Our old dishwasher (maytag), while older, we would keep repairing it when it would break because it was good for so long. When it started leaving speckles on the plates and we were prewashing some, it was time. We got ours used though from a relative, they were renovating their kitchen and were just going to throw out their old one.. heard about that and rescued it.
No need for special ingredients. Just buy stuff at your local supermarket. You can slice up the meats on your own.