GE Dishwasher User manual

,r
,shwasher
UseandCareof
built-inmodels
with Permatuf@interior
Energy-savingtips p2
Loadedright,
dishesgetcleaner p6
Whatisdishwashersafe? p9
Questions?
UsetheProblemSolver pll
Your Direct Line to General Electric
The GE Answer CenteF800.626.2000
GE NE RAL@EIECTRIC

Help US
helpyou...
Readthisbook carefully.
Itis intended to help you operate
and maintain your new dishwasher
properly.
Keep it handy for answers to your
questions.
If you don’t understand something
or need more help, write (include
your phone number):
Consumer Affairs
General Electric Company
Appliance Park
Louisville, KY 40225
Writedown the model and
serialnurnm’sm
You’ll find them on a label on the
left side of the dishwasher just
inside the door.
These numbers are also on the
Consumer Product Ownership
Registration Card that comes with
your dishwasher. Before sending in
this card, please write these
numbers here:
If you received adamaged
dishwasher, immediately contact
the dealer (or builder) that sold you
the dishwasher.
Save time and money ...
befow you call for service,
check the Problem Solver (pages
11-13).It lists minor causes of
operating problems that you can
correct yourself. It could save you
an unnecessary service call.
To obtain Hispanic version of
this book, call
The GE Answer CenteF
800.626.2000
consumer information service.
Toll-free.
Para obtener la version en
espafiol de este manual,
IIame gratis a
The GE Answer Center?
servicio de information
para el consumidor,
telefono 800.626.2000.
Model Number
serial Number
Use these numbers in any
correspondence or service calls
concerning your dishwasher.

ImportantSafety Instructions
Read all instructions before using this appliance
WARNING–when using this
appliance, always exercise basic
safety precautions, including the
following:
●Use this appliance only for W
intended purpose as described in
the Operating Instructions and this
Use and Care Book.
.This dishwasher must be
properly installed and located in
accordance with the installation
Instructions before it kused. If
you did not receive an {installation
Instructions sheet with your
dishwasher you can obtain one by
contacting the service location
nearest you.
—This appliance must be
connected to agrounded metal,
permanent, wiring system or an
equipment-grounding conductor
must be run with the circuit
conductors and connected to the
equipment-grounding terminal or
lead of the appliance.
—Connect to aproperly rated,
protected and sized power-supply
circuit to avoid electrical overload.
●Use only detergents or wetting
agents recommended for use in a
dishwasher.
●Do not wash plastic items unless
marked “dishwasher safe” or the
equivalent. For plastic items not so
marked, check the manufacturer’s
recommendations.
●Load light plastic items so they
will not become dislodged and
drop to the bottom of the dish-
washer—they might come into
contact with the heating unit and
be damaged.
To minimize the possibility
of injury.
.When loading items to be
washed:
A. Locate sharp items so that
they are not likely to damage
the door seal, and
B. Load sharp knives with the
handles up to reduce arisk of
cut-type injuries.
.Do not touch the heating
element during or immediately
after use.
*Do not operate your dishwasher
unless all enclosure panels are
properly in place.
●Do not tamper with controls.
●Do not abuse, sit on, or stand
on the door or dish rack of the
dishwasher.
●Close supervision is necessary if
this appliance is used by or near
children. Do not allow children to
play inside, on or with this appli-
ance or any discarded appliance.
Dispose of discarded appliances
and shipping or packing material
properly. Before discarding a
dishwasher, remove the door of the
washing compartment.
●Keep all washing detergents and
wetting agents out of the reach of
children, preferably in alocked
cabinet. Observe all warnings on
container labels to avoid personal
injury.
cHYDROGEN GAS is produced by
the chemical action within your
water heater and the gas can
accumulate in the water heater
andlor water pipes if hot water has
not been used for aperiod of two
weeks or longer. HYDROGEN GAS
IS EXPLOSN/E. So to prevent the
possibility of damage or injury, if
you have not used hot water for
two weeks or more, or move into a
residence in which the hot water
system may not have been used
for some time, turn on aii hot water
faucets and allow them to run for
severai minutes before using any
electrical appiiance which is con-
nected to the hot water system.
This wiil allow any hydrogen gas
to escape. Of course, since the
gas is flammable, do not smoke or
use an open flame or appliance
during this process.
.
SAVETHESEINSTRUCTIONS
3

