ASKO USE AND CARE GUIDE SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR FUTURE REFERENCE r om T! e f atAN nc r r RT ma l ope it fo O r P fo al ng rd IM i pe s t r, rea re us ee eb h efo t th was ns b h ge o To r dis ructi . e u yo inst tim g i r st in f the D3112 CONTENTS BEFORE USING YOUR NEW DISHWASHER IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS CHILD SAFETY TIPS DISHWASHER FEATURES LOADING THE BASKETS DETERGENT DISPENSER DISHWASHING DETERGENT RINSE AID DISPENSER OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS 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 4 5 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 11 13 14 15 Page 1 DISHWASHER BEFORE USING YOUR NEW DISHWASHER 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 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS This manual does not cover all possible conditions and situations that may occur. Common sense and caution should always be used when installing, operating, and maintaining any appliance. 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. Do not run the dishwasher while you are out of the home. 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 imediately after use. Do not operate the dishwasher unless all enclosure panels are properly in place (i.e., guard plate, access 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 . To reduce the risk of injury, do not allow children to play in or on a dishwasher. 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. 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: 1-800-POISON1 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 THE CHILD SAFETY LOCK ENGAGING This model has a child safety lock on the left of the door handle. To activate the lock, press in the door handle and use a screwdriver to turn the screw slot to a vertical position. Reset it by turning the slot to its horizontal position. To open the door when the safety lock is engaged, press the white plastic tab located to the left of the door handle toward the left and hold it as you lift the door handle. (See illustration at right.) Page 2 DISHWASHER FEATURES DISHWASHER FEATURES NOTE: Deviations in features may occur, depending on the model. s m ite e, se hin les rin ac tic to m ar ed the d p ne ad foo . d no lo er e is u g ov e yo lar m er re h re Th fo ug be be ltho uld a ho s Upper Basket Spray Arms Cutlery Basket Lower Basket Detergent Dispenser Rinse Aid Dispenser Filter BASKETS Upper Basket Lower Basket Cup shelf Stemware rack Knife stop Easy pull-out handle Cutlery Basket Collapsible handle Cutlery compartments Small items containment lid Page 3 BASKETS LOADING THE BASKETS Your new dishwasher features ASKO's Self Cleaning SystemTM. This means that after prewash, mainwash and intermediate rinse the water is drained out and the cycle continues 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. LOADING THE UPPER BASKET After you have scraped off the large food particles, place glasses, cups, saucers, bowls and small plates in the upper basket, as illustrated. The fold-down cup shelf on the left side of the basket gives you an additional place to stack cups and small bowls. NOTE: When loading sharp items, always be careful not to cut the rack coating. LO BASKET LOADING THE LOWER BASKET Load larger items in the lower basket, such as, dinner plates, pots and pans, serving dishes, and casseroles. Be sure to load dishware facing downward or toward the center of the dishwasher. LOADING THE SILVERWARE BASKET SILVER VERW BASKET The silverware basket is designed with eight 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 sharp 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 13.) 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. The small items lid is slotted, so you also could use it to keep silverware separated, such as teaspoons. Small items containment lid When loading silverware, try to avoid nesting the spoons and forks. Page 4 DETERGENT 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. (See below.) Also, more heavily soiled items need more detergent. 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. 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. NOTE: We recommend that you do not add prewash detergent for the Quick wash program. DISHWASHING DETERGENT DISHWASHING DETERGENT 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. 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. NOTE: We recommend that you do not add prewash detergent for the Quick wash program. If you use a dishwashing detergent with a rinse aid additive, you should not fill the rinse aid dispenser. This could cause a film on your dishes. NOTE: RECOMMENDED DETERGENT AMOUNTS BASED ON WATER HARDNESS WATER 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 1 1 1 1 2 teaspoon to 1-1/2 tablespoons teaspoon to 2 tablespoons teaspoons to 3 tablespoons * 12 grains and higher is extremely hard water. See below for more details. Twelve 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 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. Page 5 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 3.) 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 spills with a damp cloth. Don't forget to replace the cap before you close the dishwasher door. If you have soft water, rinse aid may cause a white film to develop on your dishes. You may not need rinse aid. NOTE: If you use a dishwashing detergent with a rinse aid additive, you should not fill the rinse aid dispenser. This could cause a film on your dishes. Open Closed Dispenser Cap 1. 2. 3. To open the dispenser, turn the cap to the "open" (left) arrow and lift it out. Pour the rinse aid into the dispenser, being careful not to overfill. Replace the cap by inserting it aligned with "open" arrow and turning it to the closed (right) arrow. ADJUSTING THE AMOUNT OF RINSE AID DISPENSED A measured amount of rinse aid is released during the final rinse. As with detergent, the amount of rinse aid needed for your dishes depends on the hardness of the water in your area. (See page 5.) Too much rinse aid can result in lather or foaming and cause cloudiness or streaks on your dishes. If the water in your area is very soft, you may not need rinse aid. If you do, you can dilute the rinse aid with an equal amount of water. The rinse aid dispenser has six settings. Always start with the dispenser set on "1." If spots and poor drying are ...