By MyPros Staff

If your dishwasher is acting funny, now is the time to find dishwasher repair. Tampa Electric has just filed for yet another increase in electricity prices, this one slated to begin in 2009.  The holidays are fast approaching, when you'll be more in need of that dishwasher than ever.  And then there's the economy…

Once you've got the dishwasher running in top condition (or at least running), you might need some tips for saving money with it.  First off, though, you should know that although most people think the dishwasher costs more than simply washing by hand, that is simply not true.  In reality, the opposite is true—if you use the dishwasher properly.

What does properly using the dishwasher mean?  Not spending so much time, energy, and money prerinsing the dishes before they go in the dishwasher, mostly.  Hand-washing dishes uses between 9 and 24 gallons of water, while most dishwashers only use between 6 to 10 gallons of water.  Add to this the fact that the biggest money-waster in either case is heating up the water used to wash the dishes, and you can see that hand washing will definitely cost more, every time.  Now that doesn't mean you put the plate in there, food and all.  Just scrape excess food off, and then let the dishwasher do the rest.

Another major money-waster with dishwashers is the heated dry cycle.  Most dishwashers today have an "air-dry" setting that will allow you to turn this off.  If not, you might have to wait for it to finish, then turn it off…not something most people want to do.  You can also try making sure it's a full load every time (just like Mom said), and not putting any large dishes or pots over the spray arms inside the dishwasher.

If it turns out that what you need is a new dishwasher rather than dishwasher repair, Tampa's service companies should be well acquainted with city codes for installation of a new dishwasher, as well as disposal of the old one.