Sometimes, it takes hours to do stubborn dishes in the kitchen. For people who have to work all day and only have a few hours to rest at night, it is evil to suggest that they spend some of their rest time standing and taking care of the dishes in the kitchen. Fortunately, a dishwasher has been invented to take care of that.
Frigidaire dishwashers are easily some of the most used in houses today. So, we must take a close look at the dishwasher parts so we can better understand how to clean and perform some light maintenance on it if the need arises.
Frigidaire Dishwasher Parts Diagram
Frigidaire Dishwasher As Seen on the Diagram
Nozzle or Upper Spray Arm: The upper spray arm can be found at the dishwasher’s top. It sprays water on the dishes on the upper rack of the dishwasher.
Middle Spray Arm: The middle spray arm is located just below the upper rack. It helps spray water to the bottom rack.
Lower Spray Arm: The lower spray arm is located at the bottom of the dishwasher and is the most common one in most dishwashers. It helps spray water to the bottom rack.
Top rack: The top rack on the dishwasher helps hold flat and deep dishes for the spray nozzle to clean up. Depending on your model, the rack could be made from different materials. Usually, they are made of steel but covered in a type of polymer, like PVC or nylon. Other ones are made of stainless steel with no coating.
The top dishwasher rack can hold between 12 and 14 plates.
Bottom rack: The bottom rack of the dishwasher is similar to the top in design, and it holds a similar amount of dishes. It receives water from the middle and lower spray arm to clean its dishes.
Detergent dispenser: The detergent dispenser in a dishwasher works to spray the dishes with detergent during the wash cycle so they can be clean. You can add a liquid or solid detergent or a detergent pod to the dispenser.
The dispenser is usually located at a corner of the dishwasher’s door. It has a mini-door of its own which you can open and insert the detergent.
Heating element: The heating element helps heat the water before it is pumped all over the dishwasher. Hot water is more sanitary for washing dishes and is the reason why plates washed by dishwashers are often cleaner.
The heating element also dries the air in the dishwasher so that the dishes dry faster after washing and rising.
In addition to these parts, some models have a cup shelf to hold cups for washing.
Understanding Frigidaire Dishwasher Cycles
To understand the various parts of the dishwasher, it is crucial to understand its cycle, i.e., how the dishwasher gets your dishes clean.
The dishwasher is connected to your home’s water source using the plumbing at the back. Depending on the type of dishwasher, you can connect it to the cold or hot water line in your house. Some dishwashers have a heating element that heats the water to temperatures between 86F and 140F. Others may not have these elements.
If you aren’t sure, you should check the operating manual. If a dishwasher requires hot water, it’ll say so. Otherwise, you are safe using the cold water line. Frigidaire dishwashers can work with cold water, so you don’t have to worry about hooking them up with hot water.
When you start the dishwasher, it heats the water to the temperatures mentioned above, and pumps by the side of the dishwasher take the water to all the spray arms. There are three spray arms, the upper spray arm, the middle spray arm, and the lower spray arm, all fixed and set to spray water on the two racks in the dishwasher. The spray arms are like hoses with little allowances for water to jet out. The pressure from the pumps, coupled with the little allowances, makes the water spray out with force, dissolving the stubborn particles from the dishes.
The dishwasher sprays hot water on the dishes to rinse them before spraying them with detergent from the detergent dispenser at the right time. This cycle of spraying the dishes with hot water and detergent goes on for some time, depending on your wash setting.
Food particles are either disintegrated and sent to the drain or caught in a filter at the bottom of the dishwasher.
The dry mode is activated when the dishwasher is done with the cycle of washing and repeatedly rinsing with hot water. As mentioned, there is a heating element at the bottom of the dishwasher. This dishwasher heats the air in the dishwasher to dry the dishes. You can skip this step and dry the dishes yourself if you like.