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
acandy or meat thermometer. Turn
on the hot water faucet nearest the
dishwasher. Put the thermometer
in aglass 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 along 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 arinse
agent.
Arinse 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 adamp 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 3months. 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 ahigher 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 achance 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.)
4

How to prepare the
dishes for washing.
If your detergent gets old or
lumpy, throw it away. Itwon’t
wash well. Old detergent loses its
power. Lumpy detergent often
won’t dissolve.
You’ll find two detergent
dispensers on the inside door of
your dishwasher. Two, because
some cycles use two washes.
OPEN CUP
See “Detergent Usage Guide”
below. (Be sure the Cycle Indicator
Dial is at OFF position bekve adding
detergent. Otherwise, the detergent
cup lid will not close and latch
properly)
GRASP HANDLE,
ROTATE
AND CLOSE
TIGHTLY f--
If this is your first dishwashe~ or if
you’re replacing amuch older
model, you may wonder how much
pre-preparation your dishes need.
Actually very little. Pre-rinsing of
normal food soils is not necessary.
With common sense and a little
practice you’ll soon know what
foods to remove. Here are some
guidelines:
1. Scrape off bones, seeds, skins,
toothpicks and other hard solids. It
is also best to remove hard shelled
vegetables, meat trimmings, leafy
vegetables and crusts. Remove
excessive quantities of oil or
grease.
2. Remove large quantities of any
food. Your dishwasher has abuilt-
in soft food disposer that pulver-
izes soft food bits and flushes
them away. It can handle sma//
amounts of soft foods, but large
amounts of food as soft as
mashed potatoes or applesauce
will be difficult to handle.
3. Try to remove food scraps and
place dishes in dishwasher before
soil has achance to dry and
become hard. Dishes with dried-on
soil are more difficult to wash and
may not come clean in the Normal
Cycle. Remember to use your
Rinse &Hold or Rinse Only Cycle
for small “holding” loads.
Note: The foods mentioned above
are for examples only. Other foods
not mentioned may also need to
be removed from your dishes. You
may also want to consider
removing foods such as mustard,
mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice
and other foods that can cause
discoloration of stainless steel if
allowed to remain on dishes for a
long period of time.
When using the POTSCRUBBER
cycle (on models so equipped)
less preparation is required before
loading. The Potscrubber cycle can
wash heavi Iy-soiled dishes and
remove dried-on and baked-on
soi Is from pots, pans and casse-
roles. Items with burned-on soils
will not come clean. And the
dishwasher cannot remove burn
marks or restore fading caused by
overheating during cooking.
Always close the main cup tightl~
When it is firmly latched, you will
hear aclicking sound. It is not
necessary to overtighten.
NOTE: Detergent cup may be
opened manually with no harm.
Turn handle counterclockwise until
it releases. A snapping sound is
normal when it opens.
Detergent Usage Guide
SOFT WATER MEDIUM WATER HARD WATER
(O-3grains hardness) (3-7grains) (7.-12grains”)
CYCLES Main Cup IOpen Cup Main Cup IOpen Cup Main Cup$ IOpen Cup*
POTWRUBBERand 1Tablespoon ~1Tablespoon Half Full ~Half Full g:lnpletely
NORMAL
~CkX minimum JG3npletely
minimum
SHORTcycle 1Tablespoon None Half Full None Completely None
minimum IIIFull -I
RIRISE&HOLDor
RINSEONLYcycles Use no detergent Use no detergent Use no detergent
*12 grains and up is extremely hard wate~ Awater softener is recommended. Without it,
lime can build up in the water valve. The water valve may stick while open and cause flooding.
*Fi//ed Main Cup holds 3tablespoons; Filled Open Cup holds 2tablespoons.

