[Shop-talk] Dishwashers in the garage

[Wayne]

On 5/28/2013 7:34 AM, eric at megageek.com wrote:
> First, will normal dishwasher soap hurt engine parts, bare metals, etc?
> Next, is there a soap that I should use that will not hurt the dishwasher?
> Finally, are there things that should NOT go in there?

I've found them to be really good at cleaning plastic car parts over the 
years. The Ex insisted on eating fast food breakfast & what not on her 
long commute and would trash a car interior. Routine was 4 bolts - pull 
driver's seat, dismantle center console & part of dash, throw in 
dishwasher. Vacuum up crud (SUPER easy and more thorough with nothing in 
the way -- easily worth time of disassembly) while the D.W. is running. 
Also ran a lot of under hood plastic parts like covers, intake parts, etc.

Haven't done many metal parts. But I suspect any heavy oil or grease 
would gack up a D.W. in a hurry.

And the BIG thing to avoid -- do NOT use any kind of foamy detergents!!! 
Regular dish soap or Simple Green will foam like mad and make a hellish 
mess of foam you can't hardly get rid of!

-w