Kenmore Dishwasher leaving SAND behind

1. Remove the top rack and lower rack.
2. Remove the lower spray arm by holding the top of the center hub and rotating spray arm counter clockwise.
3. Remove water tube feed from the back wall of the dishwasher by unclipping at top and back. Pull towards you and lift tab at the bottom on the big tube to remove the plastic clip from main water feed.
4. Remove the main water tube by turning quarter turn clockwise, then lift off. Keep the center hub from falling out so you don't lose the plastic washer.
5. Using a star tip screw driver; remove the four screws and lift off the filter cap assembly. The assembly consists of the screen filter and the food trap grate (The outer edges look gear like).
6. Look down inside this area and clean out anything foreign. usually there will be seeds, paper, and other gook. I used tweezers, toothpicks, and needlenose pliers. I remove from my dishwaser quite a bit of paper, two wooden match sticks, lots of undissolved soap etc.
7. When you have removed as much as you can, put everything back together in the order you removed it.
8. When you run the next cycle, you should immediatly hear more noise to indicate that you have cleared the pathway that allows water to flow at its intended pressure.

I think I know the problem. I have the EXACT same problem. Only on the top rack. For me, it was because the top-rack sprayer was not spinning freely. I used a screwdriver to unscrew the screw (it's reverse threaded!) and checked for stuck food...no stuck food BUT the plastic washer which allows it to spin freely was cracked, causing friction. If the top rack sprayer doesn't spin freely, you are basically spraying less frequently with each pass, and like a paint sprayer you're depositing food particles inside your top-rack dishes.

Also if your dishwasher is equiped with an air gap, it could be the air gap is clogged with debris, or else where along the discharge tube.

I had our counter replaced and the contractor dropped bits of ground down counter into it with out me knowing and it clogged on the first use.

I popped the cap of the air gap and it was full of junk. I used a screw driver to clear it, but had to actually run the dishwasher on a drain cycle with the discharge hose removed from the airgap and dumped it and the other debris into a 5 gallon bucket.( Just make sure you have one big enough or can shut off the drain cycle:) )

Hi,

I have a Kenmore 665 experiencing the same problem for which I still don't have a solution. The generic solution which has been posted (and also included in the troubleshooting section of the manual) didn't work for me.

However, I would like to share a solution for the following similar problem:
Food particles remained on all the dishes of the top rack, especially inside the cups and glasses.

After investigation, I found out that the manifold that connects to the water feed tube was loose. The water was then leaking and caused the water pressure that goes out from the sprayarm very low. This is what caused the upper rack dishes to not be washed properly. I only had to readjust the manifold and BINGO.

Thanks everybody

Several things can cause this problem:

Detergent - Old, clumped or poor quality detergent can cause this by not completely dissolving. Make sure you're using a high quality detergent, and that it is stored in a cool dry place (ie, not under the sink!). Also don't purchase large quantities at once - A good rule of thumb is to purchase about a month's supply at a time.

Water temperature - Without proper hot water temperature, detergent will not be dissolved or will not be activated, thus food soils won't be properly removed. Water heating dishwashers require a minimum of 120 degree F inlet water, and non water heating dishwashers require a minimum of 120 degree F inlet water. Run the hot water before starting the dishwasher, in order to clear the line of cold water.

Degree of water hardness - the proper amount of detergent should be based on water hardness. A general rule of thumb is one teaspoon of detergent per gpg of water hardness (with a minimum of 3 teaspoons). If water is too hard (15 gpg og higher), a mechanical water softener may be required.

Loading - Glasses should not be placed over the tines. Pots, pans, dishes and bowls should be carefully loaded so as not to cover the center spray tower. Items should not protrude through the rack where they could block the wash arms. Soiled surfaces need to face the center.

Water level - After filling, the water level should be about even with the heating element in the bottom of the dishwasher. If it isn't -
- check for low water pressure
- Be sure the dishwasher is level.
- Avoid other hot water usage activities while using the dishwasher.
- Ensure that the drain hose is at the correct height. If it is too low, the water may be draining out during the wash.

Mechanical - if none of the above helps, there may be a mechanical problem - call a repairman.