Dishwasher Leaving Grit on Dishes.!! Please Help

Updated on September 20, 2009
S.C. asks from Troy, MI
14 answers

We moved in to our new house not to long ago and I noticed early on that the dishwasher doesnt do the greatest job but it was working.. in the last 2-3 months I have noticed grit left of the dishes and the dishes not very clean..last night I ran the dishwasher twice and the dishes were still dirty...any suggestions?? the dwasher is only 4 yrs old so Im not sure whats up..it came with the house its not top of the line but still a good brand...thanks for your help and advice

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A.S.

answers from Detroit on

I'm no expert but my dishwasher was doing the same thing - it wasn't old either. In the end, I called an appliance expert and they found that there was a blockage. Once it was unblocked i had to run the cycle a few times with just vinegar in the washer. Now it's fine - good luck - Alison

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C.M.

answers from Detroit on

There might ba a filter that needs to be cleaned. Since you probably don't have the user guide, you might go to the manufacturer's website to see if there is one posted. My dishwasher came with the house too. There is a filter in the bottom that can be removed and washed. It gets pretty yucky and then I have the same problem that you have. Stuff gets in it and just gets whirled around onto the dishes. It helps when I clean it. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.C.

answers from Detroit on

check to see if there is a kink or blockage where the water is supposed to come out sometimes it stops the sprayer from working well.I've had that happen
BeckyC

1 mom found this helpful
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P.L.

answers from Grand Rapids on

this is advice from our repair man...Purchase a bottle of dishwasher cleanser (I forgot the name of the product, but it is available at Meijers) and you put it in the dishwasher and run it through empty. It should clean all the old gunk and built-up detergent out of the washer. Also, be sure to run your hot water in your sink tap before you start your dishwasher each time. It takes the washer too long to heat up the water on it's own. He also told me that most people put too much detergent in the cup dispenser and it just ends up getting built-up in the washer. You should only fill about 1/3 of the cup with detergent. Hope that helps you.

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T.N.

answers from Detroit on

First make sure the holes on the arms are clear. I would run a cycle with Tang (the drink mix)use the whole jar, run the hot water to your sink first so the water will be hot for the dishwasher. The acid in the Tang helps to clean the lines. This worked for me. Try www.masterhandyman.com for tips.

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P.L.

answers from Detroit on

I agree it may be the dishwashing detergent but a good cheep way to clean your dishwasher is TANG you run the dishwasher empty fill the detergent with TANG and run it through the cycles it will clean out everything. Everyone in my family does this and it works great. Cheep quick and easy. I have a portable dishwasher I can not use the cheep stuff in it. I tried that in the new home it works here so it may also just be the water where you are.

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

I would check your drains in your house. If there is gunk in the drains, it's possible that it can backflow into the dishwasher. Do you notice if your kitchen sink is slow draining too? You may have some kind of build up or clog downstream.Also check where the water is supposed to spray out, maybe those holes are plugged. Hope this helps!

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K.M.

answers from Detroit on

Have a service guy come look at it maybe it needs to be cleaned out or a parts broke. Also consider a new dishwasher.

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M.A.

answers from Detroit on

S.,
Did you check to see if something fell into the bottom and may be blocking the arm from turning? Give the spray arm a good spin. How is the water pressure? Is the drain hose properly installed? It should go out and make a loop up and over and into the drain or garbage disposal and be higher than the level of the exit drain hole, to prevent backups. Just a few suggestions to check- or maybe it's just time for a new dishwasher ;-). Also, did you know that the government outlawed phosphates in Laundry products, but allows them in dishwasher detergents? Brilliant, huh? Shaklee makes an awesome dishwasher powder without phosphates or chlorine. It is enzymes, eco-friendly, and my dishes sparkle! It also won't etch your glassware! Give me a holler if I can help.
Take care,
M.

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K.A.

answers from Saginaw on

WHen it`s empty-pour a half gallon of vin. in the bottom and run through. That should do the trick!

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L.S.

answers from Detroit on

Hello S.,

I had an situation where my hotwater tank was not hot enough and then I had a dishwasher once that I had to run the hot water in the kitchen sink until it was hot before I started the dishwasher.

Hope this helps, L. S.

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K.W.

answers from Detroit on

It may just need a little cleaning. Put a couple tablespoon of tank (yes the drink powder) in the dispenser and let it run.

We were having similar problem and it cleared it right up.

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S.D.

answers from Detroit on

It may have nothing to do with your dishwasher. We found this out when our brand new top of the line dishwasher was not cleaning the dishes properly.

It was the dishwasher detergent. As much as it pained me stop buying the off-brand (we were using Costco's Kirkland brand) once we started using Cascade we had no more problems. I also add jet dry religiously, or the glasses start not getting clean. Kirkland is great for most things, but for some reason our washer does not like that soap! (Also I find the liquid det cleans better than the powder kind, no matter the brand).

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D.H.

answers from Detroit on

we had a similar problem in our mobile home awhile ago. My husband cleaned the screen inside the dishwasher, but it still wasn't working. What we finally figured out is that there was a part up on the sink that stood up (hard to describe it)....the silver covering came off, and there was a screen inside that needed cleaned out. After that, it worked perfectly!
D.

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