Perhaps I am late to the party, but is GE having a current issue with Cascade over their detergents resulting in SmartDispense technology clogging their dishwashers units? We did not mix detergents, but today's GE serviceman says we're looking at $200 in labor and repair on our RDW8600 series, due to severe coagulation. Seems this is closer to a product defect, and one of the company's should be footing the bill.

Before attempting any repair on any appliance with an electronic control it's a good idea to unplug it or shut off the circuit breaker and leave the power off for 5 minutes. This will often "reset" the control and save you appliance repair costs.

Follow the steps below to ensure proper dishwasher detergent selection and usage.

Use only powder, liquid or tablet detergent designed specifically for automatic dishwashers. Any other types may cause a sudsing and as a result, poor wash performance and possibly suds and water on your kitchen floor. GE recommends either Electrasol®, Cascade® or Cascade Complete® detergents.


Use the right amount of detergent for the job. Soft hot water requires less detergent - perhaps a quarter of a cup in the main cup. Very hard water requires a full main cup and a full open cup to get good wash performance. Conditions between these require judgment. Use enough to get the job done, but don't use more than you need.


Too much detergent in very soft water will cause etching of glassware. This is a permanent clouding of the glass. If you experience this condition, use less detergent.


Keep your detergent fresh and dry. Store the detergent in container away from moisture to prevent lumps. Do not put detergent in the cup until you are ready to run a cycle. If powder detergent gets old or lumpy, throw it out; it will not clean effectively. Liquid detergents do not age.


As a rule of thumb:
Harder water requires more detergent

Cooler water requires more detergent

Softer water requires less detergent

Hotter water requires less detergent

Hi,

The scum, film and white residueproblems have started since the reductionof phosphates in dishwasher detergents.

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

DishwasherResidue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

I have the same problem. It isn't because of a long vacation, so if its still under warranty, call them out before they try to charge you an arm and a leg!

I called GE, they told me that it was Cascade's fault because they changed their formula to phosphate free and when I refilled the smart despenser, it congealed. When I called Cascade, they offered to send me a voucher for a free container of Cascade and they gave me a number to call GE saying that I wouldn't have to pay for the service call and that they would walk me through how to get it cleaned out. I then called GE and I was told by GE that I will have to pay the $100 for them to even come out and look at it because I have owned it for 14 months. (2 months past the warranty.)

I am still calling back and forth telling them both that I shouldn't have to pay for a service visit because I used the recommended Cascade detergent and it clogged it. Both of them are finger pointing.

I am in the process of trying to clean it out myself without taking it all apart, and its not looking like it will work. I had to get a wet vac and **** it all up, put water in, slosh it around by moving the door up and down, and by pushing a long straw in trying to break up the clotted detergent.

Good luck. If I find anything that will for sure get it cleaned up, I'll post it on here!

I had the same problem as you also using Cascade Complete. It turned to a wet solid and completely cloged up. I have spent 3 days cleaning it and now have it working again. I had to spoon out what I could, but the purge method still would not wash through. I started putting in water, running a thick plastic coated wire in and moving it around. Then opened and closed the door to slosh thinks around, then took a small scoop to clear out the water and gel clumps. I kept repeating until tired. Added more water and let it set over night and started again the next day. Once the water started looking clear after soaking and digging with the wire. I ran the purge technique listed in an earlier post, and the blockage finally cleared. It now is working again. I plan to keep a close eye in the future and run the purge as a regular maintence on ocassion when the add detergent light comes on. (I wonder if Cascade changed the formula that caused this gelling, or if they have a product issue).

Check the reservoir hose , and unclog it if necessary. You may need to disassemble the reservoir/dispenser to solve the problem.

Use to the diagrams below:

Try this before you jettison your current dishwasher. Yes, it is possible that the wash motor is getting weak, beginning to fail but:
Buy and use a box of brand name box of detergent powder Electrosol or Cascade. Stop using the generic powder and never use a gel or tablet in a dishwasher.
You will be amazed how how much better the detergent dissolves and the DW cleans.
Good Luck!

