I just bought a used Kenmore standalone dishwasher and ran it for the first time. The dishes on the top did not get clean and the soap did not come out of the closed soup dish. at one point I took a shower and was wondering if that might have influenced the water pressure enough to cause the problem. Is the soap supposed to open during the wash and could the poor water pressure prevent the top shelf from getting properly washed?

Hi, I have an older dishwasher also and recently mywife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I amtried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installedthem in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also foundthat if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad...So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to makesure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the onlinebuying...
Dishwasher SprayArms not Spinning

How to Buy ApplianceParts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The HeatingElement not Working

DishwasherMaintenance DishwasherResidue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Asker's Testimonial "explanation very clear. will give it a go and see howsimple it was. thanks Ronnie " - ronnieshomes

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Hi,

I have an older dishwasher also and recently my wife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I am tried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installed them in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also found that if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad... So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to make sure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the online buying...

Dishwasher Spray Arms not Spinning

How to Buy Appliance Parts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working

Dishwasher Maintenance

Dishwasher Residue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Asker

Hi,

I have an older dishwasher also and recently my wife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I am tried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installed them in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also found that if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad... So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to make sure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the online buying...

Dishwasher Spray Arms not Spinning

How to Buy Appliance Parts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working

Dishwasher Maintenance

Dishwasher Residue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Asker

Often times the latch needs cleaning from the accumulated calcium and soap caked around the latch. Use an old toothbrush or sometimes something a little stiffer to scrub around the latch, the dispenser cups and in the general area. If there is still accumulation a small amount of CLR [calcium-lime-rust] remover will break down the accumulation. We had a Kenmore running in very hard water situation that wouldn't open and we just left it open and didn't worry about the dispenser door releasing. We did this because we always scraped off all the food in the sink before putting dishes in the dishwasher and then ran on the water miser setting which requires only one of the soap dispenser wells to be filled.

Hi,

The scum, film and white residue problems have started since the reduction of phosphates in dishwasher detergents.

Here is a tip that will help you to solve the problem of films, residue, and scum in your dishwasher.

Dishwasher Residue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

l'l

That sounds like the float switch is acting up. It is a mushroom looking device on the bottom that has a movable (up and down) plastic cup over the top. With the machine off, take the lower tray out and lift up on the cup--you should hear a faint 'click' when it nears the upper limit. It should also drop to the bottom when released. There may be food deposits that interfere with the proper movement of the cup. Are you using dish washer detergent only?

go and stop at SEARS and buy some dish washer magic ,, use about 2-3 times should resolve problem... also for washer ,, they sell washer magic to clean and remove smells and mildue ,,,,,

Well the 2nd part of your question is probably the the reason it doesn't clean. If the soap door doesn't open then the dishes will probably not be cleaned. So.. I would focus on why the door doesn't open first.. is it sticking from old soap residue? If so, clean the dispenser with white vinegar and cycle it a few times without detergent and use the hottest/sanitary setting.. Then make sure you are using an approved dishwashing detergent for yuour wash cycle. Add some detergent to the dispenser and try cycling it without any dishes .. does the door open? If no, then you need to resolve that first.. If it does open, try running a cycle with about 1/2 the normal dish load and see if the door opened and the dishes came out clean.. Routinely, check and clean the drain filter so you aren't redistributing the food sediment from the previous load all over the next load of dishes.. Hope that helps..

AS ABOVE SUGESTION ...PROBUBLY NOT GETTING ENOUGH WATER. NOT LIKELY THE FAULT OF THE DISHWASHER PROBUBLY SEDIMENT FROM THE WATER PLUGED THE INLET SCREEN OF THE FILL VALVE. MANY TIMES THE MOVING OF A FLEXIBLE PLUMBING LINE BRAKES LOOSE ANY SEDIMENT AND DEPOSIT DURING THE INSTALATION OF A NEW DISHWASHER WHICH IS WHY MOST ADVISE REPACING THIS SMALL FLEXIBLE LINE WHEN INSTALLING A NEW DISHWASHER. YOU WILL HAVE TO DIS ASSEMBLE VALVE TO CLEAN SCREEN ...IF YOU BOUGHT THE PROTECTION AGREEMENT OR HAD SEARS INSTALL IT THEY SHOULD COVER A SERVICE CALL TO CLEAN THE VALVE.

brittgee, there has been a number of service flashes on this model. One that has to do with the upper spray arm assy. Complaint is poor washability; gritty glasses, food redeposited on glasses, especially in the corners. They redesigned the upper spray arm to improve water spray to all corners of the upper rack. The new part number is 8269022. They also redesigned the third level spinner for more consistant rotation and better washability. This was also under a service flash. Part number.8193768. Other reasons for poor wash would be; low water temperature, rinse aid disp. not working, loading etc. Catriver...post back.