Timeshare dishwashers

[moonstone]

We checked into a timeshare outside of Quebec City on Sunday and as per my usual procedure, after we unloaded the car, I took all the glasses, cups, dishes and cutlery out of the cupboards and drawers and put them in the dishwasher. I always check to see if there is any rinse agent in there and if not I add some out of my 'timeshare box'. While the dishwasher is running we go grocery shopping. After we returned I started dinner then unloaded the dishwasher while dinner was cooking. The dishes looked dirtier than when I put them in! There were bits of I don't know what, maybe paper, stuck on them, laying on the indents of the cup bottoms and the cups still had coffee stains on them. I pulled out the bottom rack to get at the filter. When I pulled it out I was shocked and a bit grossed out! It was totally caked with 'gunk'. It looked like paper mache mixed with food bits. Yuck! I scrapped 1/4 inch or so of crud off the filter with a kitchen knife then used a supplied dish brush to clean the screen. I also wiped out the cavity the filter sits in and the cover for it. I reloaded the dishes and ran a regular cycle and everything came out clean. Do the cleaners not check the filters? This isn't the first time I have had to clean one but this was by far the dirtiest one I have ever seen, ever. Most just have a bit of stuff on the screen or they are clean.

Then this evening I had a couple of pots and a frying pan that would not fit in the dishwasher so I decided I'd just wash them by hand in the sink. I pulled the plastic dish drainer out of the cupboard and it was filthy! It was mostly beige/brown instead of white and the bottoms of the 2 sections to put cutlery in were full of food bits and slime or mold. The drain board wasn't too bad but still needed a good scrub. I filled the sink and placed the rack and drain board in to wash and scrub them before I would use them. Now the drain board and rack are nice and white, just like new!

Rant over!

~Diane

 

[Guitarmom]

What a nightmare!

 

[BJRSanDiego]

We had a dishwasher that flooded the kitchen. The problem was a bad seal.

So, they replaced it with a brand new one. It overflowed too and left the dishes with specs, like the OP mentioned. It turned out that when they installed the new one, they forgot to remove a paper advertisement placed in the filter.

 

[pedro47]

I always remove and clean the dishwasher filter during our timeshare visit.
Plus, I wash all the silverware and glass items in the dishwasher.

 

[4TimeAway]

Thank you for making me more concerned about things I never knew I needed to think about!

 

[Dori]

We checked into a timeshare outside of Quebec City on Sunday and as per my usual procedure, after we unloaded the car, I took all the glasses, cups, dishes and cutlery out of the cupboards and drawers and put them in the dishwasher. I always check to see if there is any rinse agent in there and if not I add some out of my 'timeshare box'. While the dishwasher is running we go grocery shopping. After we returned I started dinner then unloaded the dishwasher while dinner was cooking. The dishes looked dirtier than when I put them in! There were bits of I don't know what, maybe paper, stuck on them, laying on the indents of the cup bottoms and the cups still had coffee stains on them. I pulled out the bottom rack to get at the filter. When I pulled it out I was shocked and a bit grossed out! It was totally caked with 'gunk'. It looked like paper mache mixed with food bits. Yuck! I scrapped 1/4 inch or so of crud off the filter with a kitchen knife then used a supplied dish brush to clean the screen. I also wiped out the cavity the filter sits in and the cover for it. I reloaded the dishes and ran a regular cycle and everything came out clean. Do the cleaners not check the filters? This isn't the first time I have had to clean one but this was by far the dirtiest one I have ever seen, ever. Most just have a bit of stuff on the screen or they are clean.

Then this evening I had a couple of pots and a frying pan that would not fit in the dishwasher so I decided I'd just wash them by hand in the sink. I pulled the plastic dish drainer out of the cupboard and it was filthy! It was mostly beige/brown instead of white and the bottoms of the 2 sections to put cutlery in were full of food bits and slime or mold. The drain board wasn't too bad but still needed a good scrub. I filled the sink and placed the rack and drain board in to wash and scrub them before I would use them. Now the drain board and rack are nice and white, just like new!

Rant over!

~Diane

Oh yuck!

 

[BM243923]

Most of the housekeeping staff do not know about the filter needed to be cleaned. At our resort we pointed it out to our housekeeper and she said she knew nothing about that. Nobody had ever showed her.

 

[Passepartout]

We were at a Wyndham TS in Puerto Rico. The a/c wasn't blowing much, so I opened the front of the furnace. The filter was instead of a white, zig-zag paper filter, it was a solid mat of dust, dirt, hair, and I don't know what-all. My guess is that it was the original filter from when the place was built. I called maintenance.

