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How Safe is Dish Washer Cleaning?

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I'm currently trying to clean the gearbox case on an SRB which is quite fiddley, with a tooth brush, cotton buds etc, when I wondered about the dish washer.

Now I've put plastic parts through the dish washer in the past and they've come out fine, but with the metal on the SRB gearbox will it 'dis-colour' ?

Any thoughts.

Rich

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I ve not used a dishwasher but i have tried similar.

The only thing i can see being an issue is the detergent.i have used a bucket of warm water with clothes cleaning washing powder in the past.it works a treat but on aluminium and metal parts it can leave a chalky residue if it isnt rinsed properly.

I think its due to the enzime action of household detergents in general.

I would imagine that if your dishwasher has an "extra rinse" setting you should be good.

Try putting a small component like a front upright in and see how it comes out? an SRB upright is a good mix of material and if its gonna chalk up,it will be evident on this part and easy enough to correct if it does dry in chalky.

hope this helps

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sometimes aluminium can turn black in a dishwasher, not sure why, but have seen it happen to older frying pans in the past

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Dishwashers are very effective cleaners. They can be lightly abrasive, notice how glass is affected over time. They are commonly used to clean 1:1 car parts (I've seen cylinder heads go in).

Two things to wary of:

1. Delicate surface treatments eg. chrome plated plastic

2. Your Mum/GF/wife finding out. This can be the biggest hazard of all...

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Dishwashers are very effective cleaners. They can be lightly abrasive, notice how glass is affected over time. They are commonly used to clean 1:1 car parts (I've seen cylinder heads go in).

Two things to wary of:

1. Delicate surface treatments eg. chrome plated plastic

2. Your Mum/GF/wife finding out. This can be the biggest hazard of all...

+1 :unsure:

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The problem with dishwasher as someone has pointed out is the detergents... The powder/tablets that are really good at cleaning contain caustic chemicals, really good for cleaning plastics and wipes out grease etc but when it comes to metals (those not stainless) it will corrode the metal, hense the chalky residue or turning things black - tarnishing... Absolutely do not put in chrome plated rims unless of course your want to strip them back to plastic. If I were you I would not put my SRB bits in the dishwasher you're asking for trouble... even if you were to rinse them thoroughly etc they will always be more prone to deteriorating over time and the residue is hard to remove from all the crevasses etc.

James

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I recently messed up an alu collander in our dishwasher, 65 degree wash, Finish tabs.

post-1185-1297639909_thumb.jpg

The old SRB 'alu' used to be very porous - it stained dead easy with stuff like Gizer degreaser - you'd be better off doing them by hand - even if one bit comes out ok, there's no saying they all will

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judging by the responses it looks like the dishwasher and aluminium/pot metal are not a good mix.

the bucket of washing machine powder (one block of persil!) certainly "eats" the grease and grime.though the rinse is important as each part will be slimy to the touch until rinsed clean.

also best to put the bucket in a garage or shed....the enzime action leaves all the gunk at the base of the bucket and smells like sick. :(

so far i have had no prob with discolouring only the chalky build up if not squeaky clean rinsed.but on something full of nooks and crannies like an SRB gearbox it may be just as difficult to rinse as to clean by hand... :unsure:

just thought i would mention,incase anyone fancies the bucket route.

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Your Mum/GF/wife finding out. This can be the biggest hazard of all...

agreed!

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