Switch your detergent to Cascade powder. Then use Dishwasher Magic (or something similar) to remove the lime/scale build up and to clean out your pump. 

SG

I have the same problem and found the below on the GE website. It says to purge the detergent from the Smart Dispense. I am in the process of doing it now...we'll see if it works:

How to Purge Incorrect Liquid Detergent from the Bulk Dispenser

The purge routine operates the bulk dispenser pump continuously to drain the bulk dispenser tank when an incorrect liquid was poured in the tank. The process consists of setting up the dishwasher to run the purge mode, running the purge mode and then cleaning up the purged detergent.

Follow these steps carefully to have a successful purge run.

For Top Control Models:

1. Make sure Pre-wash, Added Heat and Heated Dry LEDs are off.
2. Press Heated Dry and Down Arrow buttons together for 3 seconds. All LEDs will illuminate.
3. Press Added Heat and Up Arrow buttons together for 3 seconds. The Anti-bacteria LED will illuminate
4. Press Start button one time
5. Select Normal and make sure Pre-wash, Added Heat and Heated Dry LEDs are off.
6. Press Start button one more time and dishwasher will run a complete cycle without the main motor running. Cycle is complete when the Clean light illuminates. This should take approximately 60 minutes.
7. Open door and wipe up excess detergent from the door and tub
8. Flush remaining detergent off by pouring water on the door and tub where there is detergent residue.
9. Remove SmartDispenser cap and fill tank with water and then replace cap.
10. Repeat Steps 1 through 9 one time.
11. Then, repeat Steps 1 through 6. When the Clean LED illuminates, the system is purged and ready to be refilled with the correct detergent.

Front Mount Controls (same as above except for the changes in the two below steps):

2. Press Heated Dry and Cookware together for 3 seconds. All LEDs illuminate.

3. Press Added Heat and Cookware together for 3 seconds. The Anti-bacterial LED illuminates.

I removed the outer metal door cover by removing most of the phillips roundhead screws. The two screws closest to the latch should not be removed (they hold plastic pieces that help hold the outer door cover in place during reassembly), and the two flathead screws on the side of the door near the hinge should not be removed yet (they attach the pump). The door cover also has two small hex bolts on the bottom - these should be removed, too (or at least loosened). I removed them.

The outer door cover has two flat flexible wire bundles (for the buttons) that attach to the door using "quick-connect" push-pull connectors. One has a small tab which must be slightly depressed. Gently but firmly pull these out. Set the door cover aside.

I removed the pump by (one) gently but firmly removing the short (2" or so) gray rubber tube from the bottom of the detergent reservoir (NOTE: any detergent remaining in the reservoir will immediately drain on the floor at this time -- I let it drain most of the detergent into a cup, but then I taped a tapered wood screw into the opening to serve as a plug); (two) removing the 90 degree rubber fitting that attaches to the door; (three) disconnecting the motor wire electrical quick-connect; and (four) removing the two flathead screws that attach the pump to the door.

My (rotary peristaltic) pump has a black flexible tube that was clogged with solidified detergent. I verified the pump worked by first connecting the pump to power from the wall outlet. I used an old extension cord, cut the ends, crimped some small connectors that did not fit well to the pump connector, then taped the whole thing to help prevent a shock (I did not feel comfortable with this, but I did it anyway. Use caution. If I have to do it again, I would have used a pipe cleaner or wire instead of operating the pump as described below.). The pump motor is rated 110 volts ac., and the pump was operating fine. I think I got lucky (the pump spun the correct direction). It may be that if I reversed the wires, the pump might have operated backwards.

I then held the pump inlet hose under hot water in the sink for about 10-15 minutes, occasionally squeezing the hose, until the thick detergent had dissolved. During this time, the pump was pumping the water out the outlet.

I put everything back together, and the dishwasher cleans again.