It shouldn't be the job of guests to do 'everyday maintenance' on the property. Yes, I know that it is technically 'ours', but we hire staff to do these things.

Jim

 

[dioxide45]

I'm not sure this is something that housekeeping should be doing all the time, but it should be a schedule. Perhaps one checkin day a month they clean the filter. As for AC filters, they should also be on a regular schedule. Just like changing out the batteries in the door locks.

 

[HedonisticEpicurean]

I never trust that the kitchenware is properly cleaned either. It is best to run the dishwasher to help minimize risk. But your story made me cringe. Yuck! Other people's dirt is the worst!

Passepartout, it is hard to believe that a maintenance team wouldn't have changing filters on their list. It makes you wonder what else they aren't maintaining correctly.

It is my belief that maintenance issues (repair and cleaning) starts at the top and "hopefully" filters down to the frontline person. In some cases the housekeepers and maintenance staff are not properly trained. And, often, if they are trained it is hard for the team lead or person checking on the rooms to make sure everything is done properly.

My pet peeve are the number of times I check into a nice hotel (even 4 or 5 star) and find burned out lights. The worst is when the clock is on the wrong time or the alarm is set from the previous guest. An unwanted buzzer is never pleasant. There are so many moving parts to a ts unit or hotel room that things invariably fall through the cracks.

I try to look at all these issues in a positive way, even when inconvenienced - I feel fortunate to get to travel and enjoy life. A few inconveniences will fade quickly and only good memories will last.

 

[klpca]

We just had that same issue last month at Hanalei Bay Resort. The filter was GROSS - it hadn't been cleaned in a while. So I hand washed the dishes and my husband called maintenance so that they could see what was happening. They cleaned the filter. I sent a detailed email to the GM and also mentioned it in the survey. Hopefully it will get assigned to someone to be cleaned regularly - either housekeeping or maintenance.

We also had a dishwasher at DSVII that was not attached - in any way - to the cabinet. It was just sitting in the hole so that it tipped forward every time that you opened the door all the way. Of course, Mr. Klpca says that calling maintenance is his favorite thing about timesharing (things get fixed quickly and there's no bill) so he called and they came and fixed the problem immediately, but how did this go unreported? After timesharing since 2011, I can say that we have never stayed in a place where there wasn't something that needed to be fixed.

 

[pedro47]

I'm not sure this is something that housekeeping should be doing all the time, but it should be a schedule. Perhaps one checkin day a month they clean the filter. As for AC filters, they should also be on a regular schedule. Just like changing out the batteries in the door locks.

This is part of maintenance PM check list at some resorts.
Checking furnaces air filters and changing furnaces filters periodically, checking dishwasher filter for broken glass and food bill up and the ice maker operation.

 

[oceanlane96]

That's awful! This is a bit extra - but I also always bring one of those "dishwasher cleaners" with me and run a sanitize cycle of dishwasher cleaner prior to using the dishwasher. Last TS we stayed in - a couple of the plates still had bits of food stuck on them and were put away in the cabinet as clean - immediately went into the dishwasher.

 

[WinniWoman]

I always remove and clean the dishwasher filter during our timeshare visit.
Plus, I wash all the silverware and glass items in the dishwasher.

I have never done that in all my many years of timeshare ownership. As I use things I look them over, but most always they are clean with a couple of exceptions sometimes.

 

[WinniWoman]

I never trust that the kitchenware is properly cleaned either. It is best to run the dishwasher to help minimize risk. But your story made me cringe. Yuck! Other people's dirt is the worst!

Passepartout, it is hard to believe that a maintenance team wouldn't have changing filters on their list. It makes you wonder what else they aren't maintaining correctly.

It is my belief that maintenance issues (repair and cleaning) starts at the top and "hopefully" filters down to the frontline person. In some cases the housekeepers and maintenance staff are not properly trained. And, often, if they are trained it is hard for the team lead or person checking on the rooms to make sure everything is done properly.

My pet peeve are the number of times I check into a nice hotel (even 4 or 5 star) and find burned out lights. The worst is when the clock is on the wrong time or the alarm is set from the previous guest. An unwanted buzzer is never pleasant. There are so many moving parts to a ts unit or hotel room that things invariably fall through the cracks.

I try to look at all these issues in a positive way, even when inconvenienced - I feel fortunate to get to travel and enjoy life. A few inconveniences will fade quickly and only good memories will last.

