What is this in my dishwasher??

[gentlemommy]

Some of the prongs broke off in my dishwasher rack, leaving crumbly rust-looking stuff. Is it just rust? Is it a health hazard? I called the manufacturer to see if I could get any info and they said they didn't know exactly what it is but they were sure it wasn't toxic in any way. :/ I think I'm just being paranoid but I keep thinking, "What if it has lead in it or something else really icky and it's getting onto all our dishes?" :O It looks like a few more prongs are about to break off too. New dishwasher racks are super expensive, otherwise we could just replace it. And I'd feel weird asking our landlord to replace them just because of a few missing prongs and a paranoid me.

[Rabbit]

I wouldn't hesitate to talk to the landlord about it. Not because it might really be dangerous, but because it's broken, and he can replace it.

If he doesn't, what about cleaning as much of the rust off as possible, and then sealing with appliance or car paint, or some other option?

[gentlemommy]

Really, so you don't think asking the landlord to replace it is over-the-top? The dishwasher works totally fine, it's just a few prongs. :think The cost of the racks is nearly the cost of a new dishwasher. :jawdrop I hadn't thought of sealing it off. That's not a bad idea.

[Rabbit]

You can ask a landlord anything you want. He's free to say no.

[gentlemommy]

Yes, that's true. We might run it by him. We have a *really* good relationship with him and he's SUCH a nice guy, so that makes it both harder and easier to ask for things.

[PurpleButterfly]

I would definitely ask him if he has another rack he might be able to swap for you. Let him know you feel badly about something seemingly so small, but that it's important toyou because you don't want your family ingesting rust or other metals. :hug2 I probably wouldn't use a sealant because it would be "steaming" with all your dishes with every load...unless you specifically found a nontoxic food-grade product made for dishwasher use. ;)