Guides · Equipment
How long do dishwashers last, and when to replace one
A dishwasher lasts about 9 to 10 years on average. Many of the problems that make people shop for a new one, such as dishes coming out gritty or water left in the bottom, are a clogged filter or spray arm that takes ten minutes to clear. Here is how to tell a fix from the end.
How long a dishwasher lasts
The InterNACHI life expectancy chart puts a dishwasher at about 9 years. With a cleaned filter, soft water and the right detergent, many run past ten. Hard water, heavy use and a filter that is never cleaned bring the end sooner, because mineral scale and food debris wear the pump and heating element.
For comparison, a refrigerator lasts about 9 to 13 years, a garbage disposal about 12 and a clothes washer 5 to 15. The full list is in how long appliances last.
How to find the age of your dishwasher
Open the door and look along the edge of the tub or the side of the door for the rating label with the model and serial number. Some labels print the manufacture date. Otherwise the brand’s serial code holds it, and the brand’s support site or customer line can read it for you from the serial.
The easier way: photograph the label with the Housemap label scan. It reads the brand, model and serial, works out the age when the date is printed or the code is known, checks for recalls and finds the manual.
Problems that are usually a fix, not a replacement
- Dishes gritty or cloudy: clean the filter at the bottom of the tub. Most twist out by hand and rinse under the tap. Run an empty hot cycle with a dishwasher cleaner if hard water leaves film.
- Water standing in the bottom: the filter or the drain hose is clogged, or the garbage disposal it drains into is full. Run the disposal, then clear the filter.
- Top rack not getting clean: the spray arm holes are blocked. Pop off the arm and clear the holes with a toothpick.
- Door will not latch or the cycle will not start: often the latch or the door switch, a small part.
- Leaking at the door: a worn door gasket, or the wrong detergent making too many suds.
Signs it is time to replace it
- It is past 9 or 10 years old and needs a new pump, motor or control board.
- Rust inside the tub, or a cracked tub. Rust can mean a leak into the floor below.
- Water on the floor under the machine that keeps coming back after the gasket and hoses are checked.
- It no longer heats, so dishes stay wet and the sanitize light never comes on, after the heating element has been checked.
- A repair quote above about half the cost of a comparable new dishwasher.
How to make a dishwasher last longer
- Clean the filter once a month, more if you rarely rinse plates. The home maintenance checklist puts it in the monthly short list.
- Scrape plates, but there is no need to rinse them clean; detergent needs some food to work on.
- Run hot water at the kitchen tap until it is hot before you start a cycle.
- In hard water areas, use rinse aid and a cleaner every month or two to keep scale off the heating element.
- Check the supply and drain hoses under the sink once a year for drips and kinks.
- Run it regularly. Seals dry out in a machine that sits unused for months.
Buying the next one
Check the new model against the ENERGY STAR list; dishwashers that earn the label use less water and energy than standard ones. Measure the opening, note whether your current one drains into a disposal or an air gap, and keep the receipt and warranty. Writing the install date down today is what tells you, nine years from now, whether a repair makes sense.
Keep the dates
Housemap keeps the dishwasher in your house file with its model, serial, install date, manual and receipt, next to the water heater and the rest of the kitchen, and reminds you when the filter is due.
Questions
How long do dishwashers last?
About 9 to 10 years on average. A well kept dishwasher in soft water often lasts longer; hard water, heavy use and a dirty filter shorten it.
Is it worth repairing a 10 year old dishwasher?
A small repair such as a door latch, gasket or drain hose usually is. A pump, motor or control board on a 10 year old dishwasher usually is not, because other parts are near the end too.
Why is my dishwasher not cleaning well?
Most often a clogged filter or blocked spray arm holes. Clean both, run hot water at the tap before the cycle, and use rinse aid in hard water.
How do I know how old my dishwasher is?
Find the rating label on the edge of the tub or the side of the door. Some print the date; otherwise the brand can read it from the serial number, or a Housemap label scan can.
Sources
Related guides
Know the age of every appliance.
Snap the label inside the dishwasher door and Housemap reads the model and serial, works out the age, checks for recalls and keeps the manual.
