Dishwasher Fix

I was struggling for weeks to figure out why my new dishwasher wasn't working properly. Glasses were coming out with cloudy spots, residue and even some etching.

I used only the best dishwasher soap and rinse aid. I tried running bleach and vinegar through the washer. We even had a repair man come out to whom my husband pointed out a clogged part and his response was, "Good, because if we didn't find anything wrong I'd have to charge you for the house call." That really stumped me since he didn't even look over the dishwasher to find a problem. Apparently the contract company is more interested in collecting money than fixing dishwashers. But I digress.

We searched troubleshooting online and in the washer manual. I checked the water temperature, water pressure and water hardness.

Finally, we called our brother in-law who installed the machine, hoping he might pull it out and find a kinked hose. He tightened the hose. Then he looked inside. He immediately spotted the problem. This is why I'm sharing it with you. There is a small arm that extends from the device that sprays water on the top rack. The arm hooks into a clip--or at least it is supposed to. If the arm is shifted by a large dish on the bottom rack, it will slip so that the circular piece is in front of the clip instead of behind it. In that case, the arm does not properly plug into the seal at the back of the dishwasher. This means the pressure is not correct coming out of the sprayer. This also affects the bottom sprayer because once you affect the pressure of one, the other is affected.

After my brother in-law moved the piece into the clip--this is very easy to do--he ran a filthy glass with no detergent through the wash cycle for 5 minutes and the glass came out sparkling! I could tell the difference right away because when we opened the dishwasher mid-cycle, water was shooting out as it used to with our old machine. It had never done that with this dishwasher because the pressure was always wrong.

So if you have spotty glasses or food particles stuck to your dishes, sit on the floor and look at the sprayer under the top rack. Make sure the round end of the arm is behind the clip and watch your dishes come clean!

The side note on the story is that I gave the problem over to God right before it was resolved. He works in big ways (see the Miracle of the Medals story below) and in small ways (like fixing dishwashers) such is his depth of love for us.

Miracle of the Medals

It had been a good Thursday. I'd given my presentation at work, asking God to speak through me, and I'd pulled it off with flying colors. I felt grateful and in alignment with God's will. It was sunny and warm. Not a day for tragedy.

The Tigers were on the TV, trying to win another game. My husband, Steve, and I had just settled on the couch when he put a religious medal in my hand. It was St. Therese. I was familiar with the saint, having just read her autobiography several months prior. Steve works at our Church and is always finding rosary beads, prayer cards and the like in his cleaning duties. I nonchalantly turned over the medal to see flowers and the words "Pray for us." I thought it was a nice medal and turned my attention back to the baseball game.

Steve said, "I found three of these at work today."

I nodded and our oldest son, Stevie, interrupted the conversation with a baseball statistic, that our youngest son, Matt, disputed in usual fashion.

I took a sip of iced tea and looked at the TV, willing Steve's boring story to be over.

"Anyway," Steve continued, "Did you know some areas flooded last night? It rained pretty hard."

"Yeh, someone said something..." I responded.

"Well, I was using this electric pump with an external motor to drain the water out of the elevator at the church. As I was pumping, the pump fell over. Without thinking, I grabbed it," he said.

I looked at him, my eyes popping out of my head. "What happened? Did you get a shock?"

"Nothing," he said.

Now he even had Matt's attention.

"After I pulled it out, I moved the pump. And there where it was were three medals like the one you are holding, all lined up in a row. Isn't that strange?"

"Not at all," I said, "It was a miracle. St. Therese saved your life. Isn't she the saint that wanted to help people on earth after she went to heaven? She said she would send flowers down after dying."

Steve said he didn't know. But he did know that those medals were not there earlier. Two other workers had been there talking to him before the incident and said they didn't see the medals. He added, "After I told them the story, they both took a medal. Father Ed said I better hold onto this one."

I gave Steve the medal back, reiterating that he should keep it with him.

Next, I thanked God, St. Therese and Steve's guardian angel for saving him from serious injury and possibly death.

I did some Internet research and confirmed that St. Therese wanted to help us here on earth after she died. I printed out her Novena and prayed it for nine days. Many miracles have been attributed to St. Therese, but this one I experienced first hand.