I haven’t seen an alarm clock in a hotel or timeshare condo in years.

 

[Passepartout]

I haven’t seen an alarm clock in a hotel or timeshare condo in years.

Mary Ann, you need to get out more. I haven't been in a hotel/condo without one in like forever. Usually, it's a clock-radio. Not the round faced little thing you wind up with a couple of bells on top like you might be used to.

 

[pedro47]

I haven’t seen an alarm clock in a hotel or timeshare condo in years.

At the Marriott’s Manor Club there are digital alarm clocks - radios in both bedrooms.

 

[callwill]

Timeshare dishwasher? You mean my wife?

 

[Guitarmom]

I never trust that the kitchenware is properly cleaned either. It is best to run the dishwasher to help minimize risk. But your story made me cringe. Yuck! Other people's dirt is the worst!

Passepartout, it is hard to believe that a maintenance team wouldn't have changing filters on their list. It makes you wonder what else they aren't maintaining correctly.

It is my belief that maintenance issues (repair and cleaning) starts at the top and "hopefully" filters down to the frontline person. In some cases the housekeepers and maintenance staff are not properly trained. And, often, if they are trained it is hard for the team lead or person checking on the rooms to make sure everything is done properly.

My pet peeve are the number of times I check into a nice hotel (even 4 or 5 star) and find burned out lights. The worst is when the clock is on the wrong time or the alarm is set from the previous guest. An unwanted buzzer is never pleasant. There are so many moving parts to a ts unit or hotel room that things invariably fall through the cracks.

I try to look at all these issues in a positive way, even when inconvenienced - I feel fortunate to get to travel and enjoy life. A few inconveniences will fade quickly and only good memories will last.

We had a family reunion at the Welk last week. In one room, the clock radio alarm rang at 5AM! That poor daughter was so traumatized that she couldn't get back to sleep.

 

[pedro47]

Timeshare dishwasher? You mean my wife?

You maybe in big trouble.LOL

 

[pedro47]

We had a family reunion at the Welk last week. In one room, the clock radio alarm rang at 5AM! That poor daughter was so traumatized that she couldn't get back to sleep.

But did she know how to turn if off or just unplugged that radio alarm clock at 5AM.

 

[WinniWoman]

Mary Ann, you need to get out more. I haven't been in a hotel/condo without one in like forever. Usually, it's a c lock-radio. Not the round faced little thing you wind up with a couple of bells on top like you might be used to.

No. I was in hotels last year and this year in timeshare resorts twice and they’ve been eliminated.

Even where we used to own at Smuggs they removed the alarm clock radios.

 

[moonstone]

Most of the housekeeping staff do not know about the filter needed to be cleaned. At our resort we pointed it out to our housekeeper and she said she knew nothing about that. Nobody had ever showed her.

Our oldest DS and his wife never knew dishwashers had filters either. When we were there for dinner one day soon after they bought their first house our DiL was practically washing the dishes before she loaded them in the dishwasher because she said it did a terrible job and they hoped to get a new one even though the one they were using that came with the house seemed relatively new. I pulled the rack out and lifted the filter which was also caked with gunk. Both of them were amazed that there was a filter and at the state of it. I cleaned it and replaced it and a few days later our DS phoned to say it was like they had a new machine, they didn't even need to rinse the plates! When they moved to FL last year and got a new dishwasher, I told them to read the instructions to see if it had a filter and if so, how to pull it out and clean it. What a novel idea to read the instructions!

~Diane

 

[BJRSanDiego]

My in-laws joined my wife and me on a TS vacation. The radio/alarm clock went off in their side and they didn't know how to shut it off, so they unplugged it, but because it had a battery it continued to alarm. They often would not try to figure out problems themselves but found it easier to "dump" the problem on me. I told them to just put the squawking alarm in the freezer. They did and the alarm was no longer an issue.

 

[Talent312]

Once, I checked into a Residence Inn and called the front desk to complain that a lot of the kitchen-ware was missing. "Have you checked the dishwasher?" they asked. Yep. It had been run, either by housekeeping or the previous guest, but they hadn't bothered to unload it. At least I knew those dishes were clean.

Speaking of dishwasher filters... Our dishwasher quit mid-cycle and displayed an error message which said essentially that it wasn't draining properly. I thought I'd have to call a repair guy, but then read the manual. Duh! First: Clean the filter. Next: Check whether tub was level. Third: Remove and clean hose to disposer. In all, it took about three hours, but on the third-thing, it started working.