. The rinse aid dispenser is located inside the door next to the detergent dispenser. (See illustration on page 4.) To fill the dispenser, open the cap and pour the rinse aid into the dispenser until the level indicator turns completely black. The dispenser holds about four ounces of liquid rinse aid. Be careful not to overfill the dispenser, because this could cause oversudsing. Wipe away any spill ...