Miele [F86] fault codewhat it means and how to fix it

F86 is Miele’s way of saying the salt reservoir flap in the door is not closed, and the wording matters because it tells you which kind of Miele you have. Most dishwashers, including Miele’s current G 5000 and G 7000 ranges, keep the salt reservoir under a screw cap in the floor of the wash cabinet. A number of Miele integrated and fully integrated machines, particularly the G 1000 and G 2000 generations, put the salt container inside the door instead: a hinged lid on the inner door panel that springs open at the press of a button, with a funnel-shaped opening behind it. That lid carries a magnet, and a switch in the door checks it is shut before a programme is allowed to run.

F86 is that switch reporting the lid open. Nothing has failed — you have topped up the salt and not clicked the lid closed, or salt granules on the rim are holding it a fraction proud. It is worth knowing about rather than dismissing, though, because the consequence of ignoring it is not nothing. The salt reservoir holds a strong brine solution, and Miele are explicit that saline solution running out of it can cause corrosion in the wash cabinet and to the load, which is why their instruction after every refill is to run a rinse programme immediately with the machine empty to dissolve and remove any traces of salt. A machine washing with the container open does the opposite.

Every Miele dishwasher has a built-in water softener that needs regenerating with special coarse-grained dishwasher salt — not cooking salt, rock salt or gritting salt, which Miele warn may contain insoluble components that impair the softener. Hard water is what fills your glasses with white film and what eventually scales up the heating element, and the salt is the thing standing between you and both.

1. 1

   Open the door and look at the inside of the door panel for the salt container lid. If your salt reservoir is instead a screw cap in the floor of the wash cabinet under the lower basket, this is not the code your machine would show for a loose cap — Miele’s troubleshooting for that design is simply to replace the cap, making sure it screws back on correctly.

2. 2

   Press the lid closed until it latches, brushing any loose salt off the rim first. Miele’s article for this code says only: close the salt reservoir flap.

3. 3

   Run a rinse programme straight away with the machine empty rather than leaving it. Miele say to do this every time the salt container is opened, to dissolve and remove any traces of salt from the wash cabinet.

   Miele: risk of corrosion due to saline solution. Salt water that runs out of the reservoir can corrode the wash cabinet and the load.
4. 4

   While you are there, check you are using special coarse-grained dishwasher salt. Miele warn that cooking salt, rock salt, agricultural grade and gritting salt may contain insoluble components that impair the water softener.