The door handle is loose, how do you take the soap dispenser off so you can seperate the door from the inside panel

The detergent dispenser is easily replaced, simply held in place by the four corner screws which fasten the door and door frame to the washing machine.

Unless the dispenser itself is cracked, your leak may actually be occurring from a loose clamp or hose attached to the dispenser. Or perhaps the leak is coming from the hoses, which are connected to the back of the machine in the same corner as the dispenser. The fill valve, to which the hoses are connected, could also be the problem. These valves are made of plastic, and can eventually crack and fail. This valve is also fairly easy to replace.

If it's been awhile since your washing machine hoses were installed, I would highly recommend changing them out if/when you repair other items. Stainless steel hoses are now available, preferable to plain rubber ones, better to handle constant water pressure. Be sure to note a date on the back of your machine with a Sharpie or paint pen the date the hoses, fill valve, or other items were changed. I do this as a reminder for the fill valve, which gets eaten up by our municipal water supply about every four years.

is the soap dispensing door opening? there is a small switch which sometimes likes to fly south makeing the door not open on the soap dispenser when this happens you would need to replace the soap dispenser assembly or if your able to find the switch that is on the dispensor and the part is actually sold seperately from the dispensor then you would replace that switch. you would need to take the screws off on the inside of the door and seperate the two panels the outter from the inner the inner panel is the one that houses the soap dispenser. You can do a continuity test with the unit unplugged to assure that the switch is working properly. if you have any further questions message me back and please remember when our chat has fully concluded to rank how this opinion has helped it allows me to continue helping others in similar situations Thanks Rick,

Hi, the soap dispenser has a motor / solenoid which controls the latch that opens the door. This has gone bad and needs to be replaced. It is located inside the dishwasher door panel. Remove the screws around the inside of the door to gain access to the solenoid. If you have any other questions or concerns please feel free to comment again. Good Luck!! Mike

I bet your clumps of soap began with the beginning of the use of a different DW detergent powder.

Try this (trust me) Go buy a box of brand name Dishwasher powder (e.g. Electrosol or Cascade) Use it for two loads of dishes and report your results back here. OK?

Symptoms:
Dispenser lid is open. Caked powder at (what would be during normal operation) bottom edge of soap dispenser or caked powder fallen onto dishes or dishwasher bottom. There may be loose powder in rest of dispenser or spilled down inside door or onto dishes underneath dispenser.

Solution:
Keep the area around the soap dispenser lid clear when loading the top tray.

Explanation:
The soap dispenser needs to swing open during the wash cycle. In many dishwashers the top tray has an indentation as wide as the lid of the dispenser. This allows the top tray to be as large deep as possible while still allowing space for the dispenser lid to open. People often pack their dishwasher with things overhanging this gap.

During the wash cycle the catch will release but the overhanging cutlery or crockery prevents the lid from opening all but a few degrees. Some water will splash in but not enough to wash out the soap powder. The soap powder at the bottom of the dispenser will then cake.

When the front door is opened the spring loaded lid, which is partly open, will of course swing fully open and you'll be convinced that the lid opened normally during operation. If this is the problem then if you're very careful and open the door very slowly you can actually hear the lid flip open. Also, depending on when the lid opens, how far it opened during operation and how fast you open the door you may find soap powder spilled down to cover the dishes at the front or down the inside of the door. This happens when you first open the door and obviously there couldn't be loose powder there if the powder had emerged while there was water washing around. Seeing the lid open as you open the door is a lot harder but can be done on some machines.

Peace,
You need hands on service!

Remove the outer door panel and check the actuator for the soap dispenser door it is probably broken. You might also check and make sure you don't have an old soap build up inside the soap dispenser. Sometimes old soap builds up and dries inside the dispenser and causes the door to stick. It should be free. Good luck.

Before taking anything to bits, check you aren't just loading the machine in such a way that something (for us, it's usually a frying pan) is stopping the soap dispenser from springing open all the way. A.

I have an older (1990) Maytag dishwasher that had the same problem. In my case liquid dish soap had penetrated the seal and dried out causing the rotating cover shaft to freeze up.

Remove the door panel and then disconnect and remove the soap dispenser from the door. Make a diagram of the soap dispenser as you carefully disassemble it; there is a coil spring around the soap door axis. If you find a buildup on the door shaft or in the hole it rotates in or in the groove the door rides in, try removing the residue with a plastic scuffy pad after letting it soak in a lime scale remover (Lime Away) or some other cleaner. I think Jet Dry makes a dishwasher cleaner. Before you reassemble the dispenser, wipe a thin film of plumbers grease (available at Home Depot or Lowes) on the shaft.

If the door is free turning and doesn't appear to be bound up, then the problem may be with a heating element that expands when energized, allowing the door to open to the second soap compartment. An ohmmeter will be needed to test the thermal lock.

These jobs are fairly simple and should need only a Phillips screwdriver and a volt ohmmeter.

Happy Motoring!