Loaded right, dishes get cleaner.
How to load the TOP RACK.
Depending on the model of dishwasher you own, the design of your top rack may be any one of
the three styles shown here. Find the style here that matches your dishwasher rack and follow
those loading instructions.
6
—–

How to load the TOP RACK (continued)
7

How to load the BOTTOM RACK.
8

What you can usually wash safely in your dishwasher. And what you can’t.
Forget adish? Here’s
when you can add it.
Add dishes any time during a
RINSE &HOLD or RINSE ONLY
cycle.
With other wash cycles, you can
add dishes at any time BEFORE
the main detergent wash portion
of the cycle.
However, opening the door during 2. Wait afew seconds until the
any cycle lessens cleaning power water calms. Then open the door.
because the temperature inside
the dishwasher is lowered. So try 3. Add dishes you’ve forgotten,
to load everything at the beginning. 4. Close the door and push the
latch to the far right. When the
Here’s how to add a forgotten door is locked, washing will
dish: continue.
1. Push the door latch to the left.
Washing will stop. 9

User Maintenance Instructions
To keep your
dishwasher at its best...
Clean the control panel with a
lightly dampened cloth. Dry
thoroughly. Do not use abrasives
or sharp objects on the panel.
They can damage it.
Clean the outside with agood
appliance polish wax. The outside
cabinet finish is durable, but it can
scratch. So use no scouring pads,
harsh or gritty cleaners.
Appliance Polish Wax &Cleaner
(Cat. No. WR97X216) is available
from GE/Hotpoint Appliance
Parts Marts.
The inside usually takes care of
itself. If it should ever need
cleaning, use amild cleansing
powder, Scouring pads and harsh
cleansers can mar the finish.
Not using the
dishwasher in winter?
Protect against freezing.
If your dishwasher is left in an
unheated place during the winter,
ask aservice technician to:
●
●
●
●
●
●
Cut off electric power to dish-
washer. Remove fuses or trip
circuit breaker.
Turn off water supply.
Disconnect water inlet line from
water valve.
Drain water from inlet line and
water valve. (Use a pan to catch
the water.)
Reconnect water inlet line to
water valve.
Remove the plastic pump cover
in tub bottom and use a‘sponge
to soak up water in the rubber
boot.
Built=in dishwashers
often use an air gap.
Keep it clean.
An air gap is aplumbing device. It
protects your dishwasher against
water backing up into it if adrain
clogs. The air gap is not apart of
the dishwasher. And you may not
even have one. Not all plumbing
codes require air gaps.
OF AIR GAP
.—
\__/–T. -____
If you have an air gap, check it at
least once amonth. THE AIR GAP
IS NOT PART OF YOUR DISH-
WASHER. IT IS NOT COVERED IN
YOUR WARRANTY.
The air gap is easy to clean. With
most types, first turn off the
dishwasher, then lift off the
chrome cover. Then unscrew the
plastic cap and check for any
build-up of grit. Atoothpick makes
cleaning easy.
Check the air gap any time your
dishwasher isn’t draining well.
10
—

~, Questions?
—~- Use This Problem Solver
~~
IPROBLEM IPOSSIBLE CAUSE AND REMEDY I
(continued nextpage)
———

The Problem Solver (continued)
II
IPROBLEM IPOSSIBLE CAUSE AND REMEDY I
12

PROBLEM POSSIBLE CAUSE AND REMEDY
If you need more help.. call, toll free:
The GE Answer Center@
800.626.2000
consumer information service
13
—

