I have a long hose from my Dishwasher to my Garbage Disposal thru a AirGap on the sink. After 5 years or more of installing this dishwasher, I have had to clean the filter almost every other time. I seem to have a Red Mold on the filter. I have run with a Cup of Vinegar on top rack, at the HOT water cycle. And hav used baking soda, to follow.

Nothing seems to get rid of it permanently. Maybe my hose that leads to the dishwasher is the culprit... Or is there a flap on the drain mower that prevents water from following back into the dishwasher basin?

Anyone else ever run into this problem?

Are you sure the drain hose is not clogged or restricted? Sometimes gunk builds up in the exit portion inside the sink basin drain. The length of the drain hose may be interfering as well in a similar way. The D/W doesn' thave enough oomph to push it that far or through any interference.

Our dishwasher does not clean well when, say, we have unground up stuff in the garbage disposal section, which is where the dishwasher empties.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2021 10:12AM by Acer.

Is it this? If so, it's almost impossible to eliminate.

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Due to its abundant presence in the environment, and its preference for damp conditions, S. marcescens is commonly found growing in bathrooms (especially on tile grout, shower corners, toilet water lines, and basins), where it manifests as a pink, pink-orange, or orange discoloration and slimy film feeding off phosphorus-containing materials or fatty substances such as soap and shampoo residue.

Once established, complete eradication of the organism is often difficult, but can be accomplished by application of a bleach-based disinfectant. Rinsing and drying surfaces after use can also prevent the establishment of the bacterium by removing its food source and making the environment less hospitable.

.....after one breaks the mold.....no more can be made.....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Yep, bleach it.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

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NewtonMP2100
.....after one breaks the mold.....no more can be made.....

Shouldn't that be ... no spore can be made...?

I’ve seen installations that have those top sink mount air vents for dishwasher. I have no idea why they are there unless they are NOT air vents but instead supposed to be the drain (into the sink). Regardless, if you’ve got the water drain going into the trap (above, at disposer) then why again is it plumbed like this?

... I've never seen one of those. In my Ohio homes the drain from the dishwasher has a loop 'up' and then down into the disposal connection where it drains. If the loop 'up' is missing, then the drain will backwash into the dishwasher.

I have had to remove the drain hose and clean it out.

My sister had her loop removed, and the drain hose was basically collecting and distilling septic waste. Nasty. Once I looped it up, that stopped, and a couple of runs of bleach water cleaned it all out.

I would suggest cleaning the hose lines both from the dishwasher to the air gap and from the air gap to the disposal. And check and see if you should have a loop that goes to the top of the cabinet that protects against backwash from the airgap line.

You should be able to open the air gap and flush it out with hot water and cleanser, flowing down to the dishwasher and down to the disposal. Then close it up and run the dishwasher.

Air Gaps tend to be less than $20. I would run bleach thru the hoses a few times and then replace the old air gap. Not sure that it's worth messing with to get it clean.

But I have read that if you have Stainless Steel, you shouldn't use bleach.

I will do more research to verify, but thats what Bob Villa web site said, but then I got busy and had to go to MR to post., and never really saw what bleach and stainless would do.

Oh, and Serratia is a bacteria..

Im retired now, but I did have a degree in Microbiology.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2021 02:21PM by Microman.

Eh, once in a great while with bleach to shock it should be fine. It's not going to suddenly corrode into dust. You don't want to be using a bleach product on a regular basis, though.

......but everyone loves.....a fungi [ funguy ]..........

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2021 08:01AM by NewtonMP2100.

Google: marcescens borax. Also: marcescens borax dishwasher.