Common Reasons Your Dishwasher is Not Cleaning
I am sure most of you want to just simply hit the start button on your dishwasher and walk away letting the dishwasher do the work, after all that is what you bought the thing for! However, if you find yourself in a situation where you are having trouble, please read on and we will go over a few common reasons why your dishwasher is not cleaning your dishes.
Here are a few simple suggestions to make sure your dishwasher is operating at its optimum level of performance. First and foremost, read your manual! Most dishwashers come with a hard copy manual and some manufactures will provide an online manual. Get to know your cycle selections and your options because each one does something different for the type of dinnerware, pots and pans that you will want cleaned. If you are following the directions correctly then you really should not have a problem, unfortunately, a problem can arise if due diligence on your dishwasher is not maintained.
Here are some suggestions of things to look for, like making sure you are using the correct amount of dish soap and determine whether you are seeing food debris or soap residue. Sometimes this is confusing because the soap can take on many different forms that a lot of times almost look like salt and pepper flakes that are stuck to your dinnerware. What that really is, is the soap. Soap needs something to attack. If there is nothing there, then it will cling on to your dinnerware. It will actually etch those glasses. The first misconception is that you must totally rinse your dishware off before placing it in your dishwasher which seems truly silly, doesn’t it? You want to knock off the heavy debris not completely rinse them off, just scrape the into the trash the chunks,bones, etc, and place in your dishwasher allowing the dishwasher to do what it is meant to do, clean your dishes.
Remember the common misconception of the soap left on dishes and mistaking it for food leads me to my next suggestion and that is rinse aid. Every dishwasher requires rinse aid. Do you use it? It is hydrophobic. Meaning it pushes the water off the plates and glasses. There are many different brands with many different ingredients. Choose one and watch your dishwasher improve itself.
Most dishwashers have a filter at the bottom of tub and others have a food grinder in them. The filtered dishwashers have a detachable filter that can be removed simply be rinsed under your sink. How often should this be done? When I am selling someone a new dishwasher I suggest that once the rinse aid runs out which is typically after about 30 washes you can check that filter to gauge how often you should clean it.
Make sure you have plenty of hot water. If you have a dishwasher with some type of sanitize option apply it. This will help raise the water temperature and ensure the break down of the soap and the food particles. Also keep an eye on how much detergent you are actually using. Thick gels and liquids have a hard time breaking down and will leave filmy residue on the tub walls and your dishes. If this is the case get a dishwasher cleaner like Afresh or excelsior. These can be used with a heavy wash cycle and an empty dishwasher.
Lastly, check your drain. It could be that your dishwasher is getting back wash from your garbage disposal. This usually occurs if your drain line drops from its support under the sink and has no way of stopping water from entering the dishwasher from the sink. Have a technician look into it. This is a simple fix if your handy and there are many instruction videos if you feel inclined to tackle this yourself.