IfYouNeed Service
To obtain service, see your warranty
on the back page of this book.
We’re proud of our service and
want you to be pleased. If for some
reason you are not happy with the
service you receive, here are three
steps to follow for further help.
FIRST, contact the people who
serviced your appliance. Explain
why you are not pleased. In most
cases, this will solve the problem.
NEXT, if you are still not pleased,
write all the details—including your
phone number—to:
Manager, Consumer Relatio
General Electric
Appliance Park
Louisville, Kentucky 40225
FINALLY, if your problem is stil
resolved, write:
Major Appliance
Consumer Action Panel
20 North Wacker Drive
Chicago, Illinois 60606
IS
not
—– —
14

>
mYOUR GENERAL ELECTRIC DISHWASHER WITH PERMATUF@ INTERIOR
WARRANTY
?2&!
<.
Save proof of original purchase date such as your sales slip or cancelled check to establish warranty period.
—..— .-—.—
WHAT IS COVERED LIMITED SECOND-YEAR
WARRANTY
FULL ONE-YEAR WARRANTY For the second year from date of
For one year from date of original
purchase, we will provide, free of
charge, parts and service labor in
your home to repair or replace any
part of the dishwasher that fai Is
because of amanufacturing defect.
original purchase, we will provide,
free of charge, replacement parts
for any part of the Water DkWbu-
tion System (as illustrated below)
that fails because of amanufac-
turing defect. Associated inlet and
drain plumbing parts are not
FULL TEN-YEAR WARRANTY covered by this warranty. You pay
for the service trip to your home
For ten years from date of original and service labor charges.
purchase, we will provide, free of
charge, parts and service labor in
J
Power Shower@ arm ~
your home tO repair or replace the 3Piece power TowerlM
PermaTuf@ tub or door her if it 4hose
fails to contain water because Wash arm
(spray arm) ~
of amanufacturing defect such Hub
as cracking, chipping, peeling
Q*
connection
assembly
or rusting. Boot n
9●Motor
soft Pump
Food Disposer
Water Distribution System
This warranty is extended to the
original purchaser and any succeed-
ing owner for products purchased
for ordinary home use in the 48
mainland states, Hawaii and
Washington, D.C. In Alaska the
warranty is the same except that it
is LIMITED because you must pay
to ship the product to the service
shop or for the service technician’s
travel costs to your home.
All warranty service will be provided
by our Factory Service Centers or
by our authorized Customer Care”
servicers during normal working
hours.
Look in the White or Yellow Pages
of your telephone directory for
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY,
GENERAL ELECTRIC FACTORY
SERVICE, GENERAL ELECTRIC-
HOTPOINT FACTORY SERVICE or
GENERAL ELECTRIC CUSTOMER
CARE” SERVICE.
WHAT IS NOT COVERED .Service trips to your home to
teach you how to use the product.
Read your Use and Care material.
If you then have any questions
about operating the product,
please contact your dealer or our
Consumer Affairs office at the
address below, or call, toll free:
The GE Answer Center”
800.626.2000
consumer information service
.Improper installation.
If you have an installation problem,
contact your dealer or installer.
You are responsible for providing
adequate electrical, plumbing and
other connecting facilities.
.Replacement of house fuses
or resetting of circuit breakers.
.Cleaning or servicing of air gap
device in drain line.
.Failure of the product if it is
used for other than its intended
purpose or used commercially.
●Damage to product caused
by accident, fire, floods or acts
of God.
WARRANTOR IS NOT RESPON-
SIBLE FOR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES.
Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion
may not apply to you. This warranty gives You specific iegal rights, and YOUmay also have other rights which vary from state to state. .
To know what your legal rights are in your state, consult your local or state consumer affairs office or your state’s Attorney General.
Warrantor: General Electric Company
If further help is needed concerning this warranty, contact:
Manager—Consumer Affairs, General Electric Company, Appliance Park, Louisville, KY 40225
IEMEEY GE NE RAL@EIECTRIC
2-86 G