DIY Life

If you came across this post innocently you're probably wondering how somebody would manage to fill their dishwasher with regular liquid soap. If you landed here because you were frantically searching for a fix then you probably have suds pouring out of your dishwasher and are looking for a solution after running it through 8 or 9 times without luck. This happened in my house, and we were all in quite a panic before we found this simple solution.

1. Take out the dish racks and dishes. Wash them by hand.
2. Scoop out as much of the overflow suds as you can. Grab a towel and sop up any excess water pooled at the bottom.
3. Put a cup (or two) of white vinegar in the dishwasher. Adding ice will lower the water temperature and inhibit the sudsing action. Run it for a full cycle.
4. Repeat if needed.

So there really is no need to worry, this huge problem is just a cup of vinegar away from being your next funny story.

If your dishwasher is acting up in other ways, you may still be able to save the service call and do it yourself.

Fixing your own appliances can save a lot of money. It can also induce a giant headache and waste a lot of time if you don't know what you're doing. Razione Latapiatti from Pioneer Thinking will walk you through the most common dishwasher problems and explain how to fix them. As he suggests, first google your dishwasher brand and model number (unless you're one of the organized ones who knows just where the manual is). This way you'll find illustrations of your machine. Combine the detailed pictures with Razione's clear and succinct explanations and you can fix your own dishwasher.

Whether you created your own suds pool or you hear a strange noise or find yourself sending half the dishes back for another round, try your hand at diagnosing and solving it yourself.