SMEG DWD64SS

Re: SMEG DWD64SS

Didn’t get an answer to my query and the problem has reached crisis point. I’ve dug deeper into the machine and am posting again in the hope that someone will recognise something in the bigger picture.

I’ve pulled the machine out (it is built-in) and removed the top sound shield and the right-side metal casing. (Yes I have disconnected the electricity supply, no I haven’t disconnected the water supply yet). The sound deadening blanket on the top (about an inch thick) was soaking at the back right and there was serious rust at that point, going right through the frame at one spot. I couldn’t tell whether the water had come from the hose that feeds into the centre of the top (presumably supplying the top sprayer arm) or from the fill chamber at the right. The hose at the centre was perfectly clean (no lime scale) but that may have been because the deadening blanket was wicking away all the water. The rust in the frame at the back right extends well above the plastic fill chambers and there is no obvious sign of leakage from those either.

The fill chambers are discoloured at top and bottom. The staining at the top is moderate and the staining at the bottom quite severe. I can’t work out how one might gain access to the interior of the fill system to see if there is a blockage.

Underneath the dishwasher at the right toward the front there was a build-up of salts that was encrusted on the bottom of the dishwasher and had also accumulated on the flooring below the dishwasher. That area of the dishwasher was damp to the touch but there was no sign that any significant quantity of water had reached the floor. There was no staining of the floor let alone rot.

I don’t know whether there’s anything that I can do myself, or whether I need to call in the professionals, or indeed whether I need to start thinking about a new dishwasher.

As I think I said in my previous post I’ve tried using a plastic tie (14 inch) to clean out the channel leading out of the sump in the dishwasher interior. In terms of symptoms, the machine now takes half a dozen false starts (stopping at precisely six minutes into the cycle each time) before going through, and then sometimes stops again in the final stages of its cycle (presumably when it is rinsing). If it stops at that second stage I simply advance the dial slightly to restart it. That doesn’t work when the stoppage is at the first stage, six minutes in.

Any advice hugely appreciated.

Re: SMEG DWD64SS

No lights are flashing. It doesn’t have an error code system. So the only lights are the power on and, when appropriate, the low salt and low rinse aid indicators.

Re: SMEG DWD64SS

I guess it’s like a kid with a clock. Anyway I have now removed both side panels, disconnected water supply and drain, laid the machine on its side and removed the floor. Disconnected the salt reservoir from the inside tank at the bottom of the machine (unclipped the connecting hose), disconnected the electrics, and extricated the reservoir (tricky).

The end of the reservoir that is at the rear of the machine is packed with brown-coloured salt. (The front portion had clogged white salt which was relatively easy to remove). It’s possible that the brown salt at the rear could be flushed out but I suspect that this is designed to take a long time. The reservoir doesn’t come apart in any obvious way, so I can’t get at the salt by that route.

The floor of the dishwasher is corroded away under the salt reservoir. This may have allowed the reservoir to settle slightly (though it has a pretty tight collar holding it to the salt filler on the inside of the machine). If so, the fit between the reservoir water connections and the fill matrix would not have been what it should have been, which could have been the source of subsequent leaking.

I would seem to need a new floor. The rear top frame rail is also rusted through. I don’t know whether the salt reservoir/sump can be rehabilitated or not. And of course I don’t know whether the blockage there is a cause of the problem or a consequence of it.

Any advice? Has the machine reached the point of no return?